Man Sentenced to Life in Ransom Murder

A man convicted of stabbing his roommate to death in a ransom plot was sentenced Friday to life in prison without the possibility of parole, a spokeswoman for the Los Angeles County district attorney said.

Nathaniel Blaylock, 28, of Van Nuyswas found guilty in March of the murder of Ronald Steven Baker, a 21-year-old UCLA student, with the special circumstance of lying in wait and murder for financial gain, the spokeswoman said.

Judge Edward Ferns sentenced Blaylock in the Criminal Courts Building in downtown Los Angeles, she said.

The murder took place June 22, 1989, according to court documents.

Baker--who had been sharing a Van Nuys apartment with Blaylock--was taken to the entrance of the railroad tunnel in the hills above Chatsworth Park, where he was stabbed and his throat was slashed on June 22, 1989, according to court records.

Baker’s parents got two anonymous calls--one on the day of the murder and one the day after--demanding $100,000 in exchange for their son, said Rick Saxon, a detective with LAPD’s homicide division.

The parents did not respond to the demands, Saxon said.

Police first speculated that Baker’s death might have been cult-related, Saxon said, because it occurred during the summer solstice at a location frequented by cultists. The speculation was partially put to rest when Blaylock surfaced as a suspect in 1993, he said.

Although Blaylock frequented the railroad tunnel as part of a cult called Wicca, the murder was not connected to the cult’s activity, Saxon said.