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The Baker House Incident (ベイカー邸事件) was a series of violent homicides which took place in and around the Baker ranch in Dulvey Parish, Louisiana between October 2014 and August 2017. The exact number of deaths is not known, and though law enforcement investigations linked at least 20 people to the incident evidence suggests it was far more than 100. All were committed by Jack and Marguerite Baker, their son Lucas and possibly Mia Winters, all under the ultimate control of Eveline, a human bio-weapon capable of controlling minds through a fungal contaminant called the Mold.
Throughout 2017, the incident was being monitored by a variety of agencies, including the Dulvey Parish Sheriff's Department, the Louisiana State Police, the Louisiana Army National Guard and the Bioterrorism Security Assessment Alliance. Because of the risk to human health represented by the Mold, a quarantine wall was erected in the swamps around the Baker ranch, and the National Guard maintained an exclusion zone to be maintained until at least 2017. An inquest held by the BSAA determined the outbreak to be purely accidental in nature and not an act of terrorism, though placed blame on the BSAA itself for failing to prevent the incident.[1]
Contents
Background
The bioweapon E-001, otherwise known as "Eveline," was the cause of the incident. She was created in the early 2000s[2] by a crime syndicate known as The Connections and was artificially aged to appear as a ten-year-old child to suit her purpose for infiltration. Eveline also had human consciousness, and the ability to spread a mold-like infection to people which allowed her to telepathically-like communicate to, manipulate and control them. A specific serum made from the ingredients of a D-Series specimen can be used to suppress her influence. The Mold also grants to those it infects superhuman strength and regeneration, but eventually causes passive worship of Eveline.[3]
The threat of Eveline and The Connections made them targets to be stopped by Blue Umbrella, a PMC with the goal to stop bioterrorists and Bio Organic Weapons.
In October 2014, her creators decided to bring her into hiding and transported her along with other D-Type subjects on the cargo ship Annabelle, to be brought to a second laboratory.[4] She was cared for by agents Alan Droney and Mia Winters, who acted as her parents in public and wore Genome Codexes that assisted them with their job. Eveline genuinely felt as though Mia was her mother, stemmed from her lack of familial love and her growing obsession to have a normal family after months of being treated as an experiment.
Days later on October 5, a hurricane hit the ship. Eveline became unstable, infecting Alan and vomiting excessive amounts of Mold. The sudden chaos and her obsession with family led her to start infecting the crew. She later killed Alan and infected Mia in order to control her. When the ship's tankers exploded, Mia and Eveline were thrown into the ocean from the ship, which drifted into the Louisiana bayou near the Baker estate.[5]
Events
Infection of the Bakers
On October 10, Jack Baker checked the shipwreck and brought Mia back to his house, who took the D-Series Head along with her, and chose to stay in their trailer outside while she recovered. Jack checked the area again and brought Eveline into his house. Eveline, using her powers, immediately infected the family, and took control of Jack and his wife Marguerite to make them accept her as their daughter before compelling them to attack Zoe should she not cooperate. Mia, planning to leave, began writing a letter explaining that a serum can help stop the infection should they encounter Eveline, but was knocked out by her before she finished.[6]
In an initial act of fear, Zoe ran out of the house to the trailer, where she discovered Mia unconscious and the incomplete letter. Immediately afterwards, Eveline knocked Zoe out. The only control she exerted on Zoe and Mia was to have the Mold kill them should they leave the property, while allowing the corrupted Jack and Marguerite to leave whilst keeping the appearance of normal people. Now stuck, Zoe kept Mia's D-Series Head and Genome Codex in her possession and endured many attacks from her family as she tried to locate the serum.[7]
Over time, the Mold infection progressed inside the family and Mia until they would passively hallucinate and care for Eveline. On the 23rd, Eveline bestowed the D-Series Arm to Marguerite who later hid it on the second floor of the Old House and Zoe at one point located its hiding place.[8][9] The family disappeared from public life in 2014, with the local police force suspecting foul play after Marguerite failed to respond to her doctor.[10][citation needed]
By the beginning of January 2015, The Connections supplied Lucas with a serum and began having him report on Eveline back to them.[11] Eventually, the group set up a lab in the Abercrombie Salt Mine near the property and worked with Lucas in experimenting with E-Series mutamycete, and created the WM Molded series.
