Zahra Clare Baker #8 11/15/10 - 11/27/10

[Bearlyhere]

Creation by: CBB

[Bearlyhere]

[klaasend]

Here is the motion.  We should bring it over to the new thread?

[Northern Rose]

Thank you for the smooth flight and landing! 

[klaasend]

[Northern Rose]

Court docs reveal disabled NC girl was dismembered

HICKORY, N.C. - A disabled North Carolina girl was dismembered and her remains were put at different sites, according to court papers filed Monday by lawyers representing her stepmother.

The court documents ask for a reduction in bail for Elisa Baker, saying she helped investigators by leading them to the remains of 10-year-old Zahra Baker.

Elisa Baker has been jailed since last month, accused of trying to throw off investigators by writing a fake ransom note for another child.

The court papers were reported by Charlotte-area TV stations and posted on the website of WCNC-TV.

Elisa Baker told police on Oct. 24 that Zahra "was deceased, that her body had been dismembered and that it would be recovered at different sites," according to the documents. She was allowed to accompany police the following two days to sites around Hickory, in western North Carolina, showing them where Zahra's remains were.

On Friday, police said they found a bone that matches DNA from Zahra, and believed other remains were about five miles away. They have not said, and the court documents don't explain, how the girl died.

Zahra's father, Adam Baker, was arrested on a host of charges unrelated to the girl's disappearance, but is free on bail. Calls to his lawyer were not returned Monday.

As police continue their investigation, a mountain of remembrances accumulated at the Bakers' now-abandoned home, with pictures and angels hanging from a tree outside the home in Hickory, about 50 miles northwest of Charlotte. One man stopped to kneel in prayer.

A candlelight vigil for the freckle-faced Zahra, whose cancer forced her to use hearing aids and a prostetic leg, was scheduled for Tuesday.

"The vigil is really about her life and her story, since we don't have all the facts about what happened to her," said Adrienne Opdyke, one of the organizers of the event planned by the Children's Protection Council of Catawba County.

Zahra's parents told authorities she was last seen in her bed at their home in Hickory. Soon after she was reported missing, police had trouble finding anyone other than Zahra's parents who had seen her alive in the weeks before her disappearance. A suspicious early morning fire occurred at the family's home several hours before she was reported missing.

It was then that police discovered a ransom note addressed to Adam Baker's boss on the windshield of Baker's car. Police went to that man's house, and found him and his daughter to be fine. Elisa Baker admitted writing the note and faces an obstruction of justice charge, police said.

Adam Baker, 33, is facing one count each of assault with a deadly weapon and failure to return rental property, two counts of communicating threats and five counts of writing worthless checks, authorities said.

Cassie Deal, a retired daycare operator who lives two miles away from Zahra's old home, said both of her own grown children had died within the past three years, and she felt a connection with Zahra.

"I would have taken her home with me," Deal said.

"I'd have loved to have her," she said. "I know what it's like."

Calls about the vigil have come in from across the country, Opdyke said. Candles will be distributed, and a choir is expected to sing. Birthday gifts will be donated to needy children in the area.

"There are so many people who want to give back and recognize Zahra for who she was," Opdyke said. "They're thankful to have a place to come and be around others who have the same heart for children."

Some 100 miles northeast of Hickory, Kristie Pope was organizing a vigil in Greensboro. Mourners will gather at a local Ben & Jerry's, which is making a special birthday cake for Zahra.

"We all got attached to her," Pope, a mother of three, said. "You see this cute kid who looks like the kid next door and everyone falls in love."

Pope has also started an online group called The Zahra Project, which she hopes will be a way to prevent similar deaths. Pope was incensed by news coverage of Zahra's home life that quoted neighbors saying they knew the girl was being mistreated.

"Our goal is to see someone held accountable for this," she said. "We can't do anything to bring Zahra Baker back, but maybe we can stop it from happening to another little kid."

Zahra's biological mother had traveled from Australia to Hickory last week until returning Sunday night, WCNC-TV reported. Emily Dietrich, from Wagga Wagga in New South Wales province, told the Australia-based Seven Network Sunday she hopes to be able to return her daughter's remains to her native country.

Spending her lunch break to pay respects at the growing pile of toys and flowers left in Zahra's memory, retail grocery worker Cathie Price cried as she talked about how the community is dealing with the girl's death.

"Most little kids, they're afraid of having monsters under the bed or in the closet," Price said. "This poor little child, she was living with monsters right out there in the open."

http://www.ocala.com/article/20101115/APA/1011151989?p=3&tc=pg

[MuffyBee]

Thanks Nut!! 

