Murder In America - EP. 68 NORTH CAROLINA - The Murder Of 10-Year Old Cancer Survivor Zahra Baker

Episode Date: June 13, 2022

In 2010, a little girl from North Carolina went missing, and a massive manhunt was started to try locate her. Zahra Baker was a cancer survivor and an inspiration to many... but she was taken from this world too soon, by someone that she should have been able to trust. This, is the story of the murder of Zahra Baker. And you're listening, to MURDER IN AMERICA. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

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This episode is sponsored by BetterHelp. Life is a journey. I know this. I think we all know this. Some days feel good and other days feel absolutely overwhelming. Whatever's keeping you up at night, it's easy sometimes to feel like you have to figure it all out on your own. But the truth is, nobody has all the answers.

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Trigger warnings from the stories we cover may include violence, rape, murder, and offenses against children. This podcast is not for everyone. You have been warned. Sometimes in life, people are dealt a bad hand. Maybe you're predisposed to certain mental health issues. Maybe you grew up in poverty, or you were raised by abusive parents. Or maybe you were diagnosed with a disease that was far beyond your control. That's the thing about life.

We don't always have a choice on certain things that happen to us. When you're little, you expect it to be a fairy tale, and you have high expectations that you'll grow up, live a long, happy life, and accomplish your dreams. And although you know there will be villains in your story, there's always supposed to be a happy ending, right? Well, that's where we're wrong. In reality, sometimes the Captain Hooks, Corella DeVille's, and evil stepmothers do win at the end of the day. In today's episode, we will be discussing a 10-year-old girl named Zara Baker, who had multiple villains and her story.

The first one was cancer, which she was. She had beaten twice throughout her short life. But the second villain was the worst of all. It was her evil stepmother. You see, unlike Cinderella, Zara's stepmother cut her fairy tale short, and there were no fairy godmothers to save the day. The ending of Zara's story is filled with empty pages in place of what could have been a beautiful fairy tale.

Zara Baker had big dreams for her life, and like you and I, I'm sure she expected to defeat her villains. But that wouldn't be the case. Zara's fairy tale quickly turned into a horror story at the hands of her villain. And instead of a happy ending, the 10-year-old's life ended in murder, dismemberment, and disposal. This is the story of the murder of Zara Baker.

I'm Courtney Browen. And I'm Colin Brown. And you're listening to Murder, in America. The story today starts on the other side of the globe and the country farthest away from the United States, Australia. It was here in a city called Wagga Wagga in New South Wales, where a little girl named Zara Claire Baker was born on November 16, 1999.

Zara would go on to face many hardships throughout her short life, but the first was just weeks after she was born. Her mother, Emily Dietrich, was experiencing strong symptoms of postpartum depression after Zara's birth. And after a few short weeks, she decided she didn't want the responsibility of motherhood and gave full custody to Zara's father, Adam Baker. Emily would see Zara from time to time over the next few months, but by the time Zara was eight months old, Emily completely cut off contact with her. Over the next 10 years of Zara's life, Emily went on.

to have two other children that she would keep, two other children that she saw every single day, but not Zara. She grew up without a mother and was forced to live with her father, who, as you'll see throughout this story, failed to protect her. Zara would only live to be 10 years old before she was tragically taken from this world. And after her death, Zara's mother, Emily, would face a lot of regret. When asked about her decision to give up custody, Emily said this. It's hard to explain it to people who haven't been parents. I suffer from depression. I suffered from postnatal depression with all three of my children.

But sadly, with Zara, I didn't know I had it. You don't realize you have it and you just think you're inadequate. You reach a point where you have a split second to make a decision on what's best for your child before the depression overtakes you. And then you have no choice. In my head, the best thing was, the safest thing for her was to go with him. I didn't have the strength to keep going. I didn't want to hate my child. I didn't want to be that news story where you hear the mother has drowned her child

or couldn't stop them crying so they smothered them. I didn't want to be that mom. And I beg any mother out there who feels it to get help and do everything that they can to get support and to keep support. And it doesn't make them a bad person. It gets treated. By the two children, I still suffered,

but I had knowledge to get through it, and I knew to ask for help. That's the main thing. I didn't do it because I didn't love her. I did it because I did love her. These postpartum depression thoughts that Emily was having after Zara's birth are more common than one would think.

It's normal for new mothers to be overwhelmed and for them to question whether or not they would be a good mom. It's not as common for mothers to give up their children, but like Emily said, she did what she thought was best for Zara at the time, a decision that, like we said earlier, she would go on to regret. In 2004, when Zara was five years old, she and Adam moved in with his parents in a city called Giro in Northwest Australia. Giro's population was less than 400 people, and it was known for its sugar cane.