Baker Family serial killings
Over the next two and a half years, Eveline made Jack and Marguerite carry out abductions in order to add them to her family or be used to create more Molded. Those who didn't cooperate would be chased down and murdered, with some cooked into meals and eaten. Lucas, who took the serum, voluntarily carried out Eveline's instructions to maintain the guise of being under control. Zoe made repeated attempts to escape, but also began to remotely help victims escape in hopes of having them locate the serum for her via telephone calls from the trailer.
The Bakers partially catalogued the names of their victims and kept count of how many turned into Molded which reached at least thirteen.[12] Due to attempted break-outs, the Bakers locked the entrance hall door to the yard by hiding the reliefs that open it.[13]
One turned victim, Travis, was taken to the incinerator room to prevent him from escaping while he slowly transformed. Courtney, Travis' partner, was given help in escaping confinement by being told about the reliefs.[14] However, she was soon targeted and killed.
The twelfth to turn was a man on a honeymoon with his wife, who herself died. Another three college girls were captured by Lucas for experimentation in-between their 12th and 13th Molded; all three died. Their thirteenth was a homeless man. Another victim was referred to by Jack Baker as a "piece-of-shit hippy", who was caught in the hall and taken to the processing room.[15]
On November 4, 2015, Mia was locked up by Lucas in the Guest House and was kept there.
Eveline, due to not getting her medication, on August 26, 2016, began rapidly aging and becoming unstable.[16] On September 1, Lucas reports it to The Connections and by the 9th, Lucas's lab received a kit to make the E-Necrotoxin from them, which could destroy Eveline. It was to be used if necessary but Eveline had already stabilized herself, albeit now an old woman. No longer mentally stable, Eveline passed on this instability to her caregivers.[citation needed]
Helen Midkiff is last seen by the public on December 24, 2016 while traveling before being abducted.[17] On January 19, 2017, police begin planning to step up investigation efforts by dispatching more personnel, which included Deputy David Anderson.
On June 1, 2017, three Urbexers for the internet series, "Sewer Gators," investigated the Bakers' Guest House. Andre Stickland was immediately captured and killed by Jack,[18] Peter Walken was killed by Mia, and Clancy Jarvis was left injured and later killed along with a previous abductee, Hoffman, by Lucas.[19] The Sewer Gators were reported missing on the 9th.[20]
After Clancy's death, one person was abducted but escaped, meaning the very least number of murdered was 40 with Mia still captive.[21][note 1][note 2]
Dealing with Eveline
On June 11, 2017, Lucas was made lead researcher and subsequently killed all the other researchers. He continued to work for the Connections, covering up the intentional murders and began plotting to cut ties with them and keep Eveline for himself.[22][23]
At some point, Blue Umbrella became aware of Eveline's presence and began monitoring the Baker ranch while suspecting that Lucas was contacting The Connections.[24][25] In preparation for upcoming missions to apprehend him, they asked the BSAA to send Chris Redfield for assistance which he begrudgingly accepts as he doesn't fully trust them.
Arrival of Ethan Winters
On July 18, 2017, Eveline, seeking to expand her family, influenced Mia to email her husband, Ethan Winters, to lure him to the Baker farm, planning to make him her father.[26]
Ethan would receive the message and make his way to the Baker ranch the next day. Searching for Mia, he winds up in the Guest House and eventually reunites with her. While attempting to leave, Mia mentally fights for control against Eveline, and has no memory of how she ended up there. Eveline influences Mia, who begins attacking Ethan; he manages to incapacitate her and he loses his left hand in the process. After being contacted by Zoe on advice to escape, Ethan attempts to do so but Jack arrives, unknowingly killing Ethan on accident before bringing him and Mia to the Main House, with the former being resurrected after death via the Mold.[27]
Mia escapes to the Old House and fends for herself there before she is recaptured by Marguerite. Meanwhile, Zoe staples Ethan's hand back with the Genome Codex before he regains full consciousness.[28] Jack also realized Eveline's intentions to have Ethan replace him as the "father" in her family, and made it his mission to kill Ethan out of jealousy.
