Emotions were palpable in court Thursday as Elisa Baker pleaded guilty to killing her stepdaughter, Zahra. Baker’s husband, Adam, said he would never forgive Elisa for taking away his daughter.
“Elisa, I trusted you with the most precious person in my life,” Adam said in the courtroom. “Zahra looked up to you. You not only lied to me but to Zahra. You filled her life with lies.”
Elisa, 43, would not look at Adam while he spoke to her, looking straight ahead in the courtroom instead. Her eyes did tear up.
“You robbed her of a future. Zahra will never get to go to high school. You robbed us of an amazing girl who I have no doubt would have changed the world,” Adam said.
He said Elisa ruined his life.
“You made my life hell with false accusations that I was involved in her death,” Adam said. “There are no words to explain the hate I have for you. You will have to face your judgment in the afterlife. But please, tell us where we can find any more of Zahra's remains so she can be laid to rest complete.”
18 years, 6 months
Elisa’s plea agreement came almost a year after 10-year-old Zahra was reported missing on Oct. 9. The plea deal included pleading guilty to second-degree murder with aggravating factors, bigamy, obstruction of justice and six other felonies. She was sentenced to a minimum of 14 years and 9 months and a maximum of 18 years and 6 months in prison.
Although Elisa told authorities Zahra’s death was an accident, Hickory police quickly zeroed in on inconsistencies. When they arrived at the Baker residence on Oct. 9, the ransom note found on a car was written on Duke Power envelope, said Hickory Investigator David Rockett. They found a power bill in the Bakers’ bedroom with no envelope.
“Once we secured the scene, Elisa was standing with the victim coordinator. She said, ‘Are they putting the tape up because they think she (Zahra) was murdered in there?’” Rockett said.
Baker was arrested that day for obstruction of justice, and admitted to writing the ransom note.
The search for Zahra’s body has been a difficult one.
Lt. Bobby Grace, with Hickory Police Department, supervised and coordinated the searches on Christie Road, Dudley Shoals and Indian Grave Road in Caldwell County where Elisa said Zahra’s body may be found.
Zahra’s prosthetic leg and left upper arm bone were found on Christie Road. Her torso and pelvic area were found on Dudley Shoals Road about a mile away. Nothing was found on a two-mile stretch of Indian Grave Road, Grace said.
We did not find her head
“No other remains were found,” he said. “We did not find her head, right arm, hands, right leg or upper left leg.”
International Drive was also searched. That was where Elisa’s legal team found a handsaw they believe was involved in the case.
State Bureau of Investigation Agent Heath McBride said the SBI searched the Bakers’ Hickory home and found a pair of child’s pants that tested positive for blood. He went into Zahra’s bedroom and found 18 faint drops of blood, the size of a pin, on the wall near the lower half of the wall where a headboard would go. There were more drops of blood on a floor that was painted black. The bedroom walls were painted pink. A burned paintbrush with pink paint was found outside in an area that Hickory firefighters responded to Oct. 9, the day Zahra was reported missing, McBride said.
He also discussed the bones recovered on Dudley Shoals, and said a cutting implement had been used.
The Stanley handsaw had no DNA
“The Stanley handsaw collected (on Industrial Drive) had no DNA,” McBride said. “There were chemical indications for blood, but not enough for DNA.”
He admitted a saw left out in the weather could eliminate DNA.
Elisa admitted to Superior Court Judge Timothy Kincaid she was guilty as part of her plea agreement. However, in interviews with Hickory Police investigators, she said Zahra died of natural causes and Adam helped dispose of the body.
Capt. Thurman Whisnant, head of the criminal investigation division for the Hickory Police Department, said when he spoke with Baker on Nov. 19, she told him Zahra died on Sept. 24 at about 4 p.m.
“She found her not breathing, unresponsive,” Whisnant said of what Baker told him of the day. “She attempted CPR for 20 to 25 minutes. She said Adam was at work.”
Elisa told Whisnant that Zahra got up at about 9 a.m. that day and wasn’t feeling well. She had eggs for breakfast, and Baker went to Walmart to meet her eldest daughter. After coming home and feeding Zahra, she found her unresponsive and did CPR.