Adam would end up getting a job at one of the sugar mills in town, and during the day, while he worked, his mother would look after Zara. Things seemed to be going well for the Baker family during these first few months. Zara was your average little girl who loved to run around and play. She had a big imagination, an infectious laugh, and she always were a smile. But unbeknownst to everyone, these would be the last few months of peace before Zara faced another hardship in her life. Shortly after moving here in 2005, Zara was diagnosed with bone cancer, a very rare type of cancer. In fact, bone cancers make up just 1% of all cancers in the world.

And only about 0.1% of the population will develop this type of cancer over their lifetime. Unfortunately, Zara was part of this 0.1%. At just 5 years old, it seems so unfair that a little girl with so much life, who had already gone through a lot, would have to endure such a horrible and rare diagnosis. Zara's cancer was also very aggressive. So aggressive that doctors ultimately decided to amputate her left leg right above the knee. Now according to everyone, Zara was a great sport about her amputation. The optimistic 5-year-old even told her friends that her prosthetic was going to be like a new Barbie leg. And although she was facing one of the hardest things imaginable, Zara didn't want any special treatment.

She wanted to run around and play like all of the other other. like all of the other kids her age. And she did, despite her disabilities. As part of her treatment, her left leg above the knee was amputated. Most of us wanted us to feel sorry for her, but she did not want pity from anyone, as one family member told me. She wanted to be like every other child. As part of her therapy, Zara would do water exercises.

As another family member told me, eventually she started swimming, and she became a very good swimmer. She could swim as fast as any others with just the top part of her left leg. Also, she would climb a rock wall as part of her recovery. Nothing would slow her down. She wanted no pity. She wanted to be like every other child. Zara was a fighter, and eventually her cancer. would go into remission. It was a victory no child should even have to celebrate. And unfortunately,

the celebration wouldn't last very long. In 2007, Zara would be dealt another bad hand. This time, they learned that the cancer had spread to her lungs. Over the next year, Zara had to drop out of school, and she spent most of her time undergoing chemotherapy. Her cancer was spread to her lung. and she would have surgery to remove part of it. She had a scar under her right arm in the shape of an ex. And she would tell her family, X marks a spot to my heart. Now, luckily, the chemo was working. By the time she was eight years old,

the tumors in her lungs had disappeared. But during the process, Zara had lost her hearing due to the intense chemotherapy. According to Cancer.gov, about 50% of children who undergo this certain chemotherapy will lose their hearing. Zara was one of them. She was 8 years old and had already beaten cancer twice. And even though she no longer had a leg and she lost her ability to hear, Zara always remained in good spirits. She even dedicated her time to helping other children who were going to through similar battles.

While in the hospital, she would make her rounds to other children hopping on just one leg. She would provide them with encouragement for their upcoming treatment. She would laugh and play games, taking their minds off what was to come. According to everyone that knew her, Zara brought joy to every life she touched. She was a happy and cheerful girl who always greeted people with a big, hug and she saw the best out of life despite the bad hand she was dealt. Soon after, Zara ended up going to a camp for children with cancer called Camp Quality. And while she was there, she had the time of her life. She was able to do all of the fun camp activities that she never thought she'd be

able to do. And after she attended this camp, Zara's story would eventually inspire many people across Australia. The Townsville Bulletin, a newspaper in a nearby city, would go on to cover Zara's story and her experience at Camp Quality. The picture they used was of Zara sitting on top of an army vehicle with an army helmet. She had two thumbs up and was giving a big smile. Jessica Johnson, the reporter covering the story, wrote, They don't make them much tougher than Little Zara Baker. The eight-year-old Giro Girl has overcome more challenges than most people would and a life. time, but nothing could wipe the smile off the bubbly youngster's face yesterday.

Now, during all of this, Adam, Zara's father, had a long-distance girlfriend. Back in 2006, shortly after Zara's cancer diagnosis, Adam was getting lonely, and he wanted to find a woman that he could bring into his life, so he turned to the internet for companionship. The networking site of his choice was IMVU, which is a website where people create 3D avatars. These avatars play different games, go to virtual parties, and socialize with the other avatars on the site. And some people even use it to find potential partners. After Adam created his account, he eventually struck up a conversation with an American woman named Elisa Fairchild.

Alisa told Adam that she was living in North Carolina. She was divorced and had three children of her own. Another thing that Adam quickly realized was that Elisa was very experienced. expressive online, especially on MySpace. Her MySpace name was Gothic Fairy 6668, and her bio read, People often judge what they don't understand. I myself prefer to be different. There is no one out there I really envy. I strive to be different in my own way. So if people stop and stare, I think to myself, God, I feel sorry for them. They are so scared to step out of the norm that they live in a constant bubble, afraid to stand out, and stand up for how they really feel.

Adam was immediately drawn to the eccentric woman from North Carolina. And shortly after they met online, they talked non-stop over the next couple of months. Eventually, their friendship turned into a relationship, and they fell in love. It didn't matter to them that they had never met in person. The love they felt from their virtual chat room was strong and it was real. they even consider themselves to be soulmates. Elisa would later say in an interview that she loved Adam for his honesty, and she respected the fact that he was such a good dad to his daughter that suffered from cancer.

