Zahra Clare Baker #7 11/11/10 - 11/15/10

[Northern Rose]

Some of the many reader comments:

Posted by untouchable24 on Nov. 12, 2010 - 7:44 p.m.
please listen...my girlfriend has a sister ncci for women in raleight who we visited last sunday & the women down there are already talking about what they have in plans for her once arrives there...this is whole truth so believe every word i say...they say she will have to check herself off for them not to get to her...this is real talk

Posted by aboveusonlysky on Nov. 12, 2010 - 7:47 p.m.
Where is Adam Baker tonight? What rock has he crawled under? Who locally is protecting him, giving him a place to stay, to hide out? If anyone knows the answer to these questions, post them here we all can keep an eye on him until the police arrest him..

untouchable24 on Nov. 12, 2010 - 7:58 p.m.
adam, the so called dad...i havent heard anything about what's gonna happen when u get 2 prison...but son u better know that ur (on deck) boy...

http://www2.hickoryrecord.com/news/2010/nov/12/12/police-confirm-zahra-bakers-remains-have-been-foun-ar-532841/

[Northern Rose]

Zahra Bakers biological mother reads a letter about her daughter. Police believe they've found the remains of the child. (video)

http://www2.wspa.com/news/2010/nov/12/zahra-bakers-mom-speaks-out-55787-vi-58783/

[cookie]

thanks for the articles Northern...

[Missiontoconvict]

This is beautiful.

[Elaine]

Hello monkeys, I am sad with all the rest of you today.

Such a beautiful girl.

      FOR ZAHRA


Z- Zealous, having such an eagerness towards life.
 
A- Australia's Child.
 
H- Hero who fought so hard.
 
R- Radiant little girl.
 
A- Always in our hearts.

[klaasend]

Hello monkeys, I am sad with all the rest of you today.

Such a beautiful girl.

      FOR ZAHRA


Z- Zealous, having such an eagerness towards life.
 
A- Australia's Child.
 
H- Hero who fought so hard.
 
R- Radiant little girl.
 
A- Always in our hearts.

Perfect 

[Missiontoconvict]

Thank-you Sister 

Yes, thank you Sister.

[pfaubush]

I would love to see AB get one of his body parts nailed to the wall in an old barn, given a pair of rusty scissors, pour some gas and strike a match. If he makes it out of the fire, find another building, pick a different body part, and a smaller, more rusty pair of scissors. Wouldn't be a bad solution for EB, either.

[Babybear]

Hi Monks---This is a very sad day.

Cookie  I saw your post above.  Thanks.  We can all respect each others' opinions and we do for the most part.  Unusual in a group this large.

What I wanted to say is that whether or not the monstrous Bakers will be prosecuted for murder is murky.  I believe that one or both of them killed her--maybe beat her to death, I don't know.  The problem that LE will have is how did she die and who did it.  I hope that an examination of the soft tissue of the remains will reveal manner of death.  But even if it does, the state must prove who did what.  They can't present it to a jury and contend that one or both of them did, we don't know so convict them both.  I remember in the JonBenet case LE had that problem.  At the time (I think things have changed now) LE thought John or Patsy did it but they didn't know which one and they couldn't charge one or both of them without knowing. I think that dreadful Elisa person has probably told LE what happened in some kind of deal. There is also the very unlikely possibility that she did die of natural causes.  If they neglected to get her medical help and she died they can be charged with felony child neglect but not murder, although it might as well have been, IMO. And then there's abuse of a corpse.  That in itself should be a serious crime, although I don't think it is.

I greatly fear that these two heartless creatures are going to get away with it, or at least not be convicted of murder. 

This beautiful girl deserved so much more.

[Northern Rose]

Objectivity, emotion collide in covering tragedy

There is no glory in covering a tragedy like the story of Zahra Baker.

I am only on the periphery of the story, reporting now and then on the search for Zahra.

But, like my colleagues, I was fearful from the beginning that this story would not have a happy ending.

Friday, the world learned that Zahra is indeed dead. DNA tests proved that human remains belong to Zahra.

That more remains of a child were found in a different location suggests a crime of unspeakable nature.

Journalists strive for detachment. It’s one way we maintain objectivity. In Zahra’s case, detachment is impossible.

The powerful emotions connected with the story cannot be ignored.

We know we must not editorialize in a report, but we have opinions we keep to ourselves, or share with only a chosen few.

We also know that stories like Zahra’s sell newspapers and drive up TV viewing.

