Zahra Clare Baker #2 10/13/10 - 10/16/10

[klaasend]

http://www.wbtv.com/Global/story.asp?S=13297637

Searchers look in brush pile for missing girl, stepmother to appear in court
Posted: Oct 09, 2010 7:05 PM PDT Updated: Oct 13, 2010 6:40 AM PDT


BURKE COUNTY, NC (WBTV) - Sheriff's deputies plan to resume searching a brush pile just north of Morganton Wednesday morning for any clues concerning a missing 10-year-old girl, and her stepmother, who police call a person of interest in the case, is scheduled to appear in court.

The search site is located in an area where a tree trimming company dumps tree limbs and other debris.  It is located off Hartland Road near Bristol Creek Avenue.

Officials searched the area late Tuesday night and ended their search on Wednesday around 1 a.m.  The pile of debris is about 100 feet by 50 feet.

Workers are using heavy machinery to pick up the debris and examine it.  Sheriff's deputies are expected to resume their search Wednesday after 9 a.m.

 

[Tolerance]

I watched local news just now and Burke Co. Sheriff said he doesn't believe the father is being truthful.

http://www.ncnn.com/content/view/6485/26/

"McDevitt said Zahra’s father, Adam Baker, was also on scene. He characterized his behavior as "not exactly cooperative," adding that, in his opinion, Baker is not being truthful."

"The land searched belongs to the family of a foreman at the tree trimming company where Zahra's father Adam works. It is an area where mulch, wood chips, and heavy equipment is stored. Bobby Green, a former employee of the company, says Baker would have had access there."

Perhaps they could move Adam a bit CLOSER to the wood chipper............I bet he'd talk.......................
This is out of character for me, but it is how I feel right now so I am going to own it.
Thanks you for the info posted and especially the timeline.
Lord, please hold Zahra closely.

[klaasend]

http://www2.hickoryrecord.com/news/2010/oct/13/8/investigators-search-burke-site-again-ar-453434/

Published: October 13, 2010
Updated: October 13, 2010 - 6:52 AM

Investigators search Burke site again
By Richard Gould

MORGANTON --

Tuesday night, Hickory police cars and a Hickory City brush truck with hydraulic grappling arm arrived at the property of Real Tree Services as authorities again searched the property looking for the body of 10-year-old Zahra Clare Baker.

Tuesday night, Hickory police cars and a Hickory City brush truck with hydraulic grappling arm arrived at the property of Real Tree Services as authorities again searched the property looking for the body of 10-year-old Zahra Clare Baker.

Burke County EMS crews arrived in the twilight towing portable floodlights to illuminate the search that neighbors thought was complete after officers spent two days looking for Zahra. The vehicles made their way past a Burke County deputy posted to keep people out of the crime scene about 100 yards past his patrol cruiser.

Investigators are looking through a 50-foot-by-100-foot brush pile with the truck. Neighbors had speculated the truck would be used to search under piles of wood chips on the property where Real Tree Services keeps its heavy equipment and wood chipper.

News crews milled around while a news helicopter flew in slow circles overhead. They were all waiting for what had come to seem inevitable.

Hickory Police Chief Adkins arrived on the search scene at 9 p.m. and did not address the media.

The man who helped Adam Baker, Zahra’s father, get his job working for the tree trimming and lawn maintenance crew was at the scene. Bobby Green said he lived next door to the Bakers in Sawmills and his three children used to go to the Bakers' home to play with Zahra.

Now he thinks the Bakers may have murdered their daughter, and he wonders if he put his children in harm's way by letting them visit the Bakers' home.

He described Zahra's mother, Elisa Baker, as a mean woman who could not be trusted.

"I think she's evil. She lied about everything all the time," he said. "She had a short fuse, especially with Zahra, because she was jealous of the time she spent with her father."

Green said Elisa was physically abusive toward her stepdaughter and suspects she's behind Zahra's disappearance. He added that he suspects that Adam Baker may also be involved in the crime.

