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Note: Notes for Velerie Joyce Baaske Des Laurier She was known by many as Vel.
Vel attended Oak Lawn Community High School. She was a member of the graduating class of 1958.
Velerie Baaske married Ronald "Ron" Des Laurier on February 17, 1959 in Morrris, Grundy, Illinois. The couple had four children; Ronald, Jr., "Ron"; Pamela, "Pam"; Belinda, "Beau"; and Victor, "Vic".
Later, Vel rose through the ranks of the 3M Company to become a manager.
Vel was a beautiful person, inside and out.
While on vacation, Vel was murdered May 27, 1995 by her second husband, John Earl Baughman, on the island of Antigua, which is a part of the country of Antigua and Barbuda. The country is about 250 miles east of Puerto Rico. The story of Vel's murder was well covered by Chicago area television news broadcasts and newspaper stories. There was also a lengthy story in <i>Chicago</i> magazine.
John Baughman, who had been previously arrested twice for murder in the Chicago area, but never convicted, was found guilty of Vel's murder by an Antiguan jury on April 4, 1996. The trial and an appeal took so much time that they gave Baughman five more years to live after Vel's death. The appeal was eventually dismissed May 25, 2000. On May 31, Baughman committed suicide by hanging himself in his jail cell in Antigua, shortly before he was to be hanged by the Antiguan jailers.
Newspaper stories and the decision from the Court of Appeal are here: <a href="http://murderpedia.org/male.B/b/baughman-john.htm">Details</a>
Vel's FindAGrave memorial includes photos of her, and photos of her grave monument:
<a href="http://www.findagrave.com/cgi-bin/fg.cgi?page=gr&GRid=113997536">Memorial</a>
Her SSN was 334-32-1414.
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