But the public wants to know about the victims. They want to know about Zahra, the brave, beautiful little girl who overcame cancer and may have suffered from abuse.

We want to be the first to report the good news, but each passing day is a reminder that Zahra’s story will not turn out well.

We, and our readers, want to know everything about Zahra and her family. Our inquiries stretch halfway around the world.

We cannot help but be affected by Zahra’s smiling face and the terror she faced at the end of her life.

We are objective, but not detached. We stand on the outside of the story looking in as observers to chronicle the investigation and the outpouring of affection and sympathy from people who did not know Zahra.

I have not met one person, anywhere, man or woman, who has not said they would have given her a loving home if they had the chance.

Not one.

People who never heard of Zahra before her disappearance become emotional talking about the little girl with the winsome smile.

It’s a story the public will not let us drop, even if we were so inclined.

Zahra became our daughter, our sister, our friend. We hoped against hope that she somehow would be found alive.

The net that police, deputies, the SBI and the FBI spread in the search for the truth ruled out the remote possibility that someone who loved her had spirited Zahra away to a safe haven.

So, now, we trust that heaven is her reward.

I’ve written about stories such as Zahra’s before. It’s never easy to report on the awful, violent death of a teenager, or a grandmother, or anyone who is the victim of a hideous evil.

Reporters are often witness to things they wish they’d never seen — things nobody should ever see, or victims endure.

You learn to take the photo, scribble notes, listen to the investigators and write. That doesn’t mean we are not deeply touched by senseless loss of life and the terror to which victims of violence are subjected.

We are objective, and we are connected. The connection to a story cannot be broken. It’s because journalism is about people, not inanimate objects.

It’s the people factor that drives journalism and makes the profession attractive.

A reporter who doesn’t like people cannot do the job.

Connectivity is a blessing for a reporter, and sometimes a curse.

We pursue stories such as Zahra’s because it’s the right thing to do. It’s our job. Readers want to know, and they want to know the truth.

We have to report extraordinary sadness. It’s unrealistic to believe we can write only happy stories. And there’s no joyful twist we can apply to Zahra except to remind people that she once was a happy, courageous little girl we wish we could have known before it was too late.

I will not lie. Pursuing even a sad story, even Zahra’s story, comes with a feeling of accomplishment if we are able to saturate our reports with the humanity of all concerned and give the public an accurate accounting of events with objectivity and compassion.

We want you to know who Zahra was. You should know about the heroic effort put forth by investigators. We want you to know about the people who hurt her.

We will strive to tell everyone exactly what happened.

But there’s no glory. When hope is lost, it hurts.

Years ago, I had to deal with the spiritual implications of perhaps feeling too much glee over the executions of two thugs who murdered a teenager.

Zahra’s story moves me to my soul.

We journalists have performed admirably, I think. You will excuse us if we’re not jovial right now.

http://www2.hickoryrecord.com/news/2010/nov/12/objectivity-emotion-collide-covering-tragedy-ar-533862/

[Northern Rose]

Police: Zahra Baker Is Dead (video)

http://www2.wspa.com/news/2010/nov/12/21/police-discuss-evidence-missing-nc-girls-case-ar-1081285/

[Desdemona]

<respectfully snipped>
I don't think Elisa did the work of the disposal, I think he took her to his workplace and used some tools of his trade on her. Took her around in his mulch pile stuff and did the hiding.

Okay.  Please forgive me for what will be a long post, on a morbid topic.  I have been thinking about this for weeks but have refrained from mentioning it.  Was there or was there not a portable "yard-size" smaller wood chipper/shredder located on the 21st Avenue property when this case first hit the news?

Adam DID state in a media interview very early on, that when he got home from "checking on a job" on October 9, he began to do some work in his yard "with one of our pieces of equipment."  According to his story, his work was interrupted by his lovely gothic fairy spouse allegedly bursting out of the house as if on cue, screaming that Zahra was missing.  Yeah.
(He utters the statement in this video, around the 1:20 mark:)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=duDiE99qAEM&playnext=1&list=PL31751769A1264A20&index=15

Now, around the 5:00 mark in this same video, there is a shot of the massive industrial-size wood chipper situated on the rural Burke County property owned by Adam's employer (or supervisor).  This was the property investigators searched for days without results.  As you can see in the video, this chipper is very large, and is white with the word "CHUCK" visible on the housing.

