Real Murders of Los Angeles on Oxygen is slated to re-examine the case against Ronald Baker‘s roommates-turned-killers Duncan Martinez and Nathaniel Blalock. The episode, titled “Tunnel of Terror,” will look into UCLA student Baker’s 1990 murder. Martinez and Blalock, his then-roommates, kidnapped and murdered him in LA’s abandoned Manson Tunnel. The killers were brought to justice six years later.
Authorities solved the case after Martinez’s confession about his role in the 21-year-old’s murder in 1992. His confession included specifics about the happenings and implicated Blalock as the attacker. Both men faced first-degree murder charges in 1996 and were convicted, receiving respective life sentences.
Oxygen reported that Duncan Martinez was released on parole in 2020. Meanwhile, Nathaniel Blalock is still serving his term at the Mule Creek State Prison, as per the California Department of Corrections.
The upcoming episode airs on Oxygen this Friday, October 20, 2023, at 9 p.m. ET.
Ronald Baker’s killers: Duncan Martinez released on parole, Nathaniel Blalock remains in prison
According to Daily Bruin, in 1990, Ronald Baker’s roommates murdered him shortly after the June 22 summer solstice hours in LA’s Manson Tunnel. One of his roommates, Duncan Martinez, confessed to the murder two years later in 1992. He also implicated their other roommate, Nathaniel Blalock, in the crime.
Martinez claimed that they intended to kidnap Baker and ask his family for ransom. They sent the kidnapping note first. However, Deputy District Attorney Serling Norris alleged that Blalock decided to kill the UCLA student “so they couldn’t be identified.”
The outlet reported that the duo took Baker to the Manson Tunnel on the evening of June 21, where things escalated after he made a joke/remark on Blalock. The latter, unhappy about the joke, attacked the 21-year-old with a knife, repeatedly stabbing him and slashing his throat, as per Martinez’s confession. Following the murder, both men poured beer on the victim’s body to get rid of fingerprints and dumped their bloody clothes as well as the murder weapon.
Martinez confessed at a time when Blalock was already serving prison time on unrelated burglary charges. The latter’s blood type also matched the DNA collected from underneath the victim’s fingernails. A jury indicted him on murder charges in 1993.
In 1996, both the accused stood trial separately, which resulted in two convictions. The duo received respective life sentences. According to Oxygen, Martinez was paroled in 2020, but Blalock remains serving time at the Mule Creek State Prison.
