Clovis Murder Trial Begins This Week

A man from Clovis was ordered to stand trial on murder charges following a preliminary hearing in Fresno County Superior Court on Tuesday.

Charles Rector, 52, will go to trial August 15, according to the court report.

Rector was arrested on suspicion of fatally shooting his girlfriend, Kristina Baker, 44, in April of 2011 at an apartment in the 200 block of Bullard Avenue in the normally quiet Clovis.

According to an earlier police report, police said Rector called 911 and told dispatchers that he had gotten in an argument with Baker and that Baker had shot herself. Evidence gathered at the scene pointed to Rector, and police determined there was no merit in Rector’s statement that Baker had turned the gun on herself. “We were able to determine that the suspect, Rector, probably fired the fatal shot,” said a Community Resource Officer.

Baker was rushed to Community Regional Medical Center in downtown Fresno where she later died. Rector still claims his innocence.

Read More:
Fresno Bee: Clovis Man Held in Girlfriend’s Shooting Death

Clovis Independent: Clovis Man Faces Trial for Murder