Using the color and word as clues, I found a machine just like that big one, offered for sale at an equipment site.  It is a "Wood Chuck," capable of shredding entire trees.  You can scroll down and see some very clear pictures of this big wood chipper from different angles at the link below.  This one is a used 2005 model, selling for $17,000.
http://www.globalequipmentexporters.com/EquipmentDetail.asp?ItemID=323&IT=0

I mention this huge industrial wood chipper, because I think it was initially reported that it had a positive dog hit for human decomp.  However, once the search at the Burke County property was wrapped up, the police stated that the wood chipper had been ruled out as a lead.  They added that the dog(s) had hit on the scent of blood, not decomp, and that it was limited to a small amount, on the engine area of the machine... an injured worker could have been the source of the blood, etc.


But....

Since the first couple of days after the story broke, I can't recall any references to the "piece of equipment" that Adam says he was using in their own yard that day, just prior to calling 911 to report Zahra "missing."  Could Adam have been using (or cleaning) a much smaller-scale, highly portable, yard-size wood chipper in his yard?  Could such an easily manageable machine have been temporarily transported by him, to be used at some clandestine disposal site? 

I mean, there were mulch piles in their yard; and mulch piles were on fire early that morning...  had all that mulch been transported to the yard from elsewhere, or was it created on site with a portable yard-size chipper that Adam had access to?

Checking around, I found a review for one such machine:  a TroyBilt 424 model with a 10(?) horse-power gas engine.  It is maybe between three and five feet tall, weighs around 200 pounds, and is easily rolled around on two 10-inch wheels. Around $800 new. Used models sell for around $300-400.
Product Specs:  http://www.northerntool.com/shop/tools/product_200141374_200141374?ci_src=15781033&ci_sku=170482&cm_ven=Performics&cm_cat=Performics&cm_pla=Performics&cm_ite=Performics

(BTW, the purchaser who submitted this review is dissatisfied with the machine, because it can't properly chip curved limbs.  He says in order to chip them he must first prep curved branches by cutting them into 5-inch segments. This problem does not occur with long, straight branches.)
Review:  http://www.epinions.com/review/Troy_Bilt_Chipper_Shredder/content_314579390084

YouTube video of yard chipper in use:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=us3MXzbYPr0


So, my question again:  Does anyone recall whether we saw a smaller wood chipper similar to this one, in news footage of the Baker house back when this story first broke?


(DISCLAIMER:  I'm asking only because I've wondered since the beginning and am not aware whether this has been addressed.  To be clear, to my knowledge we do not have any statements from LE indicating that they currently believe a wood chipper might have been used on Zahra's remains.  I promise I mean no offense to fellow Monkeys, and no disrespect whatsoever to the lovely Zahra.)

   This is such a disturbing, horrific case.  And yes, as Babybear says, a very sad day.

[Northern Rose]

(Zahra Baker) Moment of silence Aaron & Kristy Young Wedding

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sn7NVS4VhZg&feature=share

[Northern Rose]

 

Aaron Young
I can answer for myself lilly, I am elisas ex husband we were married 10 years been seperated for 3 years been divorced for 1 year 3 months LEGALLY!!
6 hours ago

Colleen Sleer
Aaron, how do you think Elisa got away with marrying Adam, I believe they married in July 2008, but you said you have been divorced "legally" only 1y3m. Seems there is an overlap in time there?
2 hours ago

Aaron Young
LOL thats the thing We werent divorced when they got married. she kept telling me she got our divorce in aussie and hell i wasnt stupid so I filed over here just to make sure. And I would have divorced sooner but I'm disabled and dont have very much money. WOW thatll give some people some stuff to talk about huh, how broke i am BUT Im very pleased LOTS & LOTS of people were trash talking me and it seems now that A LOT of you actually now know how much me and Kristy cared for zahra
about an hour ago

Colleen Sleer
I wonder if she convinced herself with her lies.

So technically, Adam isn't married to Elisa?

Aaron, thanks for your answer, sorry that you didn't have the funds to divorce her sooner, and don't feel the need to explain your financials.
16 minutes ago


http://www.facebook.com/home.php?#!/topic.php?uid=162072750477909&topic=242

[pink angel]

<respectfully snipped>
I don't think Elisa did the work of the disposal, I think he took her to his workplace and used some tools of his trade on her. Took her around in his mulch pile stuff and did the hiding.

Okay.  Please forgive me for what will be a long post, on a morbid topic.  I have been thinking about this for weeks but have refrained from mentioning it.  Was there or was there not a portable "yard-size" smaller wood chipper/shredder located on the 21st Avenue property when this case first hit the news?

