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

[Monkey King]

Has it been determined if AB has seen EB since her arrest?

I remember reading early on, right after her arrest, EB was visited by her daughter, someone who was identified as a son in law ans AB.

[Tibrogargan]

For those posters on another MP site who are endeavouring to access any official marriage record of the AB/EB in Queensland all I have to say is :

Good luck with that.   

[mariloo]

How can they release the body to Emily to take back to Australia unless charges are pending in this murder against AB.  He is the father.  He still has custody.  How is this happening?  Something must be going on that has not been release to the public.  Don't get me wrong, I think Zahra should go home to where she was loved and be buried where her family can visit; but I am just wondering how this can come about unless arrangements have been settled with AB.  Very interesting!

[mariloo]

Has it been determined if AB has seen EB since her arrest?

I remember reading early on, right after her arrest, EB was visited by her daughter, someone who was identified as a son in law ans AB.

That's weird
A daughter listed as a son in law?????   Sompin wrong here

[Tibrogargan]

How can they release the body to Emily to take back to Australia unless charges are pending in this murder against AB.  He is the father.  He still has custody.  How is this happening?  Something must be going on that has not been release to the public.  Don't get me wrong, I think Zahra should go home to where she was loved and be buried where her family can visit; but I am just wondering how this can come about unless arrangements have been settled with AB.  Very interesting!

I have not seen anything that leads me to believe that AB was granted sole custody by a court of law here in Australia.  It appears to be an agreement with Emily for him to care for Zahra as she was unable to do at that time.  I have a lot of other thoughts on how this was accomplished, and who could have exerted pressure on Emily and also worked to keep Emily and Zahra apart, but had better keep them to myself.

Also AB presumably took Zahra out of Australia illegally,either with forged documents or falsified statements.

If AB is charged with murder, or even lesser charges, I would think there would be no question as to Zahra's remains being returned to Emily.

I understand Emily is at present returning to Australia after her short visit to USA.

[Monkey King]

From my understanding, Emily has a court order from 2001, although I have not seen it and don't know the contents or how custody is written on the document.

I'm sure the police would have looked it over and made their determination based on that document as well as other documents relating to AB and Zahra's entry into the US.

The DA/Police have a lot of things to sort through.

AB/EB's marriage, her divorce from AY.

Entry into the US.

The murder of Zahra.

The cover up of Zahra's death.

[mariloo]

How can they release the body to Emily to take back to Australia unless charges are pending in this murder against AB.  He is the father.  He still has custody.  How is this happening?  Something must be going on that has not been release to the public.  Don't get me wrong, I think Zahra should go home to where she was loved and be buried where her family can visit; but I am just wondering how this can come about unless arrangements have been settled with AB.  Very interesting!

I have not seen anything that leads me to believe that AB was granted sole custody by a court of law here in Australia.  It appears to be an agreement with Emily for him to care for Zahra as she was unable to do at that time.  I have a lot of other thoughts on how this was accomplished, and who could have exerted pressure on Emily and also worked to keep Emily and Zahra apart, but had better keep them to myself.

Also AB presumably took Zahra out of Australia illegally,either with forged documents or falsified statements.

If AB is charged with murder, or even lesser charges, I would think there would be no question as to Zahra's remains being returned to Emily.

I understand Emily is at present returning to Australia after her short visit to USA.

I hope Emily does have a court order. That may explain AB running with Zahra!  Anyway, I would love to see Zahra go back to Aussie.  Way back in the earlier posts, someone added that Zahra stated she did not want to come to the USA because she loved Australia and probably because she did not like SM.  I am glad you are free now precious Zahra.

[nicubird]

How can they release the body to Emily to take back to Australia unless charges are pending in this murder against AB.  He is the father.  He still has custody.  How is this happening?  Something must be going on that has not been release to the public.  Don't get me wrong, I think Zahra should go home to where she was loved and be buried where her family can visit; but I am just wondering how this can come about unless arrangements have been settled with AB.  Very interesting!

I have not seen anything that leads me to believe that AB was granted sole custody by a court of law here in Australia.  It appears to be an agreement with Emily for him to care for Zahra as she was unable to do at that time.  I have a lot of other thoughts on how this was accomplished, and who could have exerted pressure on Emily and also worked to keep Emily and Zahra apart, but had better keep them to myself.

Also AB presumably took Zahra out of Australia illegally,either with forged documents or falsified statements.

If AB is charged with murder, or even lesser charges, I would think there would be no question as to Zahra's remains being returned to Emily.

I understand Emily is at present returning to Australia after her short visit to USA.