I thought I had met Prince Charming. What I thought was his honesty about everything, and the fact that he was a single dad and that he loved his daughter enough to raise her his and not let his family or her family rise. So her. And by 2008, two years after they had met online, the two were desperate to meet one another. So Adam decided to buy her a ticket to Australia. Hey everyone, we all know how difficult finding a bra can be. Whether you're big chested or small chested, it's all pretty difficult to find your perfect size. I personally am on the bigger end when it comes to finding a bra, but I have a ton of friends that,

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Adam would later say in an interview with 60 minutes that once Eliza entered the picture, he dreamed of a beautiful life with her, quote, a happy family, a lot of love, more children, and brothers and sisters for Zara. And Adam wasn't the only one who loved Elisa. Zara did too. And for the first time in her life, she finally had a mother figure.

A few months after she came to Australia, Adam and Elisa decided to get married, and although everyone thought that they were moving a bit fast, they didn't care. They knew they were meant for each other. The two would get married in Adam's parents' backyard on July 6, 2008, and for the first time in years, it seemed like everything was falling into place. Zara's cancer was in remission. Adam and Elisa were madly in love, and Zara had a new mom.

The three of them together made a happy family, and they had big dreams for their lives together. But these dreams didn't involve a life in Australia. Instead, they decided to move over 10,000 miles away to America. On December 19, 2008, about five months after their wedding, Adam, Elisa, and Zara packed up all of their things, left Australia and made their way to North Carolina. but the couple didn't really have any plans for once they arrived. Neither of the two had jobs. They had no money, and they had no place to live.

They ended up moving in with Elisa's father, Marshall Fairchild, at his home in Hickory, North Carolina, and America was definitely an adjustment for little Zara. Not only had she moved across the world, away from her friends and family, but she also had to get used to a different culture. After moving to America, Zara had just to her. chicken nuggets for the first time. She experienced her first snow day, even though Adam and Lisa refused to let her play in the snow. She also had to get used to a new school with an entirely different curriculum. It was a big jump for a small girl who already had a lot of chaos in her

life, but she continued to be optimistic and make the most out of her situation. There were certain things that Zara missed, like her family in Australia's wildlife. But from the Outside looking in, she seemed to be adjusting pretty well. Zara soon came to realize, however, that life in America was a lot different than it was back in Australia. For one, Elisa was a lot different than when they first met. The nice new mom facade had faded, and now that she and Adam were married. Eliza was very strict with Zara. For instance, if she didn't eat everything on her plate, Zara would get sent to her bedroom for the rest of the night. Her new stepmother would also punish her if she had trouble walking on her prosthetic leg.

Instead of being compassionate and helpful with Zara's disabilities, Elisa viewed it as more of a nuisance. She even posted a photo of Zara on her MySpace and captioned it, The Dark Child. Another issue within their household was that Adam and Elizabeth, Elisa were constantly struggling financially, and they were always having to ask their friends and family for money. Elisa's father, Marshall, was one of the main people they would ask. Marshall would help them out whenever he could, but he soon came to realize that they were taking advantage of him. In one instance, Adam and Elisa asked if they could buy a car off of Marshall,

but after he gave it to them, he never saw any of the money they promised. In addition, after not paying him for the car, they broke its steering column and refused to pay for that. And by that point, Marshall had had enough and he forced them to move out. This fight not only caused a rift between Elisa and her dad, but with her entire family, including her siblings. Well, she just done her father real wrong. They come back from Australia and moved in with him. and they just said they paid the bills and didn't, and it's just everything got cut off on him and everything,

and half of the family just had a falling out with her over it. Shortly after, Elisa wrote on her MySpace. One thing I have learned this week is that family doesn't mean anything, and no matter the good you do, people only judge you for the bad. See, everyone makes mistakes in this life, and I have had my share. Yet some people think they are perfect, never lie, or do anything wrong. And you kids rip your heart out.

It's a never-ending circle. Now I understand what my mom used to tell me about family and friends. The next post on her MySpace was, I'm so sick of people judging me by how I look. I am Gothic and I'm proud of it. Maybe if everyone would stop judging people, the world might be a better place. Then it's the doctors.

Oh my God, if you look a little different, they think you're hooked on some sort of drugs when, truth is, I have enough health problems without that shit. I hate it. I can't see how our world has come to this. And I don't understand why all the people from other countries want to come here. I'm Elisa by God, and that's who I am till I die. A look at her MySpace profile shows that Elisa wasn't very happy with her life.

