The explosion victim said he bears no ill will toward his co-worker.
By LAURE CIOFFI
NEW CASTLE, Pa. — Jared Baker said he had no indication that his co-worker may have been suicidal when he approached Patrick Henry's Franklin Avenue house.
Baker, 23, who police originally said was 30, of New Castle, and his wife, Sophie Axe Baker, 21, were just checking on Henry Monday because Henry didn't show up for or call off work. Police had incorrectly listed her name previously as Sophia.
"If I had known he was suicidal, I would have never gone there," Jared Baker said Friday from the office of his attorney Frank A. Natale II.
Baker, hands bandaged and face red and coated with Neosporin, was flanked by his parents, Ileana Ingram and Jim Baker, as well as his aunt, Nancy Harlan, and mother-in-law, LouAnn Axe.
Just released Wednesday from Mercy Hospital in Pittsburgh, Baker says he's working on his recovery as well as visiting his wife at West Penn Hospital in Pittsburgh.
But visits to Sophie Baker are short as she remains in critical condition and is unresponsive, Natale said.
Both are on a long road to recovery, family members say.
"His wounds are still open. He must scrub them daily," Ingram said of her son. She drove in from her home in Ortley Beach, New Jersey, and Jim Baker came from Simi Valley, Calif., after the explosion Monday, which destroyed several nearby homes and injured the Bakers and Henry.
Henry, 30, remains in Mercy Hospital, where he is also being treated for burns.
New Castle Police said Friday they are still investigating and will likely file charges against Henry early next week.
Authorities believe Henry disconnected the natural gas line inside his home in an effort to kill himself by breathing natural gas, which somehow exploded.
Suicide hint
Police concluded it was a suicide attempt because they had received a call from Henry's girlfriend about two weeks ago reporting Henry had made vague references about committing suicide. Police said the girlfriend called back later and told them everything was fine.
But on Monday, Henry's co-workers at EaCo Chem in Shenango Township became concerned when he did not show up for work or call off.
According to Natale, two other EaCo Chem employees went to Henry's home that morning to check on his well-being. They returned to work reporting that Henry's vehicle was at the house, but there was no answer when they knocked on the door.
As Jared Baker was leaving for lunch, he told another EaCo Chem employee that he would also check on Henry.
The Bakers — who regularly met for lunch on Mondays — showed up at Henry's Franklin Avenue home just after noon, and Jared Baker knocked on the front door.
Called wife back
Receiving no response, he went to the back door and thought he smelled natural gas, Natale said. He called his wife to the back to confirm the smell.
Natale said Jared Baker used his cell phone to call work and report the natural gas smell and no response from Henry.
"The person on the other end of the line tells him to "come back to work and we'll call somebody' [about the natural gas], but before he disengages the call, the house explodes," Baker's attorney said.
Sophie Baker was closer to the house and her husband recalls her screaming simultaneous to the explosion.
Jared Baker was dodging debris, including a refrigerator, when he found his wife blown back about 9 feet.
Jared Baker helped his wife walk a few feet from the burning debris before they both collapsed and some workers from the nearby Haven Convalescent Home arrived to help.
Baker said he told rescue workers that he was fine and they should take care of his wife first.
How they met
Jared and Sophie Baker met nine years ago — he was 14 and she, 12 — when he was visiting his aunt in Lawrence County. Baker lived in New Jersey.
Sophie Axe started writing letters to Jared Baker when he returned home and just before she was set to go on a church mission trip to the Ukraine in 2004, she traveled to New Jersey to visit him. The two started a relationship and Jared Baker moved to New Castle and started working at EaCo Chem in July 2006, where he is a customer service trainee for the company, which makes masonry detergent for buildings.
Sophie Axe completed training as a massage therapist and worked two jobs at a local chiropractor's office and a salon.
"She was very diligent about taking care of her bills and taking care of people," her mother said.
Jared and Sophie were married Sept. 2 at Princeton Presbyterian Church in Lawrence County.
Jared Baker said his new wife was to be put onto his medical insurance Friday — just four days after the explosion. She is now ineligible for the insurance because of her injuries.
Donations taken
Sky Bank is collecting money for the couple to help defray the medical costs. Natale said money can be given at any Sky Bank location in Pennsylvania or Ohio in the names of Jared Baker or Sophie Axe Baker. He said no other collections outside of the bank have been authorized by the family.
Baker says he has no ill will against Henry and hopes for his recovery.
Jared Baker, while out of the hospital, also has some severe injuries. He must cover his hands and stomach daily with Silvadene, a topical cream used to prevent and treat skin infections on areas of burned skin, and his face with Neosporin.
But he's most concerned about his wife.
"I'm worried, but I know she's in good hands because of the care I got. I believe she's in even a better hospital," he said.