In the early morning hours of May 9, 2014, the quiet of the Stinking Creek community in Scalf, Kentucky, was shattered by a violent home invasion that ended in the death of 29-year-old Donald Mills. Two armed men, impersonating police officers, forced their way into Mills' residence. A struggle ensued between Mills and one of the intruders, culminating in Mills being fatally shot. His wife rushed him to Knox County Hospital, but he was pronounced dead upon arrival.
Authorities later indicated that the attack was not a random act.
The investigation into the murder of Donald Mills led to a series of arrests. Initially, two London, Kentucky men, Patrick B. Baker, 36, and Christopher Bradley Wagner, 36, were taken into custody and charged with murder. Shortly after, two more individuals, Elijah Messer, 30, of Dewitt, and Angela Mills, 39, of Scalf, were also arrested and faced the same charge. The investigation continued, leading to the arrest of a fifth suspect, 42-year-old Stephanie Smith, who was also charged with murder.
The motive behind the deadly home invasion was revealed to be a plot to steal oxycodone pills from Mills, who was known to sell them. During the robbery, Mills' pregnant wife and children were held at gunpoint while the home was ransacked. The investigation uncovered evidence linking the suspects to the crime, including the recovery of the murder weapon and surveillance footage of Baker purchasing plastic handcuffs hours before the incident.
The legal proceedings following the arrests saw Patrick B. Baker convicted in a Kentucky court of reckless homicide, first-degree robbery, impersonating a peace officer, and tampering with physical evidence, for which he was sentenced to nineteen years in prison. In a controversial move, Baker was later pardoned by the Governor of Kentucky. However, federal authorities pursued their own case against him. In August 2021, a federal jury convicted Baker of murder committed during a drug trafficking crime. He was subsequently sentenced to 42 years in federal prison for the murder of Donald Mills.
