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

[darla]

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Firewall_(construction)#Types

Some info on firewalls.

Characteristics
Fire rating - Fire walls are constructed in such a way as to achieve a code-determined fire-resistance rating, thus forming part of a fire compartment's passive fire protection.
Design loads – Fire wall must withstand a minimum 5 lb./sq.ft., and additional seismic loads.[6]
Germany includes repeated impact force testing upon new fire wall systems. Other codes require impact resistance on a performance basis[7]

Firewalls typically extend through the roof and terminate at a code-determined distance above it. They are usually finished off on the top with flashing (sheet metal cap) for protection against the elements.
Materials - Firewalls in North America are usually made of concrete block or reinforced concrete. Fire barrier walls are typically constructed of gypsum board partitions.Penetrations – Penetrations through fire walls, such as for pipes and cables, must be protected with a firestop assembly to prevent the spread of fire through the wall at this point. Fire walls must not be penetrated such that the wall is structurally weakened in a fire and could collapse.[8]
Openings – Openings in Fire walls, such as doors and windows, must be fire rated as fire door assemblies and fire window assemblies.[9]

[no rose colored glasses]

Thanks Darla 

[Missiontoconvict]

Police take furniture, evidence from Hickory house where Zahra lived

GMTA!

yes   

Still can't figure out what they did with the leg.  I wondered if they would dispose of it with the child or separately?  Daddy knows lots more than he is saying.  If I was his mom, I would be on the first flight over here and my son would tell me where my granddaughter was!!!

I hate to even say this but I have thought perhaps it was her leg they put through the chipper.  If Zahara is lying deceased somewhere or buried eventually she decomposes but the prosthetic would not.  It is terribly painful to even type or think this. 

I thought i read back that the leg was made of titanium, which is a very hard metal, and would be impossible to run through a chipper/mulcher...as it would most likely tear up the machine.

Thank you for the info Mariloo I was not aware that titanium would do that if run through a chipper.

[Brandi]

They lived in the apartment w/the attic the end of 09.

Right. My dates have them living there from July 2009-Nov.2009.

[no rose colored glasses]

The Mim's only saw Zahra once when the Baker's were moving in. The Baker's fought a lot, you would think that the Mim's would have heard Zahra at least once or twice in that time period. I'm not sure where they were hiding her, but wonder if they had something covering her mouth as well. This just doesn't make sense 

[Missiontoconvict]

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Firewall_(construction)#Types

Some info on firewalls.

Characteristics
Fire rating - Fire walls are constructed in such a way as to achieve a code-determined fire-resistance rating, thus forming part of a fire compartment's passive fire protection.
Design loads – Fire wall must withstand a minimum 5 lb./sq.ft., and additional seismic loads.[6]
Germany includes repeated impact force testing upon new fire wall systems. Other codes require impact resistance on a performance basis[7]

Firewalls typically extend through the roof and terminate at a code-determined distance above it. They are usually finished off on the top with flashing (sheet metal cap) for protection against the elements.
Materials - Firewalls in North America are usually made of concrete block or reinforced concrete. Fire barrier walls are typically constructed of gypsum board partitions.Penetrations – Penetrations through fire walls, such as for pipes and cables, must be protected with a firestop assembly to prevent the spread of fire through the wall at this point. Fire walls must not be penetrated such that the wall is structurally weakened in a fire and could collapse.[8]
Openings – Openings in Fire walls, such as doors and windows, must be fire rated as fire door assemblies and fire window assemblies.[9]

Thanks Darla.

[mymonkey]

