Ex-husband indicted on first-degree murder for death of Hendry County woman

A grand jury has indicted a Hendry County man or first-degree murder in the death of his ex-wife, who went missing shortly after Hurricane Ian.

Four days after 39-year-old Katie Baunach went missing, Hendry County deputies arrested her ex-husband Ian Baunach.

Katie was a beloved nurse and mother to the two children she shared with Ian.

A friend of Katie’s knocked on Hendry County Sheriff Steve Whidden door to report that Katie never returned to pick up her children after she went to pick up things from Ian’s home, Whidden said during a press conference announcing the indictment on Friday.

Ian, 43, was arrested on Sept. 30 on drug-related charges after deputies searched his home for evidence of Katie’s death. Katie was reported missing on the same day.

Katie’s remains were found in his home at the time of the search. Baunach has a previous arrest for domestic battery in November of last years, but prosecutors dropped the case in January. State Attorney Amira Fox would not comment on that case during today’s press conference.

“Her car was still at the defendant’s home,” when the sheriff’s office arrived to investigate her disappearance, Fox said.

There was “overwhelming evidence that Katie died at that residence,” Whidden said.

“If the subject had just a few hours, he may have finished cleaning up the crime scene,” Whidden added.

Fox declined to answer questions about the facts of the case.

The two had two children and a home, but in Feb. 2022, they divorced.

According to an arrest report, Ian had been abusive toward Katie and one of their children before. The mother of two had filed an injunction against him after a child was bruised on his thigh.

Watch below or click here.