I hope Emily does have a court order. That may explain AB running with Zahra!  Anyway, I would love to see Zahra go back to Aussie.  Way back in the earlier posts, someone added that Zahra stated she did not want to come to the USA because she loved Australia and probably because she did not like SM.  I am glad you are free now precious Zahra.

Here Is Emily's description of the situation via The Hinky Meter. Her identity was vetted by Val Hal and the post is genuine.

http://www.thehinkymeter.com/2010/10/27/zahra-baker-case-why-is-the-mattress-important/#comments

» Biomum said: { Oct 28, 2010 - 12:10:58 }
to those who are understandably skepical of me, and/or my “story”, it is a long story, as you could imagine, and I do understand all your questions. you do need to bare with me though. While it is easy for you to all cast doubt on my situation, and make judgement on what you believe to know, it is not that easy for me to live through the pain of this whole situation, and also relive the emotions of when she was first taken from my life.
I’ll make things short and sweet as I can…
*the media has stated I have not Zahra since she was 8mths old – false (and I do have photo evidence to prove that, when I am more comfortable with the public knowing who I am)
*My relationship with Adam with full of manipulation and mental & emotion abuse which left me an empty shell of who I was. Once Zahra was born I suffered severe post natal depression, and that was worsened when I finally gained the strength to leave him and was left to try and raise Zahra on my own. I could barely look after myself, let alone a baby (as much as I wanted to), so Zahra began living with Adam (I assumed he would at least treat his daughter well). We had discussed it so that I could see her whenever I could while I got back on my feet, and then she would come back to live with me. This never happened…
One day I had gotten a lift from a friend to Adam’s to see Zahra, and when we arrived at his unit is was empty, no furniture, no nothing. He had up and left with her without notifying me. I went to the police, but because there were no custody orders in place at the time it was not regarded a crime, and they could not really help me, so it was up to me to try and find her.
*after a lot of searching, and legal advice, I managed to track down Adam and get custody papers drawn up and put through the courts, which were finalised 9th July 2001. These stated that Zahra was to reside with Adam in Newcastle (7hrs from me) but was basically “joint custody”. I was to have her school holidays, anytime throughout the year in 4 day blocks etc, and we were to (and I quote the custody papers) “have joint responsibility for the long term care, welfare and development of the child”. I got to see her once, and he disappeared again.
*It has been 8 years since I have seen her, and yes I now have 2 more children which are my everything. What I have never had is endless funds to keep paying solicitors to keep tracking him down. Here in Australia you can easily hide if you want to, our privacy laws are amazingly strict.
*I was not told she was sick until 2007, and then the person to notify me was told by Adam not to notify of their whereabouts, or her illness, but this person felt that was wrong and told me Zahra was in Queensland and very ill. As soon as I was made aware I applied for her medical records which I regularly updated, but once again privacy laws prevented me from knowing where she was, except for the state.
*In 2008 i finally hit on an article with a pic of her from a cancer camp, while it let me know she was doing ok, it was no help as to anymore detail.
*Assuming there was no way she was out of the country, I refined my searches to Australia, which is why I never found anything after that one article, it seems she had been taken to the US…..
*They are claiming they the bakers) and the authourities tried to contact me when leaving the country but failed, but this is also false. I have payed child support to her every single week since she left my custody, I recieve a family allowance for my other children, and zahra is also linked to my medicare card. All these things are provided by government agencies so I am easily found, unlike themselves….
I hope this is enough to keep you skeptics happy, because it has hurt me like hell bringing it all up. While I don’t feel I should have to explain myself to the world, I have had enough of people passing judgement (and harshly) on something they know absolutely nothing about, and at a time when my emotions are already running wild.
Now please just let me grieve for my daughter, and for all the lost chances I never had with her. I am more eager than anyone for this truth to come out, so lets finally shift our focus to that.

[Northern Rose]

Baker memorial grows after word Zahra is dead (with video)

HICKORY, N.C.-- While investigators are trying to find out how Zahra Baker died, people from Hickory to Australia are angry and in shock over Zahra's death.

A memorial has popped up in front of the home where the Bakers used to live and neighbors have been stopping by to show their support and sadness.

Newschannel 36 reporter Richard DeVayne shows us how this has affected the whole community.

Press the "Play" button to see his report.

http://www.wcnc.com/news/local/Baker-memorial-grows-after-word-she-is-dead-108005059.html

[Northern Rose]

Zahra looks so happy in this picture

[Northern Rose]

Mourners stop by Granite Falls memorial for Zahra Baker (with video)


GRANITE FALLS, N.C.-- Sunday brought a rush of emotions for many who attended church services in the area where Zahra Baker's assumed remains were found.