When the Baker family first moved into the apartments on Congress Street in July 2009, Shirley Mims had been the manager for only a short time.
It didn’t take her long to become better acquainted with Elisa and Adam Baker, who were in the apartment next door to Shirley and her husband, Darrell.
“They fought verbally and physically with each other. You could hear it through the walls,” Shirley said. “They’d even take it out into the parking lot.”
It was so bad one time that it knocked the pictures off the wall the Mims shared with the Bakers, Shirley said.
She said the couple began fighting about three weeks after they moved into the apartment.
As for the now-missing Zahra Clare Baker, Shirley didn’t even know the couple had a daughter.
“We saw the little girl when they moved in, but we didn’t see her no more after that,” she said. “When I saw the little girl, I assumed it was a grandchild or a visitor, because I never saw her again.”
Zahra, 10, was first reported missing at 2 p.m. Saturday, although Hickory police suspect she may have been missing longer than that. No one other than family has seen Zahra in a month.
On Sunday, Zahra’s stepmother, Elisa, 42, was arrested on unrelated charges to Zahra’s disappearance. Hickory police interviewed Elisa on Tuesday, and she admitted writing the ransom note found on one of the Bakers’ car, demanding $1 million. She has since been arrested for obstruction of justice and had her first court appearance on the charge. Officers are still searching for Zahra.
The Bakers lived in the apartment on Congress Street until early November 2009, when Shirley asked them to move out because of their fighting.
“In one-and-a-half days, they were gone,” Shirley said. “I got the impression they didn’t want the police here.”
When Shirley and Darrell went into the Bakers’ apartment after they left, they were surprised by what they found. One of the doors to a closet had been removed. That closet provides access to the attic — an attic where you can’t store anything, it just contains blown insulation for the two-story apartments.
When the Mims were watching the news this week, they recognized their former tenants. They were also surprised to learn they had a daughter.
They’re now wondering if maybe Zahra was in the attic
“We don’t know for sure, but we think they kept her in the attic,” Darrell said. “There were black shoe sole prints all around the inside (of the door frame). The door to the cubby hole was taken off.”
The Mims still haven’t found the door to the closet, and aren’t sure what the Bakers did with it.
Darrell said for several months — during the time the Bakers lived next door — it sounded as if squirrels were in the attic.
“All the noises I heard in the attic must have been her, but I never heard them again after they left,” Shirley said. “I can’t prove that’s what it was, but in my heart, that’s what I believe.”
When Darrell went up to the attic to look, he saw a section of the firewall that divides the two apartments was pulled down and was on top some of the boards and insulation. It was cracked in a few places.
“It looked as though a child had gone to sleep on it,” Darrell said.
To get into the attic, you would have to go into the closet, pop out the part of the ceiling covering the hole to the attic, lift yourself up to the 8-foot ceiling and crawl inside. Once inside the ceiling, which is covered with insulation, the area above each apartment is about 20 feet-by-20 feet, and about 4-and-a-half feet tall at its highest point.
Shirley said Elisa and Adam Baker were not the only two in the family who concealed information about a child in the house. Shirley used to work with a relative of Elisa’s.
“Not one time did she mention there was a girl here,” Shirley said. “She would talk about Elisa, but not mention a girl.”
She said if she had any idea a child was in that apartment, she would have called for help.
“If I had known for one minute the little girl was there, I wouldn’t have stopped until Social Services was there,” Shirley said.
Now, the Mims are left to wonder what happened to Zahra.
“I just pray for her,” Shirley said. “She’s such a beautiful little girl.”

http://www2.hickoryrecord.com/news/2010/oct/14/11/neighbors-wonder-if-zahra-kept-attic-ar-458767/


2 pics of the attic crawlspace @ the link if someone can save them and bring them over. Thanks in advance.

here was the article MyMonkey

Thanks Scary...how in the world would she have been able to pull herself to the attic...I just don't see that happening.

[Itaryl Moosee]

One thing that keeps gnawing at me is the dogs smelling "human remains" in the wood chipper and other place.

Mr. Baker's job involved very rough work, like cutting down trees, pruning, and clearing brush... then he would feed the material into the chipper.

Is it possible that he (or other woodworkers who used the chipper facilities) injured themselves while working, and what the dogs are smelling is the odor of old blood that came from people working with the chipper and having scraps or gashes caused by their work?

I figure that if the step-mother murdered Zahra on her own, and the father APPEARS to not know what's going on... that the mother wouldn't be able to bring the body in the farm with the chipper and use it.

The only way that the chipper would've been used in the crime is IF the father knew and was involved in the disappearance.

MOO.

[ScareyCarrie]

One thing that keeps gnawing at me is the dogs smelling "human remains" in the wood chipper and other place.

Mr. Baker's job involved very rough work, like cutting down trees, pruning, and clearing brush... then he would feed the material into the chipper.

Is it possible that he (or other woodworkers who used the chipper facilities) injured themselves while working, and what the dogs are smelling is the odor of old blood that came from people working with the chipper and having scraps or gashes caused by their work?

I figure that if the step-mother murdered Zahra on her own, and the father APPEARS to not know what's going on... that the mother wouldn't be able to bring the body in the farm with the chipper and use it.

The only way that the chipper would've been used in the crime is IF the father knew and was involved in the disappearance.

MOO.

a couple of article stated that they more or less ruled out the wood chippers and that the blood was in the engine part and most likely the result of a cut on someones hand or something that was working on it... i can find the article if you'd like...