She was having issues with her family and her health. and the only thing that seemed to bring her happiness was Adam. In one post, she wrote, We have been together two years and will be married one in July. He has been by my side during some of the hardest points in my life, even when I wanted to give up. I owe him everything. Even though things are tough at the moment, he keeps me positive,

even when everyone else treats me like crap. Shortly after moving out of her dad's house in Hickory, Adam, Elisa, and Zara move into a small apartment in Granite Falls, North Carolina. And it seemed to be around this time when the abuse of Zara really took off. Now that they were alone, in their own home, there were no watch flies. And Alisa was free to treat Zara however she wanted. With Adam's busy work schedule, he wasn't even around that often. But even when he was, he didn't do anything about.

about his wife's abuse of his daughter. According to people close to the family, Adam would just sit back and watch as his wife would beat Zara, giving her black eyes, never letting her out of her room. And he never did anything about it. You see, Adam wasn't a very present dad. Once he and Zara moved to America, his main priority was Elisa.

He worked the graveyard shift, so most of the time when he got home, Zara was already sleeping. The extent at which he saw his daughter was just peeking his head in at night. Then, during the day while Zara was at school, Adam would sleep. So the only people that were present in Zara's life were her abusive stepmother and the people at her school. And soon enough, Zara would start to show warning signs that there were problems at home. While living in Granite Falls, 9-year-old Zara started school at Granite Falls Elementary. She did her best to fit in here in a new country with a new curriculum, new people, new everything, but it wasn't easy.

For one, Zara had hearing loss, which affected her speech, and we all know how mean kids can be at that age. That, coupled with her prosthetic leg, made Zara stand out amongst her peers. She knew she was different. But the troubles at home far outweighed her troubles at school. There's a photo of Zara in class, holding an award certificate, but you can see a bit of sadness in her eyes. Zara's biological mother, Emily, came across the picture online. And even though she hadn't been in contact with Zara since she was a baby,

seeing the picture made her want to reconnect. Emily even called the school hoping to get some information from them so she could contact her daughter. But strangely enough, soon after this call from Emily, Adam and Elisa decided to take Zara out of school in the middle of the year, leave Granite Falls and move into a trailer in Hudson, North Carolina. From there, Zara continued fourth grade at a new school called Hudson Elementary. It's unclear why Adam and Elisa took Zara out of school for the second time. It's possible that people were catching on to the abuse, and they wanted to move so people wouldn't ask any more questions. Zara had gone through a lot during her first year in America.

Adjusting to her new life, having to move schools several times, and dealing with an abusive stepmother is more than any little girl should ever have to endure. But throughout all of it, Zara continued to be optimistic. She never let her circumstances dull her bright personality. And in May of 2010, it seemed like the universe was finally working in her favor. A local charity in North Carolina had heard, Zara's story and they decided to buy her some hearing aids. And for the first time in three years, Zara was able to hear more clearly. News crews recorded the moment Zara received the hearing

aids and this is what she had to say. Sound better than without them. So I can actually hear more than without my hearing aids. Elisa was also there that day. And she made it a point to talk to the cameras too, portraying herself as a loving and concerned stepmother. A lot of people don't understand that treatment does tend to take other things away from. She wants to go to college. She can hear now.

But as we've come to find out, looks can be deceiving. Elisa was no compassionate stepmother like she portrayed on camera. Between the walls of their home was a life filled with abuse and neglect. And although Elisa tried to hide her true colors from the world, there were many people that saw right through it. Many of her family members knew that Elisa hated Zara. Anytime life wasn't going her way, she would take out her frustrations on the little girl.

Zara was often seen with bruises all over her body and black eyes. Neighbors of the family even witnessed some of the abuse firsthand. Just from the times I went over there, the environment Zara lived in, she was locked in her room, allowed five minutes out of day to eat. That was it. She was beat almost every time I was over there for just the smallest things. If Lisa would get mad, she would take it out on Zara, things the kid didn't deserve. She just had a horrible home life.

One time I remember she had a black eye, and she said it was from the door, but we all knew it. We suspected it was from Lisa. I never saw Adam like spank her, punish her, do anything, but he'd say. He was sit there and watched Lisa do it to his child. He would just sit there and not say anything. Zara wanted to be a normal kid. And one of the normal things that she wanted to do was ride a bike. But Elisa thought that this request was ridiculous.

For one, she never even let Zara play outside. So she definitely didn't want her riding a bike. The only time Zara was allowed to play outside was when Alyssa would make her do exercises. She told Zara that if she wanted to ride a bike, she needed to toughen up and be able to run up and down a hill on her prosthetic leg. Neighbors would often see Zara crying as she did these exercises, but Elisa showed no mercy. A woman at the top of the cul-de-sac talked about seeing Lisa Baker make Zara walk up and down that hill. The idea that I got is that sometimes it was as a kind of, of therapy, I suppose. She was trying to get her to walk, to walk, learn to walk better on her leg.

But other times it seemed to be more of a punishment. She mentioned in particular that Zara wanted a bicycle. And Lisa told her that she could not have a bicycle until she learned to run on the leg. And so she needed to walk up and down that hill to strengthen her leg. But it hurt Zara and I guess the prosthetic leg cut into her or hurt her. her leg and she would often cry when she was doing that. And the saddest part of all was that Zara didn't even need to do these exercises. She already knew how to ride a bike. It seems like Elisa just wanted to punish her.