As people headed to morning service at the Dudley Shoals Baptist Church, they also stopped by a memorial that has formed along side Dudley Shoals Road, the site where a bone, matching Zahra's DNA, was found.

"They wanted to come to give something to Zahra bless her heart," says Mary Ann Warren, who stopped at the memorial with young Amber and Jonathan McClure.

They never had a chance to meet Zahra, but still stopped to pay their respects.

"It's very sad what this poor child went through," says Warren.

"Everywhere I go I see people talking about it. It's just painful," says Karen England.

For England, the memorial was a place to go to help deal with the array of emotions she has been feeling over the 10-year-old girl who once lived in Granite Falls.

"It broke my heart. I felt hurt and angry that the people had let her down," says England.

Down the road, members at Dudley Shoals Baptist Church say they tried more than once to reach out to the Bakers.

"They visited and they asked," says Glenda young.

Like Hickory, the people of Granite Falls are also waiting for the next step in this tragic case.

It's become a painful story no one wants to hear.

"We pray a lot and we hope that it never happens again," says Warren.

http://www.wcnc.com/news/local/Mourners-stop-by-Granite-Falls-memorial-for-Zahra-Baker-107998969.html

[Sister]

The cockroaches have crawled back out       

the info tab has a link to the website zahrabaker.com which has  a re-direct on it to take you straight to The Refuge/Spiritual Counseling Network  page

Zahra Baker Fund
http://www.facebook.com/pages/Zahra-Baker-Fund/166816933330909#!/pages/Zahra-Baker-Fund/166816933330909?v=wall

NorthernRose, wasn't this shut down right after it started?  What is going on with these worms?

[Northern Rose]

Picture Gallery Granite Falls memorial
http://www.wcnc.com/news/local/Mourners-stop-by-Granite-Falls-memorial-for-Zahra-Baker-107998969.html?gallery=y&img=0&c=y#gallery-image

[Northern Rose]

The cockroaches have crawled back out       

the info tab has a link to the website zahrabaker.com which has  a re-direct on it to take you straight to The Refuge/Spiritual Counseling Network  page

Zahra Baker Fund
http://www.facebook.com/pages/Zahra-Baker-Fund/166816933330909#!/pages/Zahra-Baker-Fund/166816933330909?v=wall

NorthernRose, wasn't this shut down right after it started?  What is going on with these worms?

Yes the FB group was shut down and it is now back up.  It really irritates me that they still have a link to the website that then redirects to their other sites. 

[Northern Rose]

One of the monkeys leave this at the memorial?

[Desdemona]

Great job on all the news and links, pictures and videos -- thank you. 

  Our darling Zahra really is a shining star, isn't she?

--
For clarification purposes:  The above article states that Dudley Shoals Road is where the bone was found; that is a reporting error.

Quote:

As people headed to morning service at the Dudley Shoals Baptist Church, they also stopped by a memorial that has formed along side Dudley Shoals Road, the site where a bone, matching Zahra's DNA, was found.


No, the bone was found on Christy Road, same place as Zahra's prosthetic leg was found in an earlier search.  The Dudley Shoals creek bank (location of the sweet memorial in this news story) is where the "human remains" were found, and where investigators cleared the ground and dug a big hole to retrieve the evidence.  Those remains are being examined and tested.

How cute that someone left a sock monkey there!   

[Desdemona]

On page 37 of this thread, there are several posts referring to the passports having been found inside one of the Bakers' vehicles.  I am puzzled by the assumption, which I have read here and elsewhere for several weeks now; that the passports and other items seized were found inside the vehicles -- items such as a bowl with vegetable matter, toothbrushes, a pillow, etc. 

Below is a link to the search documents.  Please see page 6 of this .pdf file, where the three passports are among the items listed under "Items seized."  Also please see the space at the top of the form, where the areas of the search are listed, including vehicles that were on the property at the time of the search, and also the home and property itself.  It is possible that I have missed a report or a document along the way somewhere, but if not, then I remain puzzled as to why we think these things were found in the vehicle(s). 

http://www.wbtv.com/global/link.asp?l=460807

On another note, I wonder if there is any significance to the number of toothbrushes that were seized?  It says there were two.  Maybe LE took two toothbrushes because they were both believed to belong to Zahra.  But.... wouldn't it be interesting if those two toothbrushes they seized were the only ones in the bathroom?  Meaning one for each of the despicable adults, and no toothbrush in sight for the little girl who allegedly lived in the house?