[Tolerance]

The Mim's only saw Zahra once when the Baker's were moving in. The Baker's fought a lot, you would think that the Mim's would have heard Zahra at least once or twice in that time period. I'm not sure where they were hiding her, but wonder if they had something covering her mouth as well. This just doesn't make sense 

Hello, NRCG!
I was thinking about this report, as well. 
If Mims were the apartment managers wouldn't they know full well who was living in the apartment?
I would think the application would show the occupants? 
Unless Gothmother & hubby lied?
I wonder if they could check the application records.

[pink angel]

One thing that keeps gnawing at me is the dogs smelling "human remains" in the wood chipper and other place.

Mr. Baker's job involved very rough work, like cutting down trees, pruning, and clearing brush... then he would feed the material into the chipper.

Is it possible that he (or other woodworkers who used the chipper facilities) injured themselves while working, and what the dogs are smelling is the odor of old blood that came from people working with the chipper and having scraps or gashes caused by their work?

I figure that if the step-mother murdered Zahra on her own, and the father APPEARS to not know what's going on... that the mother wouldn't be able to bring the body in the farm with the chipper and use it.

The only way that the chipper would've been used in the crime is IF the father knew and was involved in the disappearance.

MOO.

They have ruled out the dog hits on the wood chipper more or less.

Earlier this week, a K-9 unit alerted police to a wood chipper on the property. A K-9 unit dog handler told Channel 9 that the hit was not on the wood chipper itself but the engine, and the blood could have come from a cut on a worker’s hand.
http://www.wsoctv.com/news/25389806/detail.html




K9 crews indicated earlier in the week that traces of human remains were found on wood processing equipment in an area where Baker's father once worked, but detectives with the Burke County Sheriff's Office said that is no longer a solid lead.
http://charlotte.news14.com/content/top_stories/631503/crews-come-up-empty-so-far-as-zahra-search-continues



The only dogs hits now that haven't been ruled out is the hits on the car/truck that they used as "probable cause" for the search warrants.

[mymonkey]

The Mim's only saw Zahra once when the Baker's were moving in. The Baker's fought a lot, you would think that the Mim's would have heard Zahra at least once or twice in that time period. I'm not sure where they were hiding her, but wonder if they had something covering her mouth as well. This just doesn't make sense 

Hello, NRCG!
I was thinking about this report, as well. 
If Mims were the apartment managers wouldn't they know full well who was living in the apartment?
I would think the application would show the occupants? 
Unless Gothmother & hubby lied?
I wonder if they could check the application records.

Hi Tolerance...Happy Friday



I thought that same thing...and was this a two bedroom or a one bedroom apt?

[pink angel]

Faherty was able to speak with Baker on camera Friday afternoon. "I appreciate everyone, everyone doing what they're doing. I just hope they just keep looking. Try to find my baby," Baker said.

Faherty asked "What do you think happened to Zahra?" .

"I don't know," Baker said.

Faherty also asked "Do you think your wife might have had some involvement?"

"I don't know," Baker said.

Faherty said Baker’s main point was to thank everybody who has helped in the search.

Faherty said after the search, Adam Baker left out a back door walking quickly to a car where he didn't answer any questions but did comment "Everyone knows more than I do. you know."

http://www.wsoctv.com/news/25402667/detail.html

[no rose colored glasses]

The Mim's only saw Zahra once when the Baker's were moving in. The Baker's fought a lot, you would think that the Mim's would have heard Zahra at least once or twice in that time period. I'm not sure where they were hiding her, but wonder if they had something covering her mouth as well. This just doesn't make sense 

Hello, NRCG!
I was thinking about this report, as well. 
If Mims were the apartment managers wouldn't they know full well who was living in the apartment?
I would think the application would show the occupants? 
Unless Gothmother & hubby lied?
I wonder if they could check the application records.

Hi Tolerance, they must have lied, the couple only saw Zahra the day they moved in.

[Jerseygirl345]

Search for Zahra Baker: Where to Look Next?
Authorities Expand Search After Home, Woods, Pond Turn Up Little
 
5 comments By SARAH NETTER
Oct. 15, 2010

Authorities charged with the gruesome task of searching for the body of missing North Carolina girl Zahra Baker have had to continually expand their search after previous efforts turned up little.

"It's a science," said Ernie Allen, president and CEO of the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children.

"They've searched kind of the obvious places nearby," he said. "The approach in cases like this would be to expand the radius."