In another instance, a neighbor recalled a time when Zara was getting beat. I think there was more behind closed doors than what anybody knew. Do you think she was being abused? Oh, yeah. and won't work. There was one incident where Zara's stepmother was whooping Zara, and she broke her hand on her prosthetic leg. It's hard to even imagine the amount of rage it would take to break her hand on a prosthetic leg. For Elisa to even hit her prosthesis during the beating means that she must have been swinging indiscriminately all over Zara's body.

which makes sense considering she was often seen covered in bruises. When people would question Zara's injuries, Elisa would always make up excuses, putting the blame on Zara. It's always she fell down or she rolled out of bed or she didn't have her leg on right and couldn't walk right and fail or it's always Zara's fault. But the saddest part is that we don't even know the extent of the abuse that was going on inside the Baker home. If Elisa was doing all of this in front of people, there's no telling what was going on behind closed doors. The sweet 10-year-old cancer survivor, with one leg, stood no chance

against her evil stepmother, and no one ever came to her rescue. The Department of Social Services had been called in regard to Zara's abuse, but nothing ever came about it, and soon enough it would be too late. Just before the start of Zara's fifth grade school year, Adam and Elisa decided to move again, this time to a small brick house in the town of Hickory. They were supposed to enroll Zara into the Hickory School District, but they never did.

And during the first few months of school, Zara never attended class. The previous school tried to contact the baker's since Zara never showed up, but shortly after, Elisa called and withdrew her from the district, Zara would never be enrolled in any other schools in the area. When questioned about Zara's education, Elisa would lie and tell people that she was homeschooling her

and teaching her how to spell. Now, it's illegal to homeschool children in North Carolina without notifying the previous school. And since Adam and Elisa never notified them, the school district made several attempts to try and follow up with Zara, but their calls were left unanswered. Adam and Elisa also never applied for any homeschooling certificates, so it's likely that Zara wasn't getting any schooling for the first few months of her fifth grade year. And strangely enough, it wasn't just the schools that had not heard from Zara. No one, including their friends, family members, and neighbors had seen Zara in weeks, which leads us to October 9th, 2010.

when Elisa Baker places a call to 911 at 5.09 a.m. 911, what's the address of your emergency? My husband works for a tree maintenance company, and our backyard's on fire. Your what's on fire? The backyard. We've got big moot's piles and woodhouse because we tell. I'll tell you. I'll tell you address, ma'am.

It's 21-21-Avue, Northwest. 21-21st Avenue, Northwest. Okay, is it close to your house? No, it's kind of off. We're right behind. We're the new 137 V-Stro opens. Uh-huh. What's your phone number there, ma'am?

It's 855. Uh-huh. Let me give you my cell phone because I can't even remember my house. 855-37-8-7. Okay, we'll get them out there, ma'am. Elisa went on to tell the police that she woke up in the middle of the night to use the restroom. when she saw a light shining through the window. When she went to investigate it,

she saw that their backyard was on fire. Elisa said she quickly went to wake up Adam, who grabbed buckets of water to try and put it out while she called the police. When the fire department arrived, they found that the baker's backyard was full of junk. But surprisingly, the only things that were on fire were a pile of mulch

and a gas leaf blower. It was a lot smaller of a fire than they had anticipated. It was also evident that an accelerant was used and that the fire started in the bed of Adam's work truck. And they would soon find out that this was no average call. Investigators had no idea that this small arson incident was about to lead them to one of North Carolina's most infamous crimes. Shortly after arriving to the scene,

Adam walks up to one of the investigators and hands him a note that he claimed he found on his work truck's windshield. The note read, Mr. Coffey, you like being in control. Now who is in control? We have your daughter and your pot-smoking redhead son is next unless you do what is asked. One million dollars on marked. We'll be in touch soon. No cops.

Now, you may be a bit confused, but Adam works for a tree company. called Realtree Services. And Mr. Mark Coffey is Adam's boss. After reading the note, Adam tells investigators that there must have been a mistake. And whoever wrote the letter must have mistaken him for his boss. So investigators decide to give Mr. Coffey a call to make sure everything was okay. And what do you know? When they call him and fill him in on the situation, Mr. Coffey tells them that he's fine.

and his daughter sitting right there next to him. She definitely hadn't been kidnapped. Seeing that Mr. Coffey and his children were safe, investigators assumed that whoever wrote this ransom note was probably just an ex-employee trying to scare him. And they accidentally came to Adam's address rather than Mr. Coffey. But this was not a case of mistaken identity. And it wouldn't be long until investigators found themselves

at the Baker's household once again. Just hours later, that very same day, dispatch received another call, this time from Adam Baker. Secret 30, 911. Where's your emergency? Yeah, my daughter is missing. She's handicapped her as a prosthetic leg, so that...

