WAKEFIELD, Va. (WAVY) – There is something rotten in the Sussex County Town of Wakefield.
Things are unsettled, and a cloud hovers after evil forces paid a visit to Judy Baldwin’s home on Oct. 24, 2023.
Two years later, Judy’s killer is still at large.
Her sister, Berdie Presson Duck, told WAVY, “That morning after it happened my daughter came to my house around 6:30 in the morning, and said kind of quickly ‘Judy is dead and Danny is hurt in the hospital.’“
The scene video from two years ago shows investigators outside the garage with the door open.
According to Sussex County Sheriff Ernest Giles, “Two men entered Danny and Judy Baldwin’s home through the garage, went through an open door, and shot Danny Baldwin twice. He survived. Judy unfortunately, shot once, died instantly.”
Judy’s identical twin Jane Presson Franklin said, “She was probably up reading. Then her husband screamed, ‘They’ve shot me. Get out’ and then to get out, she had to come towards them, and that’s when they shot at him, then shot her.”
Duck added, “He hollered at her ‘Judy they are going to kill us.’ I think she came out of the room, turned back, and he shot her in the head.”
The Sheriff says two people caught on surveillance camera are persons of interest.
Danny has not returned to the home. How could he?
“He has to live with someone else. He doesn’t go anywhere by himself. He has paranoia. You’re always looking to see,” Duck said.
Two years later the family is frustrated, what Duck calls a rage, “I consider rage as a feeling, you know. We need help with this because no one has ever been brought to justice.”
There is a $50,000 reward for information leading to the successful prosecution of the killers, and Sheriff Giles says he knows the answers can be found in the Wakefield community.
“We have some individuals in this community. They know what went on. They have shared this information. We need them to come forward and help us to bring these people into custody, to bring closure to the Baldwin family in this community,” Giles said.
However, the wheels of justice turn slowly for the Baldwin family, still in pain, and not pleased with the Sheriff’s efforts so far.
Duck said, “I finally stopped calling, and said you all handle it because I can’t. There’s no sense in calling you. There’s nothing there. Nobody tells us what they are doing, or not doing. It’s like we are off the face of the earth right now.”
Sheriff Giles, aware of that family frustration, emailed this to WAVY, “Through our ongoing investigation and numerous interviews, the Sheriff’s Office has identified persons of interest connected to this case…the Office is awaiting the results of legal processes related to recently obtained information.”
He is urging community members to step up and say something.
Duck wants to know more, “I want to know what they did, if they brought in other people (to help in the investigation) and was it enough or if whether they are even trying anymore. We don’t know. It’s like we are working on it, well that don’t cut too much.”
In his statement to WAVY, Sheriff Giles confirmed the Sheriff’s Office is getting assistance from Virginia State Police and the FBI.
One thing both sides agree on, the tragedy has changed what was a sleepy little town.
Duck added, “Your doors were not locked, but you do lock them now because people are breaking in cars, it’s just not the town we grew up in.”
Sheriff Giles provided this message.
“We need closure in this community, especially in the town of Wakefield. Ever since this happened. I can tell there’s a little separation in the community. It is not good. Too many negative accusations, too many negative thoughts…we need to bring it back to like we used to be. We used to have a small, quiet town in Wakefield, and we want to get it back to that point. We need to bring it back to the way it used to be.”
Sheriff Giles
For Jane, the reflection in the mirror returns a similar image of a twin sister, murdered,
“You never get away from it. Because when you look in the mirror, you see your deceased twin sister, so it never gets away from you.”
Duck said, “I am asking God, my prayer is that these people don’t hurt anyone else. It’s too late for us, but I pray they don’t hurt anybody else, and they come to justice, and we finally know, why.”
If you have any information, no matter how small or seemingly insignificant, Sheriff Giles is appealing for you to please come forward.
Again, a reward of up to $50,000 is being offered for information leading to an arrest and prosecution. Tips may be submitted anonymously through P3tips.com or by calling the Sussex County Sheriff’s office tip hotline at 434-597-4400.
Continue to check WAVY.com for updates.