Former officer sentenced to life in prison for wife's murder and cover up

CHESTER, S.C. — A former police officer will spend the rest of his life behind bars for murdering his wife in Chester and then trying to cover it up.

A jury found James Baldwin guilty of murder Tuesday afternoon and sentenced him to life in prison.

[PAST COVERAGE: Former officer accused of wife's murder and cover up appears in court]

Investigators said Baldwin faked a car accident in Dec. 2016 to cover up his wife's murder.

According to deputies, Baldwin told them his wife, Judy Orr Baldwin, fell from a ladder while decorating a Christmas tree at their home. He said they got into a car accident on the way to the hospital, but investigators believe the wreck on Old Richburg Road was staged.

(Judy Baldwin)

The indictment obtained by Channel 9 states that Judy Baldwin died of "severe blunt force trauma to her head."

James Baldwin served as a patrol officer in the city of York in the early 1990s and later worked for the Columbia Police Department. He was then a dispatcher for Chester County.

Cox Media Group