Two charged in murder-for-hire plot

Staff Report

On Aug. 13, Pierce County Prosecutor Mark Lindquist charged Jacqueline Ray, 49, and Luis Barker, 37, with first-degree murder for the death of Leon Bauchman, Jr.

Bauchman Jr., a 33-year-old husband and father, was found shot to death in a ditch on a rural Key Peninsula road in July.

Ray and Barker were arraigned on Aug. 13 and pled not guilty. Bail was set at $1 million for Ray and $3 million for Barker.

In a Pierce County press release, Lindquist said that “murder-for-hire only works in the movies, and both defendants will he held accountable for this grisly killing.”

Court reports said that on July 12, Pierce County deputies responded to the 14900 block of 82nd Avenue on a call of a deceased male found off the roadway.

Bauchman’s ankles, wrists and eyes were bound with duct tape. An autopsy determined that the cause of death was from a single gunshot wound to the back, the report said.

On Aug. 1, detectives met with Ray, a Key Peninsula resident, and she admitted to her participation in the slaying. She told detectives Bachman had a long history of violence against her daughter; Ray also admitted to recruiting Barker to help her with the alleged murder plot.

The two agreed upon a price of $10,000 for the act. Ray paid Barker most of the money before the hit and the rest after, the report said.

After the shooting, Ray was interviewed and at the request of detectives she agreed to wear a recording device and to have a conversation with Barker on Aug. 7. Details of the shooting and abduction were obtained, and Barker was arrested on Aug. 10.

Officials said Barker has prior robbery, drug and firearm convictions and that another man helped with the plot but remains unidentified and at large.