Many now wonder if Adam Baker was involved in his daughter’s murder.

Baker’s boss doesn’t think so.

But Hickory Police Chief Tom Adkins said he hasn’t ruled out any suspects.

Fred Causby is the foreman for Real Tree Services and operates the company from his home on Hartland Road north of Morganton. He hired Baker as a laborer about six months ago.

“He started in March or April,” Causby said. “He’s just a hard working individual.”

Saturday Causby gave his permission for law enforcement to search his property with a K-9 unit. He said they were looking for Zahra’s remains on his industrial wood chipper and a 4-foot high pile of wood chips.

Causby said the dog alerted on the chipper and the pile but two days of intense searching by a combined force of Hickory police, Burke County deputies, SBI agents and FBI agents failed to turn up any evidence.

“I thought it was a waste of time when they came out to search,” he said in the afternoon before authorities returned Tuesday night. “I have a difficult time believing this. I like to think I’m a pretty good judge of people, and I’d like to think I’m still not wrong.”

He described Baker as a quiet man, a self-directed worker who can be funny at times and tells stories about working on a sod farm and a sugar mill in his native Australia.

Causby met Elisa Baker a couple of times when she’d come to pick her husband up after work and those brief encounters left him feeling unsettled.

“He (Baker) may not have had good judgment,” Causby said referring to the woman Baker met on the Internet and moved to America to wed. “I think the elevator doesn’t go all the way to the top. She seemed very controlling.”

Causby’s not the only one with that impression. Family members say they suspect Zahra’s stepmother physically abused her.

Brittany Bentley, who lives in Granite Falls, is married to Elisa Baker’s nephew and told CBS’ “Early Show” her suspicions Tuesday. She said she would have Zahra over for weekends and knew something was wrong.

Zahra “was locked in her room, allowed five minutes out a day to eat, that was it,” Bentley said. “She was beat almost every time I was over there for just the smallest things. Elisa would get mad, she would take it out on Zahra, things the kid didn’t deserve. She just had a horrible home life.”

[klaasend]

http://www.whky.com/news.asp?mode=detail&articleID=13843

Search for Zahra Baker continues, candlelight service to be held Wednesday
10/12/2010 8:49:04 PM

The search for missing 10-year-old Zahra Clare Baker continued last night as authorities have been in the Chesterfield and Gamewell areas of Highway 18, between Morganton and Lenoir, north of the Foothills Regional Airport.

Investigators are searching the Heartland Road area, on the job site of the girl's father, Adam Baker.  Cadaver dogs reportedly got a hit on a wood chipper on site.  WHKY will continue to update this story as more details develop.

A candlelight service for Zahra Baker will be held this evening (October 13) at 6:30 p.m. on the playground at East Hickory Baptist Church.  The service is open to the public.  The church is located at 130 16th Street S.E. in Hickory.  For more information, contact the church at 828-328-9507. 

[Wildingheart]

I watched local news just now and Burke Co. Sheriff said he doesn't believe the father is being truthful.

http://www.ncnn.com/content/view/6485/26/

"McDevitt said Zahra’s father, Adam Baker, was also on scene. He characterized his behavior as "not exactly cooperative," adding that, in his opinion, Baker is not being truthful."

"The land searched belongs to the family of a foreman at the tree trimming company where Zahra's father Adam works. It is an area where mulch, wood chips, and heavy equipment is stored. Bobby Green, a former employee of the company, says Baker would have had access there."

Perhaps they could move Adam a bit CLOSER to the wood chipper............I bet he'd talk.......................
This is out of character for me, but it is how I feel right now so I am going to own it.
Thanks you for the info posted and especially the timeline.
Lord, please hold Zahra closely.

That's a great idea Tolerance.

[no rose colored glasses]

Klass when you have a minute could you please put the link to the dating site that dad and Elisa were on?  Thanks

[pink angel]

Klass when you have a minute could you please put the link to the dating site that dad and Elisa were on?  Thanks

http://www.imvu.com/

It's a 3D chat site. From the page:


IMVU is a social network and 3D virtual world where millions of people meet, chat and have fun in animated 3D scenes. You can shop and dress up your avatar with your own personalized look, design and decorate your own 3D space, and connect with new people from around the world.

