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Crown prosecutor Brett Tantrum said the 55-year-old Baker was the victim of "a severe beating" during a gruesome home invasion.
There were a number of abrasions on Baker's body, his left eye was ruptured and his nose was broken.
The Crown would later provide evidence from a medical expert that he would have been "in unimaginable pain from his injuries".
He was restrained in a way that it was "unlikely he could move easily, perhaps impossible", Tantrum said.
His arms were tied together behind his back, his feet were tied and they were then tied to his hands - a more common description of this is often "hog-tied", Tantrum added.
Baker's cause of death was asphyxiation but strangulation could not be ruled out, he said.
Baker had consumed some methamphetamine but this did not contribute to his death, Tantrum told the jury.
One of Baker's friends, Victor Velseboer, made the grisly discovery.
Walking through an open door he found a ransacked apartment.
When he found Baker and removed a gag "it was obvious" he had died, Tantrum said.
At 7.05am, after attempting CPR, Velseboer rang 111 and officers arrived on the scene 20 minutes later.
The court heard a small portion of the transcript of that emergency call today.
"He's all gagged and tied up. The house has been trashed," Velseboer told the call taker.
"I don't know how long he has been like this."
When asked to try CPR again by the emergency call taker he answered that it was too late.
Fatu's lawyer Graeme Newell said the evidence in the trial, by and large, would not be contested but the issue was what the jury could draw from the evidence.
"More importantly what can the Crown prove beyond reasonable doubt?"
Fatu pleaded guilty to the aggravated robbery charge last year and admitted being at the premise but denies murdering Baker.
"Was Mr Fatu even present in the flat when Mr Baker was gagged?" Newell said.
"There is no evidence at all that Mr Fatu intended that Mr Baker died."
His state of mind was important, Newell told the jury, as he contended the "death was inadvertent".
Ekeroma's lawyer Lester Cordwell queried whether his client even intended to cause Baker really serious harm let alone knew it might cause his death.
The defence states in the "strongest possible terms" that the answer to both of those questions is a "resounding no."
But his client, Cordwell said, was not trying to "sidestep" responsibility here as he played a part in the death.
"He should be found accountable for the verdict of manslaughter."
After the jury was empanelled yesterday, Justice Jagose told them the "determination of the relevant facts" was completely up to them.
He urged the 12 not to jump to conclusions and to try to not reach any conclusion until the trial is complete.
"Both Mr Ekeroma and Mr Fatu are entitled to have you approach the case with an entirely open mind," the judge said.
It was for the Crown to prove its case beyond reasonable doubt, he said.
Anyone charged with a crime is "deemed innocent until proven guilty", Justice Jagose added.
The trial continues tomorrow and is expected to last two weeks.
