Disclaimer: This article contains mentions of murder. Reader discretion is advised.
Judy Orr Baldwin’s 2016 murder case and the investigation into her now-convicted killer, James Baldwin, will be the focus of Dateline NBC. The upcoming episode titled “The Black Box” airs on the network this Saturday, July 6, 2024, at 10 p.m. ET. A synopsis reads, “A coroner arrives at the scene of a car wreck to find a woman dead. He becomes suspicious when he notices unusual markings on her face. Was her death really an accident? Andrea Canning reports.”
The murder of Judy Orr Baldwin, whose death initially seemed accidental, was a sinister plot orchestrated by her husband, James Baldwin. The husband initially claimed Judy died in a fatal car crash while they were on their way to a hospital on December 14, 2016. However, a detailed and prolonged investigation into her death unraveled into a murder. Detectives alleged James, a former cop, murdered Judy at home and then staged the crash to cover up the crime.
In 2019, James Baldwin stood trial for the murder, which resulted in a conviction, and received a life sentence without parole. He has been in prison ever since.
Judy Orr Baldwin’s killer: Where is former cop James Baldwin now?
According to the South Carolina Department of Corrections, James Baldwin is now serving his sentence in an undisclosed location. The Mirror reported that James is a former law enforcement officer who worked in the York and Columbia police departments. He also served as a dispatcher in South Carolina’s Chester County Sheriff’s Office for several years.
The outlet stated that James and Judy were together for nearly five years after the latter lost her first husband in a bike accident. Then, on December 14, 2016, James murdered Judy at their home and then staged a car crash to cover up the crime, per WBTV. Judy’s death initially seemed accidental until a later inquiry highlighted evidence that incriminated James.
At first, Judy Orr Baldwin’s killer, James Baldwin, told authorities that at the time of the crash, they were en route to a hospital. He claimed Judy fell from a ladder while putting up Christmas decorations that day. James alleged they were on the way to the Piedmont Medical Center when he swerved to avoid crashing into a truck. Their vehicle, per his claims, went down an embankment, and when he awoke, he found Judy in front of it.
James mentioned that he lost control of the vehicle at 50mph. However, authorities found evidence at the crash site and in their Jeep that suggested otherwise. The evidence proved that he was in control of the vehicle, which did not go over 5mph as they went down the embankment. Authorities also found a clear tire mark at the crash site, which contradicted his narrative. A South Carolina Highway Patrol trooper claimed his story was inconsistent with “what’s at the collision scene,” stated another WBTV report.
Elsewhere, Judy Orr Baldwin’s family, especially her sons, had been suspicious about her death. The coroner, who examined her body, also declared that her head wound was inconsistent with a car crash. During a later inquiry, James Baldwin told the State Law Enforcement Division (SLED) that Judy had been talking to him in the car before the crash. However, medical experts claimed couldn’t possibly have been able to talk with such a severe head injury.
James left their home nearly two months after Judy’s death and moved in with a woman named Teri King. Prosecutors alleged he was having an affair with Teri. Moreover, SLED reportedly found blood evidence at the Baldwins’ home really high up the wall. Additionally, they learned that James had taken out an accidental death policy in his wife’s name. The police dated six months before the alleged crash and had matured by then. He was the sole beneficiary.
With evidence mounting against him, authorities finally arrested James Baldwin in August 2018 and charged him with Judy’s murder. The killer stood trial the following year when a jury convicted him. Rock Hill Herald reported that Judge Dan Hall later sentenced him to life in prison without the possibility of parole.
Dateline NBC’s episode will revisit the case against Judy Orr Baldwin’s killer, James Baldwin, on Saturday, July 6.