How long has she been missing? Um, we checked him there last night about 2.30 and she was there. What's your name? My name is Adam Baker and my daughter's, I think, coming into puberty, so she's hitting that broody stage. This call stood out to a lot of people because, for one, Adam seemed extremely calm given the situation at hand. His disabled 10-year-old daughter is missing from their home and he chuckles, saying that Zara may have run off because she's going through puberty. And I know we're not supposed to judge people's reactions to trauma. But given that Adam just found a ransom note on his car just hours before this,

where someone claimed they had kidnapped a little girl, it's strange that he would be laughing and offering up alternate explanations as to what could have happened. Adam and Elisa told investigators that they last saw Zara at around 2.30 a.m., meaning they didn't even go to check on her after the police had left their home that morning. what parent wouldn't check on their disabled little girl after finding a ransom note on their property? A ransom note that literally says, we have your daughter. Investigators were wondering the same thing.

But regardless of their suspicions, the fact that a ransom note was involved meant that they needed to act fast. And shortly after Adam's 911 call was placed, authorities issued of Amber Alert for Zara Baker. better help here on the show. And once again, we're going to tell you guys about this amazing service. So as many of you online know, life can get overwhelming really, really easily, and you

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m-A. That's BetterHELP.com slash MIA. BetterHelp is an amazing service. Go get that discount code. Go sign up. Help yourself out. And yeah, it's mental health summer. So, Let's work on our mental health. And let's get back to today's story. Detectives quickly made their way over to the small two-bedroom brick home on 21211.21st Avenue for the second time that day. It was now light out, so they were able to get a good look at the home. The backyard was a mess, full of overgrown brush, large piles of mulch and old junk.

Police went searching through the yard, but Zara was nowhere to be found. They even looked in the crawl space under the home. and in the neighbor's trash cans, but there was still no sign of Zara. Inside of the Baker home, black paint covered the walls of the bathrooms, living room, kitchen, bedrooms, and even the blinds and windows. It was very dark inside of the house, with very little lighting. It was also evident that Elisa was into Gothic decor. Dragons, fairies, and merch from rock bands were scattered throughout the home. But Zara's room, which was now painfully quiet in her absence, painted a different picture.

Unlike the rest of the home, Zara's room was light and childlike. There weren't many toys, but her walls were painted pink. There was a strawberry shortcake poster hanging up by her bed. She had a craft box on one side of her room and decorated pictures on the walls. Her purple TV had flower stickers all over it. There was an unsent letter to a boy found on her desk. She was like every other 10-year-old girl, except she was missing. Among Zara's belongings were her hearing aids that she received a few months prior.

But strangely enough, her prosthetic leg, which she kept next to her bed every night, was missing. Zara always took off her prosthetic leg before going to bed, which means if someone had taken her in the middle of the night, they would have had to take the time to put it back on. This was strange to investigators because putting on her leg would have made it easier for Zara to escape. And it's unlikely that a kidnapper would have taken the time to do this. But investigators put their suspicions aside and go back into the living room to talk to Adam and Elisa. So walk us through exactly what happened.

When was the last time you saw Zara and when did you realize she was missing? Adam and Elisa proceeded to tell the detectives that they had taken Zara to Octoberfest the day before on October 8th. They said they came back home pretty late and Zara went straight to bed. At around 2.30 a.m., Adam said he peeked his head into Zara's room to see that she was still sleeping. A few hours later, someone started the fire in the backyard. Adam said that at first he thought the fire was just a sick joke, but now he believes that someone started the fire to distract them while someone went inside and kidnapped his daughter.

Both Adam and Alisa said that they didn't think to check on Zara afterwards because the note didn't mention Adam. It only mentioned his boss. Hours later, Adam was outside cleaning the trees in his backyard. When all of a sudden, Elisa came running out of the house screaming, Zara's gone, Zara's gone. The two of them said that they began looking all throughout the home, but she was nowhere to be found.

So Adam hops in his work truck and starts driving around their neighborhood to see if maybe she was on a walk. But again, they couldn't find her. Adam says he then drove to Lake Hickory Country Club, where he knew his boss, Mr. Coffey, would be playing tennis. Once there, he went up to Mr. Coffey and told him that whoever wrote that ransom note must have taken his daughter instead. And apparently, Mr. Coffey was the one who instructed Adam to call the police.

Adam then drives all the way back home and places a call to 911. This story stood out to detectives because why didn't Adam immediately called the police when he realized his daughter had been kidnapped. Instead, he drove all the way across town to tell his boss about the kidnapping and then drove all the way back home before finally calling 911. This coupled with the fact that Adam seemed to lack emotion regarding his daughter's disappearance made the investigators immediately suspicious. He seems concerned. I don't know how sincere his concern is. You don't think it's true. But you don't believe him. I don't.