Hickory. N.C., police, aided by teams from area sheriff's offices and NCMEC's Adam Team, which deploys specialized search units, have already combed through the family's home, the wooded areas nearby and the property where the 10-year-old's father worked.

Today, Hickory police removed three pieces of bedroom furniture -- including a bed frame, mattress and box springs -- from the house where Zahra Baker lived with her parents, according to the Hickory Record newspaper. Police also carried out two bags of evidence.

Neither area police nor sheriff's offices returned calls seeking comment today.

article and video...

http://abcnews.go.com/US/search-zahra-baker/story?id=11891811

[pink angel]

Where is Zahra's mother?
Zahra's mother is still in Australia where the little girl was born. Some stories are circulating that Zahra hasn't seen her mother since she was 8 months old. In May, when we interviewed Zahra, she mentioned her mother in Australia as if she'd seen her more recently than that.

A woman posted in Australia posted on her Facebook page Tuesday that she was good friends with Zahra's mother, Emily, and that Emily had been searching for Zahra for 5 years. The post went on that Emily found out last week Zahra's father was remarried and living in North Carolina. It also indicated they learned Monday Zahra was missing in NC.


Will Zahra's father be arrested?
We have no way of knowing if Zahra's father Mark will be arrested in connection with her disappearance or in this homicide investigation. He does have several outstanding warrants for bad checks. We asked Hickory Police Chief Tom Adkins why those warrants weren't served on Mark Baker as they were served on Elisa Baker. The Chief said they would handle those when the time was appropriate.

http://charlotte.news14.com/content/zahra_baker_case/zahra_baker_questions/

You can send in questions at the link and they will try and get the answers.

[pink angel]

HICKORY, N.C — It's been nearly a week since Zahra Baker was reported missing by family members in Hickory and there's still no sign of the girl or her remains.

On Friday, the search moved back to the house on 21st Avenue where she was reportedly last seen by her father and stepmother. Zahra's father, Adam, was there. Crews with K-9's searched inside and outside and removed a mattress and boxspring.

Thursday, the Burke County Sheriff's Office was back out at a site in Morganton where Adam Baker once worked. On Wednesday night, they drained a pond on that property. Authorities said none of their searches there have turned up anything related to the case.

Earlier, K-9's had indicated evidence of human remains on wood processing machines, but detectives determined that was not a valid lead.

http://charlotte.news14.com/content/zahra_baker_case/631532/search-efforts-continue-for-zahra-baker

[pink angel]

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.

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

[pink angel]

Channel 9's Dave Faherty got an exclusive interview with missing Zahra's father, Adam Baker.
http://www.wsoctv.com/video/25405526/index.html

[Itaryl Moosee]

One thing that keeps gnawing at me is the dogs smelling "human remains" in the wood chipper and other place.

Mr. Baker's job involved very rough work, like cutting down trees, pruning, and clearing brush... then he would feed the material into the chipper.

Is it possible that he (or other woodworkers who used the chipper facilities) injured themselves while working, and what the dogs are smelling is the odor of old blood that came from people working with the chipper and having scraps or gashes caused by their work?

I figure that if the step-mother murdered Zahra on her own, and the father APPEARS to not know what's going on... that the mother wouldn't be able to bring the body in the farm with the chipper and use it.

The only way that the chipper would've been used in the crime is IF the father knew and was involved in the disappearance.

MOO.

They have ruled out the dog hits on the wood chipper more or less.

Earlier this week, a K-9 unit alerted police to a wood chipper on the property. A K-9 unit dog handler told Channel 9 that the hit was not on the wood chipper itself but the engine, and the blood could have come from a cut on a worker’s hand.
http://www.wsoctv.com/news/25389806/detail.html




K9 crews indicated earlier in the week that traces of human remains were found on wood processing equipment in an area where Baker's father once worked, but detectives with the Burke County Sheriff's Office said that is no longer a solid lead.
http://charlotte.news14.com/content/top_stories/631503/crews-come-up-empty-so-far-as-zahra-search-continues



The only dogs hits now that haven't been ruled out is the hits on the car/truck that they used as "probable cause" for the search warrants.

Thanks, Pink (and Tolerance.)

Another thing...

if bodily fluids were transfered to the clothing of someone carrying a dead body, wouldn't that piece of clothing contaminate anything it comes in contact with?

About the items found in the cars, altogether they give the impression that someone was ready to go on a trip, or someone was back from a trip... or someone was "on the ready" to flee.