“She called Adam around 5 or 5:30 p.m. and they collectively decided they could not call 911,” Whisnant recounted.
When Adam heard this testimony, he shook his head and swore to the woman sitting next to him in court.
Phone records point to Elisa
Whisnant testified police looked at Adam and Elisa’s phone records, used the electronic identifier numbers for their phones and cell towers to determine the locations of calls made to and from their phones to determine where both were on Sept. 24 and Sept. 25. Although Elisa was in the area of Christie Road, Dudley Shoals Road and Industrial Drive on Sept. 24, Adam was not. Investigators confirmed both had their phones with them on those days.
On Sept. 24, Adam was in Burke County, north of Valdese, Whisnant said. After work, he tried to get a ride home with Elisa but she told him she couldn’t get a ride because she had been stopped by a trooper and her eldest daughter would have to give him a ride. Whisnant said police found no evidence a trooper stopped Elisa that day.
On Sept. 25, Elisa received phone calls from 7:20 a.m. to 8:30 p.m., with his phone connecting to cell towers in Conover, Whisnant said.
“He had a side landscaping job for a private citizen,” Whisnant said. “From early morning to 3 or 4 p.m., he was doing landscaping and tree trimming. This is significant because on the morning of Sept. 25, she said Adam went into the bathroom and conducted the dismemberment of Zahra, but phone records indicate he would be on the tree-trimming job.”
He said he did talk to the homeowner to confirm Adam was there.
Prosecutor Michael Van Buren said some may wonder how a father could go two weeks without seeing his daughter and knowing she was not in the house. Whisnant said that was something the police department struggled with.
“We did have a difficult time with the length, from Sept. 24 to Oct. 10 and Adam not knowing,” Whisnant said. “But the recurring theme was Adam worked a lot and was gone in the mornings. He was told by the doctors in Australia if she’s sleeping, don’t bother her. He himself made a comment, ‘I smoked marijuana more than I spent quality time with my daughter.’”
When Zahra’s biological mother, Emily Dietrich, heard this, she clutched her hand over her mouth.
However, they received the text messages between Elisa and Adam, and it showed deception on Elisa’s part.
Elisa sent texts of deceit
In early October, Elisa sent texts to Adam telling him she fed Zahra and other similar messages saying she was still alive.
“She told him she bought birthday presents for Zahra, making up for not going to Disney World,” Whisnant said. “The texts were mainly from Elisa to Adam.”
On Oct. 10, after Zahra had been reported missing, Elisa and Adam were interviewed separately. Afterward, Adam received additional texts from Elisa.
“Hello, I guess you’re not talking to me, I guess they’ve got you convinced I’ve done something. Please talk to me.” Whisnant said that indicated guilt on Elisa’s part, and Adam not knowing.
When Reilly questioned the witnesses, he said investigators would not have known where to search without Elisa’s help.
“We would not have been at those locations if she had not shared her information,” Grace said of Elisa. “After Oct. 25 was when Ms. Baker located these sites.”
He admitted that due to the rural nature of the area, animals could have carried off some of the skeletal remains of Zahra that have not yet been found.
He also questioned Whisnant on Adam taking a lie detector test. Whisnant said Adam showed deception on his test, as well.
Reilly told Zahra’s family he was truly sorry for their loss, however, and Elisa’s family is devastated, as well.
“She is so sorry for the hurt she has caused,” Reilly said.
Reilly said Elisa could have not talked to investigators.
“I’d like to point out, when she was in custody on only the obstruction charge, Elisa could have kept her mouth shut,” he said. “She had a choice, she could have kept quiet and never said a word. She took Hickory ppolice to the spot where Zahra was buried. I think she did the right thing.”
Elisa did not talk during Thursday’s hearing. However, her family had a letter they asked Reilly to read to the court.
“Don’t think a tragedy like this can’t happen to you, because it can,” the letter read. “Zahra is now a shining star across the world for all handicapped and neglected children.”
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