Ethan comes to, but is bound to a chair at the dinner table, where he meets and is harassed by Jack, Marguerite, Lucas, and an old woman who, unbeknownst to him, is actually Eveline after her accelerated aging continued unhalted. After Marguerite storms out, Deputy David Anderson returns, forcing the Bakers to deal with him and enabling Ethan to free himself and try to escape.[29] At this point, Ethan is suffering from initial stages of the Mold infection and as he makes his escape, he continues to be aided by Zoe via telephone calls, encounters the Molded, and passes by the docile Eveline.
Ethan soon meets with Anderson in the garage, but the latter is immediately killed by Jack.[30] The two fight which concludes with Jack forcing Ethan to shoot him in his head.[31] Ethan manages to be the first captive to gather the reliefs needed to open the back door, which involved what he thought was finally killing Jack with a chainsaw.[32] Now in the yard of the trailer, Zoe informs him of the pathogen infecting her family and Mia, which prevents them from leaving the property, and to look for the serum which may be in the Old House.[33]
Zoe helps Ethan escape
While in the old house, Ethan briefly reunites with Mia before she is captured by Lucas.[34] Later, Ethan's Genome Codex reacts to a box which contains instructions on how to synthesize the serum.[35] With this knowledge, Zoe instructs Ethan to look for the D-Series Arm upstairs, as she already has the D-Series Head and to meet her in the trailer afterwards.[36] Because Marguerite's lantern is required to access that area, Ethan has no choice but to confront and kill her for it. After acquiring the arm, Ethan's worsening infection leads him to hallucinate the young Eveline as he makes his way back to the RV.[37] Meanwhile, however, Lucas captures Zoe as well.
Returning to the trailer, Ethan finds Zoe isn't there. Lucas calls to reveal he has captured both Zoe and Mia, and beckons him to get the D-Series head from him.[38] With no choice, Ethan pursues Lucas, which involved exposing himself to the latter's elaborate traps set up throughout the Main House and barn. Ethan manages to solve the "Happy Birthday" puzzle, which nearly exposes Lucas, prompting him to flee to his lab, leaving the head behind and a clear path to Zoe & Mia in the boat house.
Ethan unbinds the two and Zoe makes two serums from the ingredients and prepares to leave via boat.[39] However, a heavily mutated Jack arrives to stop them and forces Ethan into another fight.[40] Ethan is spurred by Zoe to use a serum on him, which effectively stops Jack and appears to kill him.[41] Now with only one serum, Ethan chooses to cure and leave with Mia, while Zoe bitterly stays behind as Ethan promises to send her help.[42] Zoe wanders into the swamp, where she is calcified by Eveline. Meanwhile, on the boat, Mia, still suffering from amnesia, fails to explain to Ethan what's going on before they come across the Annabelle in surprise.[43]
Eveline's plan
With Ethan and Mia finally together, Eveline begins her plan of having Mia regain her memories in an effort to make her agree to be a family again. She first throws them off the boat with the Mold, and then lures Mia into the ship by taking the unconscious Ethan in. Inside, Eveline makes Mia hallucinate flashbacks of 2014 and later forces her to watch an old videotape that was originally recorded by Mia herself, in order to remind her she was her caretaker, or "mommy" to Eveline. With her memories back, Eveline asks if they can be a family again, to which an infuriated Mia says they never were and never will. With that, Eveline decides she doesn't want Mia anymore and allows her to reach Ethan intending to influence her and make her kill him.