[Northern Rose]

[KCJackie]

Could a mod add the motion to the document thread?  Pretty please

[SunnyinTX]

on the last thread Muffy posted:....I'm ready for a thread change.  This one has been heart wrenching.     With the discovery of Zahra's remains, we also got a glimpse of the terrible things this young, sweet, brave girl endured.     I hope the next thread will be about justice for Zahra. 

I can't even imagine what could be justice for the atrocities this child endured. But whatever it may be.....whenever it may be.....I pray it is harsh and painful for those that harmed this child. 
.

[Leroy]

Okay, what am I missing....how does EB think she is going to get her bond reduced by revealing these horrific details??  I'm just beside myself right now    

[Northern Rose]

Brittany Bentley is on NG.  She is the one that filed charges against Adam and Elesa I believe

[Tamikosmom]

Nancy Grace - HLN - on right now!

I am off for the evening but would appreciate any updates gleaned from this show.

Thanks

Janet
5:10 PM PT

[Tamikosmom]

Brittany Bentley is on NG.  She is the one that filed charges against Adam and Elesa I believe

Reminder - Brittany Bentley


Punishment was her routine
November 01, 2010 - 8:34 PM
 
<snipped>

The incident with the teenaged girls came the day after Adam and Elisa Baker were arrested and charged with communicating threats against Elisa’s niece Brittany Bentley, her fiance Zackery Tyler and the couple’s 7-month-old daughter. The threats stemmed from an outstanding debt Bentley owed them, according to the arrest warrant.

“He (Adam Baker) chased me and my fiancee. He literally tried to run us off the road twice,” Tyler wrote in the complaint accompanying the warrant. “He got in the opposite lane, swerved at the driver’s side and we had to swerve to keep from getting hit, then he passed us and slammed his brakes. We had to slam our brakes and still almost hit him.”

The couple went home and gave Baker the money she was owed, but she demanded more, they said. She and Adam threatened the couple with Tasers, according to the arrest warrant.

“They said they would kill me and Brittany Bentley and that they knew where our daughter was and they would kill her if I didn’t pay her,” Tyler wrote.

Bentley said the couple claimed to have a gun in the car and drove to her mother’s home, where Bentley’s daughter was staying. Bentley’s complaint said she feared for her life and the life of her daughter and fiance.

The Bakers were charged with communicating threats in connection with the accusations. Adam Baker was also charged with assault with a deadly weapon in connection with the incident on the road.


http://www2.hickoryrecord.com/news/2010/nov/01/9/punishment-was-her-routine-ar-500792/

[Red]

Just when I think I have heard and seen it all ... we get this case.

As I was reading the motion and listening to NG tonight I just kept thinking to myself ... THESE SOB's DID WHAT TO ZAHARA!!! This evil step monster thinks by implicating herself in the crime that her bail will be reduced? Scratching my head.

There is not a needle long enough.

[Leroy]

Just when I think I have heard and seen it all ... we get this case.

As I was reading the motion and listening to NG tonight I just kept thinking to myself ... THESE SOB's DID WHAT TO ZAHARA!!! This evil step monster thinks by implicating herself in the crime that her bail will be reduced? Scratching my head.

There is not a needle long enough.

No there isn't.  And I just dont understand how these defense attorneys sleep at night.  I know everyone deserves a fair trial and representation but come on!  This almost tops the defense attorneys of Channon and Chris    

[Northern Rose]

In bond reduction filing, Baker shows her help in case

... Elisa Baker's defense attorney Lisa Dubs attempts to dodge the local media as she leaves the Catawba County Detention Center.  Dubs met with Elisa Baker for two and half hours Monday afternoon


NEWTON --
Elisa Baker's attorneys filed a motion for another bond reduction hearing. In the motion, attorneys Lisa Dubs and Scott Reilly cited how helpful she's been in recovering key evidence in Zahra Baker’s death.

Elisa is currently in jail for a felony obstruction of justice charge under a $65,000 bond, rather than the $1 to $10,000 that is the typical range.

The last time her attorney asked for it to be reduced, Judge Robert Mullinax Jr. increased it from $40,000 to its current amount.

However her attorneys contend that Elisa has cooperated with police. The motion, which was filed Monday afternoon, states the only reason police have found anything relating to Baker’s missing stepdaughter, Zhara Baker, is because Elisa provided information.

According to the motion, some of the information Elisa provided includes:

-Telling law enforcement of three search sites on Oct. 25; at each search site, Elisa said what should be found at each site;

-Shortly after Elisa mentioned the Christie Road site, investigators found part of the prosthetic leg Zahra wore. Elisa said it was the gel liner;

-One of the other sites Elisa directed them to was Dudley Shoals Road site;

-On Oct. 26, the mattress Elisa told law enforcement about was found at the landfill in Caldwell County. Elisa confirmed the description of the mattress, and directed law enforcement to the site of the specific dumpster where it was thrown out;

-Also on Oct. 26, Elisa told law enforcement where other items of evidence could be located at the house.

