Book on Vicki Bader murder released today

EXETER — Fifteen years after Seth Bader lured his ex-wife, Vicki, to his Stratham home in a carefully orchestrated plan to murder her, a pair of New Hampshire true-crime authors has penned a book on the case.

The book, "Legally Dead," was authored by the husband-and-wife team of Kevin Flynn and Rebecca Lavoie, of Hopkinton, and released to the public today by Berkley Books, an imprint of Penguin. It is the second true-crime book Flynn and Lavoie have co-authored for the publisher.

"When I was first approached about 'Legally Dead,' I hadn't heard anything about the Bader case, but I found the story so heartbreaking, yet full of bizarre turns and colorful characters, I was instantly compelled," said Shannon Jamieson Vazquez, editor at Berkley Books, who contracted Flynn and Lavoie to write the book.

The book offers both new details about the case, such as Seth Bader's arrests for soliciting prostitutes, as well as a look at where those involved are now. Flynn and Lavoie will be at Water Street Bookstore at 7 p.m., Tuesday, Nov. 1, for a discussion and book-signing.

Seth Bader, a former Stratham lawyer, was convicted in May 1998 of first-degree murder and conspiracy to commit murder for masterminding and carrying out Vicki's killing in 1996.

He was sentenced to life in prison, but has insisted from the beginning that he was not the killer, instead pointing the finger at his former fiancee, Mary Jean Martin, and the Baders' adopted teenage son, Joseph Bader.

Joseph testified that he was forced to bury Vicki as Seth stood over him, and he later became the state's star witness when he led them to Vicki's wooded grave in Maine.

Martin was originally indicted on murder conspiracy charges, but those were dismissed after prosecutors admitted her immunized statements to police were used against her to obtain the indictments. Though prosecutors have discussed the potential of re-indicting Martin for her alleged role in the murder plot, they never have done so.

Flynn said he and Lavoie located Martin living in Florida, but she declined to be interviewed for the book. The authors said one question readers may come away with is whether Martin got away with murder.

"I think it's very hard not to feel that way when you look at the arc of the story and how much influence she had," said Lavoie, a producer for N.H. Public Radio. "She's out walking around and may think of this as an event in her past; I hope it's not something she doesn't think she has to live with anymore."

Martin was portrayed during the trial as a gold digger who wanted all of Seth's money for herself. But as long as Vicki was in the picture, Seth had to pay her child support for their young son, Sam. Seth, it seemed, would do anything to please Mary Jean, said Flynn, a former reporter for WMUR TV.

"I do think he was addicted to Mary Jean, and he was so desperate to be loved by her and so infatuated with her that he would do anything to keep her," Flynn said, including murder.

The book details how Martin met and hired two men, Sebastian Caradonna and Sandro Stuto, to carry out a campaign to terrorize Vicki Bader in the months before her death. Caradonna and Stuto were both convicted for their roles in the case and have since finished their prison sentences. Stuto, who was present the day Seth shot Vicki, was deported to his native Italy after he completed his sentence. The authors managed to track him down via Facebook.

"Both he and a mysterious voice at Sebastian Caradonna's house said they didn't want to talk unless there was something in it for them," Flynn said.

The book also delves into the character of Vicki Bader, of Exeter, through interviews with her mother, friends and even phone calls with Seth that she recorded without his knowledge.

"I really can't believe how kind Vicki Bader was to Seth Bader up until the very end. This is somebody who treated her very poorly when they were married and never seemed to value her much, yet she kept giving him chances," Lavoie said. "It's something that really surprises me, that she walked into his house the day she was murdered — very trusting. She thought she was there for a child (custody) exchange. I really believe it's because she was, in her heart, the type of person who would never hurt anybody."

The authors used police investigative files, court transcripts and interviews with those involved to craft the narrative of the book. They exchanged numerous letters with Seth. "I really wanted to talk to him face to face; he always declined," Flynn said, adding that Seth wrote them rambling letters about the case and avenues he felt they should investigate. "He liked to play games of riddles. He was very good at talking about his upbringing and his family, but in regard to anything about his case, he would just answer questions with more questions."

The pair located Joseph Bader via e-mail, and while they couldn't shed light on what the state's star witness is doing now, they did feel he was legitimately remorseful for his role after the murder.

"He seemed so much better off than I could possibly have imagined he would be," Lavoie said. "He really seems to have gotten his act together."

During his time in prison, Seth Bader has acted as his own lawyer on myriad motions for a new trial. The authors said he is planning to file another motion in federal court in the near future.

"Seth — I don't think (he) is one of those people who in prison had a revelation and is about to embark on a lane change in his life," Lavoie said.

Flynn added, "I don't think anybody seriously believes an innocent man is sitting in prison."