Mia wakes him up, and presumably because of the serum, is able to resist Eveline long enough to hand him Eveline's tissue samples she realized she had on her person, force him out of the room, and tells him to kill Eveline. Around this time, Blue Umbrella's Bravo 1 team searches the Bakers’ property, not finding Eveline but instead encrypted messages from Lucas.
Spurred and angered by losing Mia once again, Ethan follows the path he's on, which leads out of the ship and to the mine office. There, he overhears a radio report from Bravo 1 to Alpha 1 stating their findings, plans to meet up to search for Lucas in the mines, and to kill Eveline if she is encountered.
Ethan chooses to go through the mines himself and winds up in Lucas' lab. With the tissue sample, he synthesizes a toxin that can destroy Eveline, who becomes aware of this and begins sending Molded to kill him and taunts him by taking advantage of his worsening infection.
Umbrella manages to rescue Mia via helicopter and heads towards the Guest House while a team of three soldiers scout the salt mine and report that they believe Lucas could be down there, before falling victim to him and losing contact with their comrades. Ethan, barely avoiding an encounter with Lucas and Umbrella, manages to make his way to the basement of the Guest House, where he engages in a psychological battle against Eveline until he injects her with the toxin. This mutates her into a gigantic monster that starts consuming the property, knocking Ethan through the wall of the second floor onto the ground outside.
Ethan has a grueling battle with Eveline while crippled and immobile, just as more Umbrella soldiers arrive by helicopter. Chris Redfield drops down an Albert-01 handgun loaded with Ramrods and tells Ethan through the Genome Codex to use it, finally resulting in Eveline's death. Chris retrieves Ethan and boards him on their helicopter with Mia while several soldiers remain to clean up the mess. Happily reunited and safe now, Ethan expresses an optimistic future, and requests Umbrella to search for, rescue, and cure Zoe too.
Blue Umbrella pursues Lucas
Having rescued Ethan and Mia, Chris continues the operation, looking for the missing unit in the salt mine and pursuing Lucas with the objective of detaining him, as he could be their only link to The Connections.
Chris falls into a trap set by Lucas, who attaches a bomb to him after killing one of his men. Instead of turning back to remove the bomb, Chris continues on and Umbrella gets confirmation of Lucas contacting The Connections. Throughout Chris's exploration of the mine, he encounters the WM series of Molded, locates the other two missing operatives before Lucas has them both killed by traps, then sets off the timer on Chris's bomb. However, with the help of HQ, Chris finds liquid nitrogen to freeze the bomb and disposes of it.
HQ suggests to Chris to check beyond a shield door, where once inside, Lucas locks Chris in and sets it on fire. Believing Chris to have perished and safe from pursuit, Lucas moves to his lab and emails an unidentified buyer, informing them he's about to send the data, which Umbrella intercepts.[44] Now with the element of surprise, Chris catches up to Lucas, who attacks him with a knife, forcing Chris to shoot him and triggering Lucas's mutation into a large monster. Chris manages to kill Lucas for good, and shoots the hard drives to prevent the transfer of Lucas's data.
Umbrella then sets up a perimeter wall to contain the Mold outbreak. He then returns to the Main House, where, despite his mission's success, he laments his inability to save the Bakers.