[4myjoey]

GMA video and article from this morning. MORE neighbors from Sawmill that saw abuse taking place and did NOTHING!!!

I am signing off to go outside, take a hike and scream for awhile.

http://abcnews.go.com/US/zahra-baker-case-cops-search-wood-chipper-mulch/story?id=11868397

Do these people not have the number to 911?

 

[no rose colored glasses]

Klass when you have a minute could you please put the link to the dating site that dad and Elisa were on?  Thanks

http://www.imvu.com/

It's a 3D chat site. From the page:


IMVU is a social network and 3D virtual world where millions of people meet, chat and have fun in animated 3D scenes. You can shop and dress up your avatar with your own personalized look, design and decorate your own 3D space, and connect with new people from around the world.

Thank-you, I was desperately trying to explain this to my daughter, and just didn't know how  She wanted to see what that is all about. I honestly don't know what to say about that 

[mymonkey]

For the people that witnessed abuse and did not report it should be fined....I know thats impossiable...but if they are now saying they saw it

take place and said nothing" Shame on You"  its is the responiablity of people in the education filed and medical field to report, so it should be

everyone's place to report . ....jmo...need more coffee.

[Wildingheart]

For the people that witnessed abuse and did not report it should be fined....I know thats impossiable...but if they are now saying they saw it

take place and said nothing" Shame on You"  its is the responiablity of people in the education filed and medical field to report, so it should be

everyone's place to report . ....jmo...need more coffee.

I don't see how they have the nerve to show their faces. And they don't seem to be ashamed or anything. I saw 2 girls on last night's news just talking away about it. I wouldn't be able to live with myself.

[klaasend]

Klass when you have a minute could you please put the link to the dating site that dad and Elisa were on?  Thanks

www.IMVU.com

[pink angel]

I went for a walk in the woods behind my house and screamed a couple times. Very cathartic for the soul.
------------------


 The stepmother who police call a person of interest in the disappearance of a Hickory girl appear in court Wednesday morning while search crews continued searching for the girl in a brush pile just north of Morganton.

Elisa Annette Baker, 42, seemed distraught and spoke softly when she appeared in Burke County Court Wednesday morning for an obstruction of justice charge.

She asked for a court-appointed attorney and was given a November 3rd court date.  She is being held on a $40,000 bond at the Catawba County jail.

In court Wednesday morning, the judge asked Baker if she understood the charges against her.  She replied, "Yes."  The judge also asked if she understood that she doesn't have to speak to anyone except her attorney.
http://www.wbtv.com/Global/story.asp?S=13297637




A local at @WS heard that wcnc....search has ended in Burke County....focus back on Hickory with more evidence found.

[klaasend]

From her myspace:

http://www.myspace.com/gothicfairy6668/stream/7

[Nut44x4]

This forum moves so fast...I can't keep up. Sorry if this has been posted.....it is dated today

Search to resume for missing N.C. girl; stepmom in courtBy the CNN Wire Staff
October 13, 2010 11:08 a.m. EDT

Zahra Clare Baker was reported missing over the weekend, but authorities believe she could have disappeared a month ago.

The search lasted until about 3 a.m. Wednesday, according to CNN affiliate WSOC, and authorities plan to continue searching the same area after taking a break for a few hours.

Flanked by two attorneys, Elisa Baker, Zahra's stepmother, wore a bright pink jumpsuit and was handcuffed and chained at her wrist and ankles at her court appearance Wednesday. She was informed of the felony charge against her, which carries a penalty of more than two years in prison upon conviction. Asked if she understood, she replied she did in a low voice.

The bond on this charge is $40,000, in addition to the bond of more than $30,000 she faces on charges unrelated to Zahra's disappearance. Her attorney said he would be filing a motion to get the obstruction of justice charge reduced, calling it "excessive." She is next scheduled to have a probable cause hearing on November 3.

