Prison Escapee Sentenced For Killing Father

A McHenry man who escaped from prison back in the 1990s, and then lead police on a wild chase before he raised a replica gun at police and was shot in the back in a cornfield, will now be headed back to prison, according to media reports. This time Michael Bakker will be serving 45 years in prison for killing his father, prosecutors said Monday. Bakker, 49, will be required to serve all of his sentence.

Bakker is accused of fatally shooting his father in 2015, prosecutors said. His dad, Daniel Bakker, 69, was found dead in his home on North Alton Road in McHenry on Sept. 17, 2015. His son was taken into custody the next day in a hotel room in Lake Geneva, Wis.

At the time of his arrest, Michael Bakker had his father's cell phone. Authorities said Michael had been using his father's phone to send text messages to family members claiming to be ill and asking relatives not to go to the home on North Alton, according to a news release.

Family members became suspicious that the text messages were not actually being sent by Daniel Bakker and went to the home. There they discovered Daniel Bakker's body, according to prosecutors.

An autopsy revealed Daniel Bakker died of a single gunshot would to the head.

This is not Michael Bakker's first run in with the law. Back in 1996, he was sentenced to six years in prison for possession of a stolen license plate. While serving time for that crime, he escaped from a prison farm at Stateville Correctional Center, allegedly stole a car in Volo and then lead police on a high speed chase, according to the Chicago Tribune.

Authorities found him in a cornfield and a state SWAT team member shot him in the back after Bakker raised a replica handgun at officers, according to the article. He served eight years in prison for the escape.

More via the Chicago Tribune

Photo via the McHenry County State's Attorney's Office