Authorities were also suspicious of the couple's story. Something just wasn't adding up. Soon after, they taped off the home with crime scene tape and started their investigation. Elisa, upon seeing this, asks them, why are they putting that crime scene tape

up? Do they think Zara was murdered in there? They assured her that it was just protocol and continued on with their questioning. And almost immediately, they noticed that Adam was extremely calm. Elisa, however, was overly dramatic. Going on and on about how much Azara loved her and how great of a mother she was.

They also noticed that anytime Adam began to talk, Elisa would interrupt and speak over him. Was she nervous that Adam would slip up and say too much? Maybe reveal a specific detail that's meant to be hidden? It was here when detectives decided to separate the couple and bring them into the station for questioning. Once they were in separate rooms, detectives continued their interrogation of Elisa. She had dyed her hair the night before and still had some of the dye stained on her face. She was also crying even though there were no tears coming out of her eyes. But like any interrogation, detectives start by establishing a rapport,

and they quickly discover that Elisa loved to talk about herself. She told them all about her illnesses and past surgeries, like the fact that she had fibromyalgia, brain cancer, seizures. She even mentioned that she got gastric bypass. Elisa went on and on about how great of a relationship she and Zara had, saying that they bonded because they both had cancer. The investigators found it odd that Elisa was talking more about herself than she was her. her missing stepdaughter. Elisa even sobbed to the detectives saying that Zara was the one who took care of her. And now that she was gone, she wasn't going to have anyone to look after her when she was sick. This definitely stood out two investigators. She was more worried about herself than she was her

daughter. When questioned about Zara's last known whereabouts, Elisa sticks to the story that they went to Oktoberfest together, Zara went to bed, and the next morning she was missing, and she was adamant that she had nothing to do with Zara's disappearance. So detectives ask her to take a polygraph, and to their surprise, she agrees. During Elise's polygraph, she was asked a number of questions about herself, her relationship with Adam, and about her stepdaughter, Zara. And with each question, the machine measured her body's response. Typically, when someone is lying, their heart rate goes up and they tend to sweat. And during the test, the machine showed that Elisa showed deception on the following three

questions. Do you know the person that wrote that ransom note? Elisa answers no. Do you know if anyone has done harm to that child? She answers no. Did you hurt Zara? And again, Elisa answers no. But the polygraph shows, that she wasn't telling the truth. Now, we all know that polygraphs are not admissible in court, but the fact that she showed deception on those particular questions made investigators believe that Elisa definitely had something to do with Zara's disappearance. Now, detectives already had their suspicions about Elisa before this polygraph,

but one thing they decided to focus on was the ransom note. Elisa claimed that she didn't know the person who wrote the ransom. but her polygraph proved otherwise. Even further, the ransom note was written on a piece of paper from a company called Duke Energy. And during the search of their home, investigators found a similar bill from the same company in one of their bedrooms.

What are the odds that the kidnapper would have the exact same bill as the bakers? After this, detectives made Elisa write a handwriting sample, so that they could compare it to the ransom note. And allegedly, to the naked eye, it appeared to be a match. Now, they didn't have definitive proof that it was a match, but they decided to confront her anyway. When detectives walked back into the room, they ask her, quote, would you admit that the person who wrote this note

is the person responsible for Zara being missing? Elisa hesitated and then answered, well, yeah. The detectives then say, quote, we've all looked at this note, including FBI agents, and we all think you wrote it. Elisa paused for a moment,

thinking to herself. And after a few moments, she decides to end the interrogation and call her lawyer. It turns out, the handwriting analysis expert determined that the results were inconclusive. They couldn't prove that

Elisa was the one to write the note, so they couldn't arrest her. And with that, Elisa was free to leave. During Adam's interrogation, he remained calm, keeping his composure. The detectives started by establishing a report and getting to know him and his daughter. Adam explained how Zara had survived two rounds of cancer and that she always kept her spirits up throughout the entire process. At certain times, when talking about his daughter, Adam would tear up. telling investigators. The main thing I want to do is find where my baby is. And although his emotion seemed genuine,

investigators couldn't help but think that he knew more than what he was telling them. But Adam sticks to his story telling investigators that the night before, on October 8th, the three of them went to Octoberfest in downtown Hickory, and at around 9 p.m., they all ate at Bayou Billy's, and then they went home. The detectives then tell him, Well, they have surveillance cameras down there, and we are going to have to look at that footage. Are you sure we are going to see Zara on those cameras? Adam answers, yes.

Detectives then ask Adam to take a polygraph, to which he agrees. In Adam's polygraph showed signs of deception in one of the questions. When asked, do you have any knowledge about who may have been involved in hurting your daughter, Adam answered no. The polygraph showed he was lying. When detectives questioned him about this, Adam admits that he did lie. In reality, he knew deep down that his wife

was responsible for Zara's disappearance, but he was adamant that he didn't know what happened to her. And that wasn't the only thing Adam lied about. After looking at the surveillance tapes from October 15th, detectives learned that Zara Baker wasn't with the couple that night. When they confront him about this, he admitted that Elisa was the one to tell him to say that. So they asked him. Well, why is Elisa telling you to lie about Zara's last known whereabouts?