Elisa Baker was charged with obstruction of justice Tuesday after police said she admitted writing a ransom note found at the family's Hickory home.

During the search overnight, Zahra's emotional father, Adam Baker, was on the scene.

"He seems concerned," Burke County Sheriff John T. McDevitt said. "But I don't know how sincere his concern is."

Zahra was reported missing about 2 p.m. Saturday. Police have said her father and stepmother reported she was last seen sleeping in her bed about 12 hours earlier, at 2:30 a.m.

But Hickory Police Chief Tom Adkins said Tuesday authorities have been unable to find anyone outside Zahra's immediate family who has reported seeing her in the past month, and investigators are not sure how long she has actually been missing. He told reporters an Amber Alert issued after the girl was reported missing was being canceled, and the investigation has shifted from a possible abduction into a homicide probe.

Investigators were searching where Adam Baker worked north of Hickory, said Nancy Webb, who lives next door to the site, on Tuesday.

Adam Baker would help his employer bring piles of wood and brush to the lot, where it was dumped into a wood chipper and turned into mulch, Webb said.

"They've got a lot of lights out back of the house. It looks like they are doing a search around a brush pile, and that's all that I can see from the house here," Webb told HLN's "Nancy Grace."

Elisa Baker admitted writing the note Monday night during an interview at the jail where she is being held on worthless check charges, Adkins said. She then requested a lawyer, he said. Police obtained an arrest warrant for her on the obstruction of justice charge.

A search warrant application filed in the case said it began with a call about a burning mulch pile at the home about 5:30 a.m. Saturday. Firefighters found a Chevrolet Tahoe with its passenger door open and a power company envelope with handwriting on it on the front windshield, the search warrant said.

Firefighters notified police, who approached the SUV and smelled gasoline coming from inside. The note written on the envelope was addressed to a "Mr. Coffey," identified in the search warrant as Adam Baker's boss, Mark David Coffey.

"Mr. Coffey, you like being in control now who is in control," the note said, according to the search warrant. "We have your daughter and your pot smoking red head son is next unless you do what is asked 1,000,000 unmarked will be in touch soon." In the bottom right, the note said, "no cops," according to the warrant.

Coffey and his only daughter were at the residence at the time of the fire, the warrant said. CNN affiliate News 14 Carolina reported Coffey owns the home.

Adam Baker called police about 2 p.m., saying someone had poured gas in his car and left a note saying they had his boss' daughter, according to the search warrant. Baker told police he believed the person who left the note had kidnapped Zahra.

The Bakers consented to a search of their home, the warrant said. A cadaver dog indicated the possible presence of human remains in or on the Chevrolet Tahoe as well as a burgundy Toyota Camry on the property, it said. Authorities were testing swabs taken from the Tahoe to determine if blood was also present, according to the warrant.

Zahra -- a bone cancer survivor, according to CNN affiliate WCNC -- uses a prosthetic leg and hearing aids. The hearing aids have been found, but not the prosthesis, Adkins said.

Elisa Baker, the stepmother, was arrested Sunday morning on four counts of writing worthless checks, said Eric Farr, a spokesman for the Catawba County district attorney's office. Farr said she faces other charges in different counties, including a felony larceny count and other bad-check charges. She was being held on $31,500 bail.

Her court-appointed attorney on the felony charge, Jared Amos of Morganton, North Carolina, said Tuesday he could not comment on other charges.

Adkins said Adam Baker faces similar charges, but police have held off serving an arrest warrant while he cooperates with investigators. And police said in a statement they are "working several leads, specifically addressing Zahra's life before she disappeared."

Brittany Bentley, who is married to Elisa Baker's nephew, told HLN that the girl "wasn't in very good living conditions, not at all for a 10-year-old."

"I remember Elisa coming out of the bedroom one day, saying her hands hurt from spanking Zahra so much," she said. "I know she spanked way too hard, what I consider beating." She said the girl was locked in her room and "I know about letting her out five minutes, just to eat and that was it."

