Ian Christopher Baunach, a former marine and bodybuilder from Florida, has entered a not-guilty plea for the murder of his ex-wife, Katie Baunach, who he’s been accused of killing before setting her body on fire. Ian was arraigned on Monday to answer the murder charges that have been filed against him in connection to the death of Katie, who disappeared on September 29 when she told a friend she was collecting some of her personal belongings from her ex.
The friend who was taking care of the couple’s children as Katie visited her ex’s Florida home, called the cops when she didn’t hear back from her, and when law enforcement officers arrived at the property, they noticed Katie’s car parked outside, but Ian was nowhere to be found. The 43-year-old, who had already faced domestic battery by strangulation charges in November 2021, had cops show up again later in the day, when officers noticed Katie’s car had disappeared. Ian, who had finally answered his door, refused to invite cops into his property.
A search warrant was acquired, with detectives finding blood stains and signs of a struggle inside the home, which Ian bizarrely said were caused by groceries. Court documents obtained by the Daily Mail unveiled that cops went on to discover “the fragment of a human mandible with an intact tooth in a fresh burn pile and discovered a blue fifty-gallon barrel near the burn pile which reeked of decaying flesh.” Additionally, police officers also found a human bone fragment inside a blue fifty-gallon barrel, leading to his arrest. Ian is facing the death penalty or life in prison if he’s found guilty of first-degree premeditated murder.
During the home search, court docs revealed they had also found a heap of weapons, including an AR-15, 13 silencers, and a Glock Model 27.40 mm pistol that was kept inside a plastic bag on top of a book shelf. He later admitted to law enforcement that the pair had a quarrel about another woman, adding that he was angry over Katie’s decision to file a domestic violence injunction against him.
But he stressed that there was no physical interaction between the pair. Instead, Ian said he ended up taking himself to bed and when he woke up, Katie appeared to have left the house. Ian took it upon himself to relocate the car from the street where he lived but he had no idea of her whereabouts. It turned out her body was burned right outside of the property.
It was later uncovered that Katie had taken out a restraining order against Ian just weeks before her death after her ex was alleged to have gotten physical with one of their children.