Human Jawbone Found in a Brutal Domestic Murder | Ian Baunach

She said she’d be right back, just grabbing a few things from her ex’s house. But hours later, her car was abandoned, her phone was silent, and the air around his property reeked of something no one wanted to name. Today we tell you about the murder of Katie Baunach. Uh, welcome to love and Heartbreak to Homicide, your Florida Man Friday episode. We are your hosts, AI Jane Jessica and Jensen. We’re happy that you found our little section of the Internet and took the time to listen to this victim’s story. Don’t forget to subscribe on whatever platform you’re on. But if you didn’t know, joining our Patreon is one of the best ways to help keep these victims stories alive. Patreon.com loveandmurder you can sign up for free and still get some benefits or choose a bonus tier. The $5 tier is our most popular option. Patreon.com Love and Murder.

Florida friends reported their friend Katie Bornak missing on September 30, 2022

Now let’s get into your Florida Man Friday episode. On September 30, 2022, a group of worried friends called the police reporting their friend, 39 year old Katie Baunach, missing. They told police that on September 29, 2022, Katie dropped off her two children with a friend. She said she was going to her ex husband house, 43 year old Ian Baunach to pick up a few personal items. She told her friend she’d be right back. She never came back. Hendry county deputies went to ian’s home in LaBelle, Florida to investigate. During their first visit, they found Katie’s car parked in the driveway with her purse still inside. But neither Katie nor Ian was home when deputies returned shortly after the car had been moved, now abandoned on the side of the road. The gates were locked and um, Ian, who was pacing around the property, refused to let them in. That refusal made officers get a warrant. What they found was every woman’s worst nightmare. Ian Christopher Baunach was a former United States Marine who retrained as an engineer. He was also a bodybuilder, competing in the IFBB Masters National Bodybuilding Championships in 2016. Standing 6ft 3 inches tall and weighing 250 pounds, Katie Baunach was a nurse and the mother of their two young children. A friend and neighbor described her as having a generous spirit and a good mama who loved her children fiercely. Katie’s and Ian’s relationship had a long history of domestic violence. In November 2021, Ian was arrested on charges of domestic battery by strangulation. He was released the same day on a $25,000 bond. Prosecutors dropped the charges Although the case’s lead prosecutor said that she would have continued without victim testimony, and, um, in 90% of similar cases, the charges were dropped. In January 2022, Katie forgave Ian after he told her he had changed and found religion. Attorney Joseph Gerard Villacarva, who represented Ian in the strangulation case, said that his and his client’s opinion was that Katie was using the claim as leverage in their divorce settlement, arguing that the state wouldn’t have been able to prove the allegation as, uh, there was no corroboration. In March 2022, Ian allegedly kicked Katie in the back and threatened to kill her. Katie reported this to the Hendry County Sheriff’s Office, and deputies requested an arrest warrant, sending the case to the state attorney’s office. However, prosecutors did not file charges. Just six weeks before her death, Katie took out a restraining order against Ian. She accused him of abusing one of their children. However, a, uh, Lee county judge reportedly denied her request for a restraining order. Around this time, according to a recording of the hearing, Judge Amy Hawthorne cited concern for the children and told Katie to make peace with Ian.

The judge said, I know probably neither one of your stories is probably 100% true, because it can’t be. You need to get over your anger at each other or whatever bad feelings you have toward each other or suppress them or do therapy or do something, because what you’re doing to your kids is just an abomination.

A spokesperson for the 20th Judicial Circuit later said that judges make decisions based on the law and limited information, calling Katie’s death a, uh, true tragedy. Later, Ian’s two ex wives told the news press that they had reported Ian to their local police for domestic violence. But they felt that authorities didn’t take their reports seriously, and Ian was never convicted of a crime. On September 30, deputies returned to Ian’s property, this time with a warrant, and they forced their way in. Inside, they found signs of a struggle, blood traces, a, uh, broken mirror, and Katie’s engagement and wedding rings. In Ian’s safe, they also found firearms, unregistered silencers, and vials of steroids. In total, 13 silencers and a lot of different firearms were found, many of them modified to accept silencers. Investigators found blood in the hallway between the garage door and the foyer and blood in Ian’s car trunk. He blamed it on groceries, but worse was found. Outside, police discovered a fresh burn pile that smelled of death. Inside, they discovered the fragment of a human mandible with an intact tooth. In a fresh burn pile nearby. A 50 gallon oil drum contained more bone fragments and reeked of decaying flesh. A friend and neighbor remembered smelling something burning the night Katie is believed to have been killed, saying not even realizing.