Adam DID state in a media interview very early on, that when he got home from "checking on a job" on October 9, he began to do some work in his yard "with one of our pieces of equipment."  According to his story, his work was interrupted by his lovely gothic fairy spouse allegedly bursting out of the house as if on cue, screaming that Zahra was missing.  Yeah.
(He utters the statement in this video, around the 1:20 mark:)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=duDiE99qAEM&playnext=1&list=PL31751769A1264A20&index=15

Now, around the 5:00 mark in this same video, there is a shot of the massive industrial-size wood chipper situated on the rural Burke County property owned by Adam's employer (or supervisor).  This was the property investigators searched for days without results.  As you can see in the video, this chipper is very large, and is white with the word "CHUCK" visible on the housing.

Using the color and word as clues, I found a machine just like that big one, offered for sale at an equipment site.  It is a "Wood Chuck," capable of shredding entire trees.  You can scroll down and see some very clear pictures of this big wood chipper from different angles at the link below.  This one is a used 2005 model, selling for $17,000.
http://www.globalequipmentexporters.com/EquipmentDetail.asp?ItemID=323&IT=0

I mention this huge industrial wood chipper, because I think it was initially reported that it had a positive dog hit for human decomp.  However, once the search at the Burke County property was wrapped up, the police stated that the wood chipper had been ruled out as a lead.  They added that the dog(s) had hit on the scent of blood, not decomp, and that it was limited to a small amount, on the engine area of the machine... an injured worker could have been the source of the blood, etc.


But....

Since the first couple of days after the story broke, I can't recall any references to the "piece of equipment" that Adam says he was using in their own yard that day, just prior to calling 911 to report Zahra "missing."  Could Adam have been using (or cleaning) a much smaller-scale, highly portable, yard-size wood chipper in his yard?  Could such an easily manageable machine have been temporarily transported by him, to be used at some clandestine disposal site? 

I mean, there were mulch piles in their yard; and mulch piles were on fire early that morning...  had all that mulch been transported to the yard from elsewhere, or was it created on site with a portable yard-size chipper that Adam had access to?

Checking around, I found a review for one such machine:  a TroyBilt 424 model with a 10(?) horse-power gas engine.  It is maybe between three and five feet tall, weighs around 200 pounds, and is easily rolled around on two 10-inch wheels. Around $800 new. Used models sell for around $300-400.
Product Specs:  http://www.northerntool.com/shop/tools/product_200141374_200141374?ci_src=15781033&ci_sku=170482&cm_ven=Performics&cm_cat=Performics&cm_pla=Performics&cm_ite=Performics

(BTW, the purchaser who submitted this review is dissatisfied with the machine, because it can't properly chip curved limbs.  He says in order to chip them he must first prep curved branches by cutting them into 5-inch segments. This problem does not occur with long, straight branches.)
Review:  http://www.epinions.com/review/Troy_Bilt_Chipper_Shredder/content_314579390084

YouTube video of yard chipper in use:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=us3MXzbYPr0


So, my question again:  Does anyone recall whether we saw a smaller wood chipper similar to this one, in news footage of the Baker house back when this story first broke?


(DISCLAIMER:  I'm asking only because I've wondered since the beginning and am not aware whether this has been addressed.  To be clear, to my knowledge we do not have any statements from LE indicating that they currently believe a wood chipper might have been used on Zahra's remains.  I promise I mean no offense to fellow Monkeys, and no disrespect whatsoever to the lovely Zahra.)

   This is such a disturbing, horrific case.  And yes, as Babybear says, a very sad day.

.

The Baker house is a simple, one-story structure, with a tarp over part of the roof, stacks of firewood in the backyard, a log splitter and a truck from Real Tree Services of Morganton.
An adult dog and a puppy stay in the back yard. A neighbor, according to a passerby, waters the dogs.

However, Mitchell said he never heard any commotion or machinery being operated on the property.

http://www2.hickoryrecord.com/news/2010/oct/13/neighbors-never-saw-missing-girl-ar-453363/


There was a log splitter in the backyard, it wasn't a woodchipper. The only woodchipper was the one at the Burke work site.

