Zahra Baker, a murdered child

[Duchess]

I don't think that because she gave up her parental rights means she's not entitled to tears. This is a horror & people who didn't even know this kid have shed a tear for her. Yes, it sucks that she has a news crew attached to her ass capturing every moment.

[Clouds]

Personally, I see it in a similar light to an adoptive situation... while the biological mother may have given up her rights to the child, that doesn't mean that she didn't have hopes for the child to have a better life without her. No parent would ever wish such a situation as this to have befallen their daughter... and it must be killing her now to realise the big mistake that she made all those years ago. Perhaps being over there in person will give her a chance to find some semblance of peace, even if only to say goodbye to the daughter she never knew. I wish that she was being given a chance to do this without reporters, but perhaps that's the only way that she's been able to pay to be there. Either way, this can't be easy for her.

[AtTheEdge]

I don't buy into alot of her story but that doesn't take away her grief - I never met this little girl and I admit I've cried a few times this last month over what shitheads her "parents" were.

She says she found Zahra 3 days before she was reported missing - I'm intrigued whether that is true and could go to motive or if she sayign it to make herself feel better

[Lady Cop]

WSOC reported the search was over last night. other outlets reporting same today.
http://www.wsoctv.com/news/25758518/detail.html

i'm ever the cynic...the child was featured in Aussie press when she was 8 at Camp Quality. she was featured in news here. she lived with her grandma baker. i do not buy bio-mom's sad tale that she looked for her all these years.
that being said, i don't deny her real grief. but it's being made into a tabloid soap opera for Aussie audiences, with her permission. "OK let's go kneel in front of some teddy bears and cry".
i also don't believe for one moment she was any factor in the child's death. she was no threat to the repugnant stupid father or the heavily tattooed fat lady from the carnival that he married.

[chico]

Seems to me the bio mom is having a severe case of guilt. Really too late though.

But I also wonder if she is not just trying to get her 15 minutes. Seems harsh but makes you wonder.

As for the case...looks like it is going to pick up steam and should have some resolution (arrests?) soon.

[Lady Cop]

i think the HPD will make an announcement today regarding Zahra's remains.
i hope another arrest and more charges will soon follow.

edit to add:
HICKORY, N.C. – A source close to the investigation tells NewsChannel 36 Hickory Police will hold a 4 p.m. news briefing on Friday in which investigators will announce that remains found Wednesday are in fact that of Zahra Baker.

Hickory police confirmed that they will hold a press conference, but did not say anything specific about the reason or topic of the conference.

[BlueTiki]

Fox News announced the remains are that of Zahra Baker.

http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,602162,00.html

[AtTheEdge]

we're all updating the same news -- (this guy has been pretty dead on with his posts)
RadBerkywcnc RadBerky
Even though remains will be identified as Zahra's, do not expect any arrests to be made right away.
1 hour ago Favorite Retweet Reply »
RadBerkywcnc RadBerky
wcnc will carry Hickory PD news conference live at 4:00 pm and stream on the web wcnc.com
1 hour ago Favorite Retweet Reply » RadBerkywcnc RadBerky
Hickory PD will announce today that human remains found are those of Zahra Baker.

[Lady Cop]

we may or may not find out whether her remains were intact. until a trial. i am wondering if they have enough to determine a cause of death.
and how can they be sure of ID in less than 24 hours? was it clearly a child's body with an amputation? DNA could not be done yet.
at least this rules out the awful woodchipper theory.
and authorities did not go to this location by sheer accident. someone had to point it out, implicating themselves.
worst-case scenario i have been considering, if there is no cause of death, they could end up only being charged with neglect and improper disposal of a human body!
i don't think more charges will be forthcoming until there is a complete autopsy.

[Lady Cop]

presser:

the DNA evidence from bone found earlier matched Zahra.

other remains are sent to SBI for positive ID.

they are consistent with a child.

that's all. no questions taken. "The release of information from this time on will be very limited."

[lawnranger]

From the Hickory Daily Record:

Hickory Police Chief Tom Adkins confirmed Friday afternoon that the DNA taken from a bone found Nov. 3 at a search site along Christie Road in Caldwell County matched tha DNA of missing 10-year-old Zahra Baker.

Adkins said they had gathered enough evidence, including DNA samples from the Bakers' last home at 21 21^st Avenue NW, to match the bone found near the site where Zahra's prosthetic leg was found Oct. 26, in the brush off Christie Road. The remains found at the Dudley Shoals site Wednesday are consistent with that of a child, Adkins said, and they have been sent to the SBI lab in Raleigh for examination and testing.