[Northern Rose]

Zahra's mother: My appreciation will be with you forever


Emily Dietrich, facing camera, gets a hug from a well-wisher Sunday outside the Hickory house where Zahra had lived. NATHAN RICHTER - Queensland Courier-Mail


HICKORY, N.C. -- Zahra Baker's mother tearfully expressed her thanks to investigators for their tireless work finding her daughter, and helping her "get her daughter back in her life."

Emily Dietrich headed home to Australia Sunday evening after spending an emotional four days in North Carolina. While here, she visited the memorial to her daughter outside the Bakers' former home, and listened as police gave her terrible news -- that remains found in Caldwell County belonged to Zahra.

Before she left, she sat down for an exclusive interview for NewsChannel 36, in which she called her painful journey "a blessing in disguise."

"I can't cry 24 hours a day," said Dietrich. "I do have to pick myself up and move forward at some point, and I also need to take a breath from the pain every now and then."

She took that breath Saturday night at the home of David and Lisa Ridgway, who live in northwest Hickory not far from the Bakers' former home. The Ridgways invited Dietrich to their home for dinner, for a chance to relax and clear her head from the events of the week.

"Your heart just aches and your heart goes out to her and her whole family," said Lisa Ridgway, as she and her husband prepared dinner with Dietrich.

"It's almost shocking to see her strength," said David Ridgway. "I know for a fact I wouldn't hold up as well as she's been doing."

Dietrich is clearly touched by the outpouring of support for her daughter by the community. As hard as it was for her to see the memorial in front of the Bakers' former home, she is glad she visited.

"It brought me closer to her," she explained. "As much as I was disgusted to look at the house, she was there -- and that took me that step closer to her. And to see the tokens that everybody had left for her and the letters.." She expressed a heartfelt thanks to everyone in Hickory who has rallied to her daughter's cause.

"Even in the middle of all this awfulness, I've seen the beauty that is in North Carolina, and I've seen the beauty of the people and the places in Hickory," she said.

Dietrich said when she gets home, she will celebrate Zahra's birthday, which is Tuesday. Zahra would be 11. She and a friend will make dinner and a cake – one with purple icing and a "My Little Pony" on top.

Her next step will be to work with the consulate to bring Zahra's body home for a burial in Australia.

But before she left, her most emotional gratitude was saved for law enforcement officers who worked on Zahra's case.

"My appreciation will be with you forever," she said tearfully. "I will never forget everything you have done to change my life.. thank you."

http://www.charlotteobserver.com/2010/11/15/1840100/zahras-mother-my-appreciation.html

[Northern Rose]

Many Are Remembering Zahra Baker (video)

http://www2.wspa.com/news/2010/nov/14/many-are-remembering-zahra-baker-ar-1089752/

[KCJackie]

On page 37 of this thread, there are several posts referring to the passports having been found inside one of the Bakers' vehicles.  I am puzzled by the assumption, which I have read here and elsewhere for several weeks now; that the passports and other items seized were found inside the vehicles -- items such as a bowl with vegetable matter, toothbrushes, a pillow, etc. 

Below is a link to the search documents.  Please see page 6 of this .pdf file, where the three passports are among the items listed under "Items seized."  Also please see the space at the top of the form, where the areas of the search are listed, including vehicles that were on the property at the time of the search, and also the home and property itself.  It is possible that I have missed a report or a document along the way somewhere, but if not, then I remain puzzled as to why we think these things were found in the vehicle(s). 

http://www.wbtv.com/global/link.asp?l=460807

On another note, I wonder if there is any significance to the number of toothbrushes that were seized?  It says there were two.  Maybe LE took two toothbrushes because they were both believed to belong to Zahra.  But.... wouldn't it be interesting if those two toothbrushes they seized were the only ones in the bathroom?  Meaning one for each of the despicable adults, and no toothbrush in sight for the little girl who allegedly lived in the house?

http://www.wbtv.com/global/story.asp?s=13317074

 
According to the search warrant, the items removed from the Chevrolet Tahoe and Toyota Camry include: Duke Power bill, numerous papers with writings and phone numbers, assorted receipts, (3) passports with paperwork, (2) toothbrushes, hair brush, assorted ink pens, (2) lighters, (2) pillows, sheet, comforter, (3) gas cans, (4) burnt samples from Tahoe and brush pile, pink jacket, plastic bowl with green vegg. matter, assorted drug paraphernalia, Chinese take-out menu, 1990 Burgundy Toyota Camry, latent lift, photos, and Chevy Tahoe.