01-06-2012, 07:43 AM
and in another courtroom...
Hickory Record
![[Image: hfPt5.Em.138.JPG]](http://media.charlotteobserver.com/smedia/2012/01/05/09/49/hfPt5.Em.138.JPG)
![[Image: hdr_elisa-baker-plea-hearing2]](http://www2.hickoryrecord.com/mgmedia/image/0/354/171388/hdr_elisa-baker-plea-hearing2/)
It took only 21 minutes to seal Elisa Baker’s fate in federal court Thursday, where she pleaded guilty to a drug conspiracy charge. She is expected to receive the maximum sentence of 20 years in prison.
The plea agreement with the US Attorney’s office disposes the last pending charges against Baker, who is serving 14 to 18 years for the murder and dismemberment of her stepdaughter, Zahra Baker.
In exchange for pleading guilty to the one charge of conspiracy to distribute and possess with intent to distribute controlled substances, the remaining six drug charges were dropped.
Baker said little during the hearing, except to answer the questions posed by US Magistrate Judge David Kessler.
Wearing Mecklenburg County Jail’s red prison outfit with a white thermal shirt underneath, Baker’s thick, mostly-gray hair was braided into four thick cornrows. She had a black air cast on her left foot. OH NO! DID SHE FALL DOWN AND GET A BOO BOO?
She nodded her head in addition to softly saying yes to Kessler’s questions, only occasionally looking down at the table where she was seated.
Baker said she understood she was admitting guilt to the charge, and that her plea could not be later withdrawn.
During the plea hearing, Cortney Escaravage with the US Attorney’s office said Baker conspired to distribute 12,000 units of Oxycodone, 10,000 units of Hydrocodone and 29,000 units of Alprazolam, also known as Xanax, between May 2006 and October 2010. Oxycodone and Hydrocodone are used to treat moderate pain, while Alprazolam is prescribed for anxiety.
The investigation into Baker’s missing stepdaughter, Zahra, began Oct. 9, 2010. Baker was arrested the following day for several charges unrelated to Zahra’s death, including writing bad checks, and has remained jailed ever since.
Zahra, a 10-year-old Australian cancer survivor, was found dismembered in Caldwell County in the fall of 2010. Baker, 43, pleaded guilty to Zahra’s murder in September 2011 and was sentenced to 14 to 18 years for Zahra’s death and eight other felonies.
It was a case that touched many in Catawba County, where Baker, her husband, Adam, and Zahra were living, sparking outrage that a child who lost part of her leg and hearing to cancer could be brutally murdered. People across the region and beyond rallied around the child who was no longer with them, demanding justice for Zahra. They also raised hundreds of thousands of dollars for a park for disabled children in her honor.
The four lead investigators from Hickory Police Department’s who spent thousands of hours immersed in the investigation into Zahra’s death were at Baker’s plea hearing Thursday, sitting in the front row of the gallery. One of them, Maj. Clyde Deal, said they were at the hearing to see the investigation through to the end.
In the federal courtroom Thursday, Baker did not receive a sentence for the drug conspiracy charge. However, according to the plea agreement, she can receive the maximum sentence for the charge, which is 20 years, a $1 million fine and three years of supervised release.
Kessler said Baker could receive a sentence higher or lower, and would still be bound by her plea. She will learn what her sentence is at a separate hearing, which has not been scheduled.
Catawba County District Attorney Jay Gaither said it is his understanding that Baker’s federal sentence and the state sentence will run consecutively. hahahaha
According to Lia Bantavani with the US Attorney’s office, Baker will serve time for her state sentence prior to serving her federal sentence. Baker is currently incarcerated in the Mecklenburg County Jail.
Hickory Record
It took only 21 minutes to seal Elisa Baker’s fate in federal court Thursday, where she pleaded guilty to a drug conspiracy charge. She is expected to receive the maximum sentence of 20 years in prison.
The plea agreement with the US Attorney’s office disposes the last pending charges against Baker, who is serving 14 to 18 years for the murder and dismemberment of her stepdaughter, Zahra Baker.
In exchange for pleading guilty to the one charge of conspiracy to distribute and possess with intent to distribute controlled substances, the remaining six drug charges were dropped.
Baker said little during the hearing, except to answer the questions posed by US Magistrate Judge David Kessler.
Wearing Mecklenburg County Jail’s red prison outfit with a white thermal shirt underneath, Baker’s thick, mostly-gray hair was braided into four thick cornrows. She had a black air cast on her left foot. OH NO! DID SHE FALL DOWN AND GET A BOO BOO?
She nodded her head in addition to softly saying yes to Kessler’s questions, only occasionally looking down at the table where she was seated.
Baker said she understood she was admitting guilt to the charge, and that her plea could not be later withdrawn.
During the plea hearing, Cortney Escaravage with the US Attorney’s office said Baker conspired to distribute 12,000 units of Oxycodone, 10,000 units of Hydrocodone and 29,000 units of Alprazolam, also known as Xanax, between May 2006 and October 2010. Oxycodone and Hydrocodone are used to treat moderate pain, while Alprazolam is prescribed for anxiety.
The investigation into Baker’s missing stepdaughter, Zahra, began Oct. 9, 2010. Baker was arrested the following day for several charges unrelated to Zahra’s death, including writing bad checks, and has remained jailed ever since.
Zahra, a 10-year-old Australian cancer survivor, was found dismembered in Caldwell County in the fall of 2010. Baker, 43, pleaded guilty to Zahra’s murder in September 2011 and was sentenced to 14 to 18 years for Zahra’s death and eight other felonies.
It was a case that touched many in Catawba County, where Baker, her husband, Adam, and Zahra were living, sparking outrage that a child who lost part of her leg and hearing to cancer could be brutally murdered. People across the region and beyond rallied around the child who was no longer with them, demanding justice for Zahra. They also raised hundreds of thousands of dollars for a park for disabled children in her honor.
The four lead investigators from Hickory Police Department’s who spent thousands of hours immersed in the investigation into Zahra’s death were at Baker’s plea hearing Thursday, sitting in the front row of the gallery. One of them, Maj. Clyde Deal, said they were at the hearing to see the investigation through to the end.
In the federal courtroom Thursday, Baker did not receive a sentence for the drug conspiracy charge. However, according to the plea agreement, she can receive the maximum sentence for the charge, which is 20 years, a $1 million fine and three years of supervised release.
Kessler said Baker could receive a sentence higher or lower, and would still be bound by her plea. She will learn what her sentence is at a separate hearing, which has not been scheduled.
Catawba County District Attorney Jay Gaither said it is his understanding that Baker’s federal sentence and the state sentence will run consecutively. hahahaha
According to Lia Bantavani with the US Attorney’s office, Baker will serve time for her state sentence prior to serving her federal sentence. Baker is currently incarcerated in the Mecklenburg County Jail.