Who is Jacob Baker? He’s in a viral video with a bong, served time in California, and has a baby girl

Before 36-year-old Jacob Baker became the most wanted person on the Big Island this week as the lone suspect in a triple murder spree, he was the subject of a video involving drugs that went viral.

One person who knew him said he seemed normal with a big heart, while others say he acted erratically and threatened their lives. He appeared to love dogs, so much so that he stole one named Bruce for companionship, and he recently became the father to a baby girl.

And while the only previous offenses on his record on the Big Island were traffic-related, he spent time in jail in California for assault with a deadly weapon.

Richard Valdez, who owns property on Red Road next to where Baker used to live, said he had a few long conversations with him.

“He was a logical thinking person and he seemed compassionate,” Valdez said. “He described himself to me as a from-the-heart person.”

Valdez said he prides himself on being a good judge of character, but “this kinds of throws me. This mental illness can change a person.”

Hawaiʻi Island Police Chief Reed Mahuna said they do not have a motive for the murders, and declined to provide details about why Baker is the only suspect.

What is known is that Baker knew the men, who all were killed in brutal fashion. Police say preliminary autopsies found that Bob Shine, 69, died by strangulation and was submerged in a cement pond (which a friend identified as a catchment tank), and Carse and Chitta Morse, 79, both died from blunt force trauma. A firearm was not used in any of the homicides, police said.

Valdez and others have said that Baker said he was from Maui, although not much more is known about him until April 13, 2022, when he was arrested by the Yuba County Sheriff’s Office at 6:39 p.m. at the 10000 block of Peoria Road on suspicion of assault with a deadly weapon that is not a firearm.

He was 32 at the time and booked into Yuba County Jail.

According to court documents from that case, Baker was charged with four felonies: two counts of assault with a deadly weapon and two counts of threats to commit crime resulting in death or great bodily injury. A month later, he pled guilty/no contest to one account of assault with a deadly weapon, with the other three charges dismissed.

Baker received a 120-day jail term (which included 40 days of conduct credit) and two years supervised probation, which ended May 23, 2024.

That case is now closed.

The 36-year-old appeared to have arrived on the Big Island about two years ago, sometime after he completed supervised probation in California for a felony charge.

In November 2025, a video of Baker was posted that showed him jumping off a boat while holding a bong and a bag of marijuana. He tries to get the drugs and bong to shore safely, but just as he is about to make it, a large wave breaks over him and destroys the bong. After the video was posted by HHHnewz, it generated more than 2 million views.

Baker responded to the video, expressing shock at the views, saying, “I donʻt know why me? People jump off boats every day.”

Over the past few months, Baker mentions on his TikTok account “razedbywolves28” that he has an infant daughter named Ua, whom he claims is now on the mainland with her mother. 

“He had just had his daughter when he was living here,” Valdez said. “He was telling me he was from Maui and he was trying to get his life together…. And I had some compassion for him.”

In many of the videos, he talks about living off-grid and off the land, stating he only wants to “do yoga, take care of the coconuts, and my fam.”

Valdez said he loved eating coconuts and likely was using them for his main food while on the lam.

Mahuna said police do not believe anyone helped him hide.

Valdez thinks he likely spent the two days after the murder of John Carse in a house less than half a mile away, sleeping along the coastline at the end of their vacant property.

“He was down below the cliff on the coastline,” Valdez said. “He had come up to the top of our bluff and took out cushions that we had put in a container to keep them dry…. He apparently was sleeping down there.”

Valdez said officers came by more than once searching, and had been flying drones.

It wasn’t until Valdez got notified on his phone that their property surveillance camera picked up someone in the yard. That would ultimately lead to his capture.

Several people on social media said Baker had been acting erratically and was threatening in the past few weeks. In one video, he captioned, “Do not crash out when your baby mama leaves with your baby to the mainland. Do not start drinking and taking drugs.” 

He also had prided himself on his physique and looks, while also commenting about his changing appearance. He had bleached his hair. And recently, he got a tattoo just below his eye that says “La Flaquitas,” which translates to “The skinny girls” or “The thin ones.”

The meaning of the singular “la flaquita” depends heavily on context; it is sometimes used as a nickname or term of endearment among friends, family, or romantic partners, similar to “babe.” It can also be used as a casual way to get someone’s attention, like “Hey, girl.”

Eerily, the phrase is also a popular nickname in Mexico referring to the skeletal figure Santa Muerte, or Our Lady of Holy Death.

On the Big Island, Baker also was living for some period of time at a cabin at Josanna’s Organic Farms, where he traded work for the place to stay. Don Hyatt, who was friends with two of the victims, said farm owner Janelle Honer called him a few days ago about Baker.

“He had disappeared for a couple of months and left the cabin in disarray, with outside trash and furniture just sitting outside,” Hyatt said. “Then he came back and wanted to stay. He came back and threatened her, and her dog.

“I told her she needed to get a TRO (temporary restraining order) on this guy.”

Just four days before the first murder, Honer and another woman tried to file a restraining order against Baker, according to court filings in the 3rd Circuit Court.

Honer said Baker threatened her life, the life of a disabled man, and the lives of three people currently living on her farm. She stated that Baker has made multiple threats in the past.

“I don’t feel safe,” the complainant writes. “He will enter our property and take items. Threaten us. Says he wants to squat there.”

On the petition, Honer wrote about Baker’s address: “Raised by wolves on instagram.” It turns out it was “Razedbywolves28.”

Another woman said she was staying on a friend’s farm, but realized that all the women had left because Baker was threatening to kill them.

On May 26, Judge Kanani Laubach denied both temporary restraining order petitions citing there was insufficient evidence to amount to a probable cause to believe an act of harassment occurred.

Hawaiʻi Island Police Chief Reed Mahuna reiterated on Thursday that the department was not aware of the death threats.

When Baker was captured on Thursday, Bruce the dog was with him. Valdez helped restrain the dog while Baker was taken to jail.

“So many people were concerned about the dog,” Valdez said. “It turns out somebody on Facebook was looking for that dog that Jake had stolen, so I put them together with the information that the police took the dog to the shelter. So they should be reunited.”