BOISE, Idaho — A Homedale man accused of sexually abusing children as well as holding a woman chained and captive in an Owyhee County barn has died in prison.
Chancey Lee Baker, 37, was found hanging by staff at the Idaho State Correctional Institution Tuesday night. His death is being investigated as an apparent suicide.
Baker was awaiting trial on more than two dozen felony charges, including lewd conduct, sexual abuse of a minor, kidnapping and possession of a weapon as a convicted felon. A convicted sex offender, Baker had been released on parole after serving time on a previous lewd conduct conviction, but was ordered back into Idaho Department of Correction custody after his arrest on the new charges
Baker was taken into custody in December after a woman told police he had held her prisoner in a barn for more than a week. The woman, who had known Baker for years, said he attacked her after she decided she did not want him coming around her children any longer.
The victim said that on Dec. 14, 2018 Baker knocked on her door, then shocked her with a Taser and hit her with a pipe when she opened it. She awoke tied up inside an outbuilding, with one of her ankles chained to the wall, she told KTVB.
After eight days of captivity, the woman was able to pick the chain lock with a drill bit she found in the barn. She then ran to a nearby home for help, where residents called the sheriff's office.
Baker was arrested, along with Mikal Christensen and Tressa Sipes, who are accused of helping in the kidnapping or failing to report it.
During the kidnapping investigation, investigators found evidence that Baker had also sexually assaulted child victims, and additional felony charges were added in February.
Baker had pleaded not guilty to all charges. His trials were set to begin in January 2020.