[Lady Cop]

so with a bone found in one location, and remains buried in another (5 miles apart) does this indicate she was dismembered?
why wasn't her prosthetic buried with her? to prevent ID? what else did they do to prevent ID??
were the remains a torso with arms and head? what? the searches are called off, so perhaps they think they have all of the poor child.

how in hell does someone dismember their own child? God.

[Duchess]

And why?

[lawnranger]

From WHKY News:

Police Announce DNA Match in Baker Case
11/12/2010 4:46:00 PM

Hickory Police Chief Tom Adkins addressed a large group of media at the Hickory Police Department at four o’clock this afternoon to announce that the search for missing 10-year-old Zahra Clare Baker has apparently come to an end.

Adkins said that sufficient physical evidence has been recovered to say with certainty that Zahra has been found. DNA from the bone fragment found near Christie Road on November 3 matches DNA taken from the Baker’s former home at 21 21^st Avenue N.W. in Hickory.

The Chief went on to say that a Medical Examiner on the scene when human remains were found off of Dudley Shoals Road Wednesday was able to determine that the remains were consistent with a child matching Zahra’s description.

A DNA profile is currently being created from swabs taken from Zahra’s biological parents, Adam Troy Baker and Emily Deitrich. Deitrich arrived in Hickory from Australia earlier this week. Those samples will be tested to confirm a match with the evidence recovered in Caldwell County.

With Caldwell County Police Chief Alan Jones and District Attorney Jay Gaither at his side, Chief Adkins stressed that the investigation is ongoing and that very little additional information will be released. The room was quiet, apart from Chief Adkins voice and the sound of multiple cameras. Neither DA Gaither or Chief Jones spoke at the press conference.

Zahra Baker was first reported missing on October 9, though Investigators believe she may have been dead for some time prior to that date.

Her stepmother, 42-year-old Elisa Annette Baker, remains in the Catawba County Detention Facility under $70,200 secured bond. She is charged with obstruction of justice for writing a fake ransom note, as well as other charges unrelated to this case. Adam Baker was arrested on unrelated warrants on October 25, but was released after posting bail on October 27.

The Children’s Protection Council of Catawba County will host a candlelight vigil in honor of Zahra Baker next Tuesday, November 16 from 6 to 7 p.m. The vigil will be held on Union Square in downtown Hickory. November 16 would have been Zahra Baker’s 11^th birthday.

Any gifts brought to the vigil will be donated to Cops for Tots.

For more information, contact the Children’s Protection Council at 828-465-9297 or visit www.cpcocatawbacounty.org.

[Lady Cop]

And why?

to prevent her from being identified and the cause of death established.
makes me wonder if her teeth were intact for purposes of dental record ID. or if they even have recovered a skull.

District Attorney James Gaither Jr. refused to say if the girl was dismembered or if any more charges were imminent.

"I'm not going to discuss that right now," Gaither said.

[lawnranger]

Direct link to this afternoon's press conference. http://titancast.titantv.com/p/whky/v/Za...F255U.aspx

[bampton]

Considering the evidence, my best guess is that this child was dismembered after death (death by stepmom? neglect?) and the pieces tossed out in various places to make it more diffcult to find her. I'm also guessing that the bones found thus far are consistant with an amputation and maybe the "significant" piece of evidence discovered this past Wednesday is a "large" piece-like a skull, or maybe the torso. Cause of death is going to be difficult since she's skeletal, unless there is obvious trauma to the bones, like a gun shot wound or stab wounds. At least now it's been confirmed it's her. Now onto to getting to the bottom of who is responsible for what.

Thank you to everyone who keeps this thread updated! Especially you LC!

[Cracker]

Well, fuck.

I hope it was over quickly, sweetheart.

[Lady Cop]

interesting...on nancy grace program just now, elisa baker's sister, carrie fairchild, was interviewed by phone. she said she thinks her sister, step-witch, was involved in Zahra's death. (but did not act alone)
usually you wouldn't get a sister saying something like that, even if they thought it. from all reports the entire bunch of relations and kids were pretty fucked up and dysfunctional.

[lawnranger]

Well, fuck.

I hope it was over quickly, sweetheart.

Well fuck sweetheart! When someone breaks in and vaginally and analy rapes you I guess I will cheer. You haven't responded to this thread once until I did. Fuck you Cracker! Go the fuck away before I show up on your doorstep and choke you to death with my COCK!!! It is that big motherfucker! I will choke you and everyone will cheer because you are an asshole and a waste of bandwidth around here!!!