[pink angel]

Aaron Young
I can answer for myself lilly, I am elisas ex husband we were married 10 years been seperated for 3 years been divorced for 1 year 3 months LEGALLY!!
6 hours ago

Colleen Sleer
Aaron, how do you think Elisa got away with marrying Adam, I believe they married in July 2008, but you said you have been divorced "legally" only 1y3m. Seems there is an overlap in time there?
2 hours ago

Aaron Young
LOL thats the thing We werent divorced when they got married. she kept telling me she got our divorce in aussie and hell i wasnt stupid so I filed over here just to make sure. And I would have divorced sooner but I'm disabled and dont have very much money. WOW thatll give some people some stuff to talk about huh, how broke i am BUT Im very pleased LOTS & LOTS of people were trash talking me and it seems now that A LOT of you actually now know how much me and Kristy cared for zahra
about an hour ago

Colleen Sleer
I wonder if she convinced herself with her lies.

So technically, Adam isn't married to Elisa?

Aaron, thanks for your answer, sorry that you didn't have the funds to divorce her sooner, and don't feel the need to explain your financials.
16 minutes ago


http://www.facebook.com/home.php?#!/topic.php?uid=162072750477909&topic=242

So, she is a bigamist? Wow!

[Northern Rose]

Aaron Young
I can answer for myself lilly, I am elisas ex husband we were married 10 years been seperated for 3 years been divorced for 1 year 3 months LEGALLY!!
6 hours ago

Colleen Sleer
Aaron, how do you think Elisa got away with marrying Adam, I believe they married in July 2008, but you said you have been divorced "legally" only 1y3m. Seems there is an overlap in time there?
2 hours ago

Aaron Young
LOL thats the thing We werent divorced when they got married. she kept telling me she got our divorce in aussie and hell i wasnt stupid so I filed over here just to make sure. And I would have divorced sooner but I'm disabled and dont have very much money. WOW thatll give some people some stuff to talk about huh, how broke i am BUT Im very pleased LOTS & LOTS of people were trash talking me and it seems now that A LOT of you actually now know how much me and Kristy cared for zahra
about an hour ago

Colleen Sleer
I wonder if she convinced herself with her lies.

So technically, Adam isn't married to Elisa?

Aaron, thanks for your answer, sorry that you didn't have the funds to divorce her sooner, and don't feel the need to explain your financials.
16 minutes ago


http://www.facebook.com/home.php?#!/topic.php?uid=162072750477909&topic=242

So, she is a bigamist? Wow!

Seems to be.  Now this begs the question of Adam being in the US with his WIFE who really was not his WIFE if in fact this is true.  Wonder what happens to his status or green card or whatever he has to be in the US if they never were really married?  There was an article early on where the reporter said he could not find any marriage cert for them in the US and assumed they were married in Aussie.

[KCJackie]

ZAHRA CANDLELIGHT VIGIL INFO.......

Candlelight Vigil for Zahra Baker to be Held Next Tuesday, November 16, 2010

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

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

http://www.whky.com/news.asp?mode=detail&articleID=14321

[bananas]

Hello monkeys, I am sad with all the rest of you today.

Such a beautiful girl.

      FOR ZAHRA


Z- Zealous, having such an eagerness towards life.
 
A- Australia's Child.
 
H- Hero who fought so hard.
 
R- Radiant little girl.
 
A- Always in our hearts.

Lovely!  Thank you.

[Northern Rose]

Community mourns for Zahra Baker

HICKORY, N.C. -- In the hours after the Hickory Police Chief Tom Adkins announced that 10-year-old Zahra Baker is dead, mourners gathered outside the family home bearing signs and tributes to the young girl.

“She was just a beautiful child. She really was. She didn’t deserve this. It just disgusts me. It makes me sick,” Hickory resident Teresa Perkins told NewsChannel 36.
 
Perkins visited the family home just after a Friday afternoon press briefing where Chief Adkins dashed the fleeting hope that somehow Zahra would be found alive.

"We have recovered enough physical evidence to believe we have found Zahra," Adkins said.

DNA from a bone found during a search near Christie Road in Caldwell County matched the DNA from an item taken from the Baker home on 21st Street NW in Hickory.

Zahra’s stepmother Elisa Baker remains behind bars on lesser charges including obstruction of justice. Zahra’s father is free on bond and is not expected to leave the area.

NewsChannel 36 has learned no arrests will be made right away.

The Child Protection Council of Catawba County is planning a vigil for Zahra next Tuesday night on what would have been Zahra’s 11th birthday. The vigil will be held at Union Square in Hickory. It starts at 6 p.m.

http://www.wcnc.com/news/local/Community-mourns-for-Zahra-Baker-107636843.html