Until later what I could have been smelling.

When questioned, Ian denied killing his ex wife. He waived his Miranda rights and told detectives that Katie showed up and they got into an argument over another woman. He claimed he went to sleep because he did not want to argue and when he woke up Katie Bornock was gone. He said that he then moved her car to the street. He admitted to being angry that Katie Bornock filed for and received a domestic violence injunction against him. When asked about the blood found inside, he stated that he did not believe the officers. He blamed the blood in the trunk on groceries he had transported, claimed he didn’t believe they found blood in the hallway, and blamed a broken mirror on having bumped into it while walking down the hall. He also insisted that because they did not have a body, Katie was not actually a missing person. Based on the evidence found at the property, Ian was arrested. He was charged with multiple offences including first degree premeditated murder, destruction, concealment of physical evidence, illegally cremating a dead body 48 hours after death, failure to report death to a medical examiner, drug possession for the steroids, violating federal firearms law, use of a two way communication device to facilitate a felony, and tampering with evidence. He was also booked in December 2021 for contempt of court. He pled not guilty and was held without bail in the Hendry County Jail. He is also reportedly being held in federal custody awaiting trial on federal firearms charges related to possessing unregistered silencers. Prosecutors are seeking the death penalty. State Attorney Amira Fox said the crime was cold, calculated and premeditated without any pretense of moral or legal justification. Ian’s attorney, Robert P. Harris, expressed disappointment that the state is seeking execution. In a statement, Harris wrote, Mr. Ian.

Banach is a former United States Marine, a war hero who sacrificed his body and his peace of mind for his country. It is disheartening that the government he fought to protect and preserve is going after him with the ultimate punishment. We maintain Ian Banach’s innocence and and will vigorously defend him in a court of law.

Katie’s mother, Carolyn McKinney, shared her perspective after prosecutors asked what punishment she wanted. Due to her faith, she felt compelled to say life in prison with no possibility of parole, writing, I can’t say.

I want someone to die. But the state attorney said it’s the only way to make sure he at least gets life. Saying that this could potentially be changed or negotiated later.

Ian waived his right to appear at a recent court appearance and his right to a speedy trial. His next court appearance is reportedly set for May 10th. Local law enforcement praised the Hendry Sheriff’s Office’s investigation, saying that the quick action by the investigators allowed them to arrest Ian before he destroyed evidence or fled. Katie tried to get help, but she documented the abuse, she reported the violence, she got a restraining order, she followed the law, and the system failed her. A judge dismissed her plea. Prosecutors dropped charges. And when she went back one last time to gather her things, Ian was waiting. Katie’s neighbor later said, I remember coming.

Out on the porch and saying to my husband, who would be burning anything right now?

She didn’t realize what she was smelling was Katie. Katie was a nurse, a mother, a woman who just wanted to get her belongings and go home to her children. Now her children are being raised by other family members left without their mother. In October 2023, Carolyn said in an interview that the death of their mother is still hard on the two children.

It’s still really hard.

They still cry, she went on to say.

Back in June 2023, prosecutors said it would be two or three years from now before he goes to trial. I started feeling very insecure about him wiggling out of this. I need for them to tell me he’s going to pay for this. I would love them to tell me that he’s in there and he’s miserable and they know he’s not going to get out. I need somebody to say that to me.

If you or someone you know is experiencing domestic violence, please contact the National Domestic violence hotline at, uh, 1-800-799-7233 or visit thehotline.org all calls, uh, are free and confidential. What do you think of this case? Ky just put out a very similar case where the domestic violence victim did everything right, but no one helped her. It was the case of Mary Jingles. Ky included the link to that episode in the show notes below.

What do you think needs to happen so that these issues can be taken seriously before murder

What do you think needs to happen so that these issues can be taken seriously before they lead to murder? Let us know your thoughts in the comments below and Ky will read them in a future episode.

Thanks for being here. Thanks for listening all the way to the end. Thanks for your support and we’ll see you in the next episode. Sam M.