Saving Zoe
The Mold continued to spread throughout the swamp, prompting Blue Umbrella to create cures for infection should they find any survivors, including Zoe. Joe Baker, Zoe's uncle and Jack's older brother, living as a hermit in the area and unaware of what had occurred, adapted to fighting the Molded instead of migrating or calling for help.[45]
Weeks later, two soldiers find Zoe in the swamp, calcified but still breathing.[46] However, they are confronted by Joe, who mistakenly believes they're responsible for Zoe's condition and assaults them, taking one captive. The imprisoned soldier explains to Joe that they have a cure located in a nearby shack. Joe retrieves it while the further mutated and unrecognizable Jack Baker, sets Joe's house on fire. The cure is ineffective as it is a partial dose, so the soldier volunteers to lead him back to their base for a full dose, but he is attacked and killed by Jack before he could say where. Joe flees with Zoe on a boat to look for the base, however, soldiers were forced to move it and end up slain.[47]
By moving towards a nearby light structure, Joe discovers the base but abandoned, swarming with Molded, and the cure relocated. During Joe's efforts to retrieve it solo and return to Zoe, Jack fights him multiple times then abducts Zoe. Locating Zoe again, Joe begins another fight with Jack, realizing it's his brother as a shell of his former self, and is knocked out and put into a coffin as Jack moves Zoe to his house.
Umbrella forces engage Jack there and call for reinforcements via radio, which a team lead by Chris responds to and Joe happens to hear after washing up on shore. Joe salvages a AMG-78 power gauntlet from Umbrella's belongings to break a barrier to make it into the family property. In the house, he finds Zoe and battles Jack one last time, using the gauntlet to finally end Jack's misery. He administers the dose to Zoe, who awakens just as Chris's team arrives.
After moving everyone to a lab tent, Zoe is fully cured and expresses relief to Joe that her nightmare is finally over. Chris calls Ethan to inform him of Zoe's rescue and hands the phone to her so the two can reconnect. Ethan reminds her of his promise to get her help, and she thanks him, genuinely touched that she wasn't forgotten.
Aftermath
The Baker House Incident was a blow to the internal morale of the BSAA, with an internal investigation finding themselves responsible for the entire incident. With Eveline having gone rogue, this was not regarded as a terrorist incident and simply an accidental outbreak, and as the BSAA failed to stop her shipment to the Americas, they themselves were considered responsible.[1] To protect their reputation, the UN collaborated with varying American agencies to suppress the nature of the incident.
The Dulvey County Sheriff's Department, which was already investigating nearly 20 disappearances ultimately connected to the outbreak, became a willing party to the deception. Sheriff Coleridge reported on July 21, 2017 that Jack, Marguerite, Lucas and Zoe Baker had been discovered dead at their property following a search of the area by Deputy Riley Whiteford.[1] This statement was limited, and did not give reason as to why the Louisiana Army National Guard was guarding the area. Sightings of soldiers, tanks, helicopters, the shipwrecked Annabelle, and Eveline appearing as a giant monster emerging from the Guest House, were, for the most part, disregarded by fellow Louisianans as conspiracy theories. To maintain the cover-up, Sheriff Coleridge released a follow-up report which confirmed the deaths of the four Bakers, as well as Clancy Jarvis, Pete Stickland, Peter Walken and Deputy Dave Anderson, the latter of whom had been declared missing but was not formally tied to the case. The cause of death was declared to be the result of hydrogen sulphide fumes which had built up beneath the swamp.[1] A later inquest agreed with these findings, and recommended the area be kept out-of-bounds for ten years for public safety.[48] This report was quickly disputed by Sally Baldwin, a Minden University geologist who conducted a survey of the area in 1998 and found no signs of the substance. Though the magazine inspector would soon publish an article alleging Sheriff Coleridge met with BSAA representatives, the public attention had already moved away from the incident.[1]
Sources
- notes
- ↑ The list of names contains 26 people including Mia, with an unlisted three specific turned people, eight named people, and four known unnamed people.
- ↑ Escaped victim is from Resident Evil 7 Teaser Demo: Beginning Hour which its status of canon is dubious.
- references
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 Resident Evil Village (2021), file: "The Baker Incident Report".
- ↑ BIOHAZARD 7 resident evil kaitaishinsho, page 326
- ↑ Resident Evil 7: Biohazard (2017), file: "Infection Report".
- ↑ Resident Evil 7: Biohazard (2017), file: "Orders".
- ↑ Resident Evil 7: Biohazard (2017), file: "Jack's Journal".