North Carolina social services officials declined to comment on the case.

http://www.cnn.com/2010/CRIME/10/13/north.carolina.missing.girl/index.html?eref=rss_mostpopular&utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+rss%2Fcnn_mostpopular+%28RSS%3A+Most+Popular%29

[no rose colored glasses]

Klass when you have a minute could you please put the link to the dating site that dad and Elisa were on?  Thanks

www.IMVU.com

Thank-you

[Gypsy DD]

I went for a walk in the woods behind my house and screamed a couple times. Very cathartic for the soul.
------------------


 The stepmother who police call a person of interest in the disappearance of a Hickory girl appear in court Wednesday morning while search crews continued searching for the girl in a brush pile just north of Morganton.

Elisa Annette Baker, 42, seemed distraught and spoke softly when she appeared in Burke County Court Wednesday morning for an obstruction of justice charge.

She asked for a court-appointed attorney and was given a November 3rd court date.  She is being held on a $40,000 bond at the Catawba County jail.

In court Wednesday morning, the judge asked Baker if she understood the charges against her.  She replied, "Yes."  The judge also asked if she understood that she doesn't have to speak to anyone except her attorney.
http://www.wbtv.com/Global/story.asp?S=13297637




A local at @WS heard that wcnc....search has ended in Burke County....focus back on Hickory with more evidence found.

Thanks Pink Angel and everyone else for the updates last evening and this morning.

Had to log off last night because I was overwelhmed with feelings.  Anger, sadness, disgust, etc.  I just can not stomach the thought about a wood chipper being involved..what kind of human being can do that to another? 

I hope her father confesses soon.  I just know that he is in on the hiding of her body.  I know he knows she has been gone longer then Saturday. 

If people were afraid of this woman, and rightly so with her taser, guns and fists..then they all should have filed complaints with LE and DSS. 

This so called GothMom deserves nothing less then to burn in He!! 

[Claycat]

For the people that witnessed abuse and did not report it should be fined....I know thats impossiable...but if they are now saying they saw it

take place and said nothing" Shame on You"  its is the responiablity of people in the education filed and medical field to report, so it should be

everyone's place to report . ....jmo...need more coffee.

I don't see how they have the nerve to show their faces. And they don't seem to be ashamed or anything. I saw 2 girls on last night's news just talking away about it. I wouldn't be able to live with myself.

There are a lot of people in the community where I live that are like that.  A lot of them are inbred, uneducated, and heavy substance abusers.  I believe abuse is commonplace.  That is no excuse, just an explanation.  Yes, I wish there were a way to fine people who do not report abuse. 

I fear what I would do, if I saw abuse taking place.

[no rose colored glasses]

For the people that witnessed abuse and did not report it should be fined....I know thats impossiable...but if they are now saying they saw it

take place and said nothing" Shame on You"  its is the responiablity of people in the education filed and medical field to report, so it should be

everyone's place to report . ....jmo...need more coffee.

I don't see how they have the nerve to show their faces. And they don't seem to be ashamed or anything. I saw 2 girls on last night's news just talking away about it. I wouldn't be able to live with myself.

There are a lot of people in the community where I live that are like that.  A lot of them are inbred, uneducated, and heavy substance abusers.  I believe abuse is commonplace.  That is no excuse, just an explanation.  Yes, I wish there were a way to fine people who do not report abuse. 

I fear what I would do, if I saw abuse taking place.

And also just don't want to get involved, they don't want the police bothering them, and the biggest thing drugs. It is a downward spiral that is happening, I just don't know what to say. 

[Bearlyhere]

I think the hearing today is on the obstruction charge, but that could be wrong. I don't know if it's even still on, or what time.

It's nauseating to think of this monster having a lawyer to tell the public how upset his poor client is, cover for her, protect her from the consequences of her own heinous acts, and fall all over himself (in vain) to try to make her look like a sympathetic individual.

Where was ZAHRA's advocate?

We are here, Desi, we are here.