According to the motion “the only credible evidence released to the public by law enforcement related to this case is evidence that was collected after Elisa Baker told law enforcement where to look and what to look for. Law enforcement has been able to locate evidence at landfills, the Baker home and locations throughout Caldwell County and Catawba County only because of Elisa Baker’s cooperation and disclosures.”

The beginning part of the motion also states that on Oct. 22, Elisa talked to her attorneys and investigator, about the circumstances about the disappearance and/or death of Zahra.

During the late evening and early morning hours of Oct. 22 and Oct. 23, “the defense team verified that certain information provided by Ms. Baker was reliable. As part of that verification, the defense team located and collected a significant item of evidence.”

The following day, on Oct. 24, law enforcement was told that Zahra was dead, and “her body had been dismembered and that it would be recovered at different sites. The piece of evidence collected by the defense was turned over to law enforcement.”

On Oct. 25 Elisa helped investigators with the search, since the locations were remote. The media spotted her that day at the Dudley Shoals Road location, in an SUV.

The motion for the bond reduction hearing argues that Elisa’s bond should be reduced because she has assisted with the recovering of evidence in this case and has been available to help law enforcement with any questions they had.

It also states that she is a lifelong resident of Caldwell and Catawba counties, except for when she went to Australia to marry her husband, Adam Baker. Elisa’s passport has been surrendered, and “due to the overwhelming and international publicity this case has received, Ms. Baker is instantly recognizable and it would be difficult for her to avoid detection if she should attempt to leave the jurisdiction.”

Further, Elisa has no assets with which to leave the area, the motion contends.

Zahra, who would have turned 11 today, was reported missing by her father Adam Baker on Oct. 9. The bubbly child lost part of her left leg and some of her hearing to cancer, which she beat twice. On Oct. 12, the Amber Alert that was issued was cancelled and the case was changed to a homicide investigation. On Nov. 12, police said they had enough evidence to confirm that Zahra was dead.

Elisa’s obstruction of justice charge stems from writing a false ransom note in which she demanded $1 million. She has also been arrested on several other charges unrelated to Zahra’s disappearance. Adam was arrested as well, for several charges unrelated to the case. He has since bonded out of jail.

http://www2.hickoryrecord.com/news/2010/nov/15/bond-reduction-filing-baker-shows-her-help-case-ar-540284/

[klaasend]

Just when I think I have heard and seen it all ... we get this case.

As I was reading the motion and listening to NG tonight I just kept thinking to myself ... THESE SOB's DID WHAT TO ZAHARA!!! This evil step monster thinks by implicating herself in the crime that her bail will be reduced? Scratching my head.

There is not a needle long enough.

Red - Elisa is going to claim that Zahra died from being sick and that Adam chose to dismember her and get rid of the evidence.  What I'd like to know is how a child goes to looking fine and well cared for on Sept 25 then two weeks later die naturally.

I think Elisa and Adam beat Zahra and she died.  You're right, there is not a needle long enough.

[Brandi]

Just when I think I have heard and seen it all ... we get this case.

As I was reading the motion and listening to NG tonight I just kept thinking to myself ... THESE SOB's DID WHAT TO ZAHARA!!! This evil step monster thinks by implicating herself in the crime that her bail will be reduced? Scratching my head.

There is not a needle long enough.

Red - Elisa is going to claim that Zahra died from being sick and that Adam chose to dismember her and get rid of the evidence.  What I'd like to know is how a child goes to looking fine and well cared for on Sept 25 then two weeks later die naturally.

I think Elisa and Adam beat Zahra and she died.  You're right, there is not a needle long enough.

...or a wood chipper dull enough.

[Leroy]

Just when I think I have heard and seen it all ... we get this case.

As I was reading the motion and listening to NG tonight I just kept thinking to myself ... THESE SOB's DID WHAT TO ZAHARA!!! This evil step monster thinks by implicating herself in the crime that her bail will be reduced? Scratching my head.

There is not a needle long enough.

Red - Elisa is going to claim that Zahra died from being sick and that Adam chose to dismember her and get rid of the evidence.  What I'd like to know is how a child goes to looking fine and well cared for on Sept 25 then two weeks later die naturally.

I think Elisa and Adam beat Zahra and she died.  You're right, there is not a needle long enough.

I agree except I think Elisa beat her to death and Adam helped with the rest. 

Never before have I felt so strongly that this child is in such a better place.  She will not hurt anymore...not from cancer, not from her dad, not from her stop-monster....she is finally safe