- ↑ Resident Evil 7: Biohazard (2017), file: Mia's Letter to the Bakers.
- ↑ Resident Evil 7: Biohazard (2017), gameplay: "Daughters" True ending text.
- ↑ Resident Evil 7: Biohazard (2017), file: "Marguerite's Notebook".
- ↑ Resident Evil 7: Biohazard (2017), file: "Marguerite's Warning"
- ↑ Resident Evil 7: Biohazard (2017), file: "Doctor's Letter".
- ↑ Resident Evil 7: Biohazard (2017), file: "Email Log".
- ↑ Resident Evil 7: Biohazard (2017), file: "List of Names".
- ↑ Resident Evil 7: Biohazard (2017), file: "Memo About Relief".
- ↑ Resident Evil 7: Biohazard (2017), file: "Travis' Memo (Front)".
- ↑ Resident Evil 7: Biohazard (2017), file: "Jack's Memo".
- ↑ Resident Evil 7: Biohazard (2017), file: Eveline Observation Log.
- ↑ Resident Evil 7: Biohazard (2017), file: "Newspaper Article - Over 20 Missing".
- ↑ Resident Evil 7: Biohazard (2017), VHS: "Dulvey Haunted House - Rehersal".
- ↑ "KITCHEN" (2015).
- ↑ Resident Evil 7: Biohazard (2017), file: "Newspaper Article - Missing People".
- ↑ Resident Evil 7: Biohazard (2017), file: "List of Names (Front)".
- ↑ Resident Evil 7: Biohazard (2017), file: "Lucas' Journal (Not a Hero)".
- ↑ Resident Evil 7: Biohazard (2017), file: "Researcher's Journal".
- ↑ Resident Evil 7: Biohazard (2017), file: "Helicopter photograph".
- ↑ Resident Evil 7: Biohazard (2017), file: "Briefing Document".
- ↑ Resident Evil 7: Biohazard (2017), file: "Email from Mia".
- ↑ Remember (scene)
- ↑ Resident Evil 7: Biohazard (2017), scene: "Welcome To The Family (scene)".
- ↑ Resident Evil 7: Biohazard (2017), scene: "Dinner Time (scene)".
- ↑ Resident Evil 7: Biohazard (2017), scene: "Garage opening scene".
- ↑ Resident Evil 7: Biohazard (2017), scene: "Garage ending scene".
- ↑ Resident Evil 7: Biohazard (2017), scene: "Claws of Death (scene)".
- ↑ Resident Evil 7: Biohazard (2017), scene: "Zoe's call 4".
- ↑ Resident Evil 7: Biohazard (2017), scene: "Brief Reunion".
- ↑ Resident Evil 7: Biohazard (2017), scene: "Unholy Shrine".
- ↑ Resident Evil 7: Biohazard (2017), scene: "Zoe's call 5".
- ↑ Resident Evil 7: Biohazard (2017), scene: "The Forbidden Room".
- ↑ Resident Evil 7: Biohazard (2017), scene: "Lucas' call 1".
- ↑ Resident Evil 7: Biohazard (2017), scene: "Face to Face".
- ↑ Resident Evil 7: Biohazard (2017), scene: "The Beast".
- ↑ Resident Evil 7: Biohazard (2017), scene: "Not Over Yet".
- ↑ Resident Evil 7: Biohazard (2017), scene: "The Choice -Love-".
- ↑ Resident Evil 7: Biohazard (2017), scene: "Short-Lived Escape -Torn Apart-".
- ↑ Resident Evil 7: Biohazard (2017), file: "Email Log".
- ↑ Resident Evil 7: Biohazard (2017), file: "Joe's Survival Manual".
- ↑ Resident Evil 7: Biohazard (2017), End of Zoe Extra Content menu description.
- ↑ Resident Evil 7: Biohazard (2017), file: "Orders Regarding the E-Series Anti-Infecting Drug".
- ↑ Resident Evil Village (2021), file: "Old News Clipping".
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