Adam admits that he was in the United States illegally. He had been living there for a few years now and he wasn't a documented citizen. Elisa told him to lie because if he didn't, he could get sent back to Australia. They then asked him, So what's the real story, Adam? What happened that day? Adam proceeded to tell the detectives that Alisa told him that Zara wasn't feeling well that day. So they left her behind and they went to go party at Octoberfest. But Adam was adamant that he had nothing to do with Zara's disappearance.

and that he had no idea what happened to his daughter. And with that, the investigators had to let him go. After the first day of questioning, authorities were certain that Adam and Elisa were responsible for Zara's disappearance. But they didn't have any proof. There wasn't enough evidence to make any arrests. So for the next few weeks, detectives do everything in their power to try and locate Zara

and look into her parents' past for clues. And from this point forward, Adam and Elisa were no longer in contact. They knew that they were the main suspects in the case, and detectives did a great job of driving a wedge between the two. From then on, they no longer lived under the same roof. But despite their separation, they still refused to turn on one another and admit what really happened. In the meantime, investigators worked tirelessly,

interviewing friends, family members, neighbors, anyone that could give them information in the case. They also reached out to the public for help. Two days after Zara was reported missing, the Hickory Police Chief Tom Adkins spoke to the people of Hickory at a police conference. We are running out of time, folks. The longer this thing goes, the likelihood this outcome will not be positive. The search for Zara was now in full effect, but a huge problem investigators ran into was that the timeline, that Adam and Elisa gave them didn't add up. They claimed they last saw Zara on October 8th.

But it turns out, detectives were not able to find anyone that could confirm Zahara's whereabouts for the weeks before her disappearance. When Adam was questioned about this, he admitted that he lied. The truth was, he hadn't seen Zara for nearly two weeks before her disappearance. But he told investigators that, because of his job, it was normal for him to go long periods of time without seeing her. What we're saying is we don't have a time frame to put this girl in that house. Everyone in Zara's family, including Elise's family members, were worried sick about little Zara,

and many people came together to do what they could to find her. Police say time is running out in the search for 10-year-old Zara Baker. The little girl suffers from bone cancer, and one thing that's making the search difficult is that officials aren't sure how long she's really been missing. Before we speak exclusively with two members of her family, CBS News correspondent Whit Johnson has the latest on the story from Hickory North Carolina. Whit, good morning. Maggie, good morning to you.

Zara Baker was actually homeschooled this year, and police say they haven't found anyone outside her immediate family who has seen her in the past few weeks. It's now been three days since she's gone missing, and we still know little about what may have happened to her. Luckily, many people in the community would come forward, specifically to talk about Elisa. According to the people close to her, she was a very social girl who liked to party.

She was also known for moving around a lot. If Elisa got bored in life, she would often pack up her things and move on to the next exciting place. She always painted her rental houses in crazy colors, even when she wasn't allowed to. She liked coloring her hair crazy colors as well. Elisa gave birth to her first daughter, Amber,

when she was a teenager, but she and Amber's father broke up shortly after. When Elisa was 18, she met another man and they decided to get married. But her first marriage didn't last very long. Just four months after they tied the knot, the two got their marriage annulled. About a year later, in 1985,

19-year-old Elisa would find out that she was pregnant by a man named Joseph Proctor. The two would go on to get married, and shortly after, Elisa would give birth to her second child, a son named Douglas. That marriage lasted about seven years before their divorce in 1990.

When Elisa left, she decided to take her daughters with her and leave her son with his father. There would go on to be four other marriages that either ended in annulment or divorce. Now, some of these were not valid marriages, but she technically had six wedding ceremonies before she met Adam Baker in 2006. And during these years, Elisa was not a good mom. In fact, the Department of Social Services was called on her in five different counties. but nothing ever came about from these checks. Elisa was known to be abusive to her children,

but even more so, she was known to be a pathological liar, and detectives quickly discovered this after meeting her. She actually told them during her interrogation that she was pregnant with twins, but they soon found out that this wasn't true. In fact, it couldn't be true because she had a hysterectomy years earlier. The fact that she could lie so easily to the police was alarming,

and it made them wonder what else she was lying about. There would be many other people that would come forward with similar stories of Elisa's lies. Multiple people said that she claimed to be a cop, and she would tell these crazy stories about how she was shot in the line of duty. She told other people that she was a bounty hunter, and that she and dog the bounty hunter were good friends. She also told people that she wrote songs for famous musicians like Chris Daughtry. Now, no one ever believed these stories because they knew Elisa was a liar.

And she lied about more than just her occupations. Elisa would also pretend to have life-threatening illnesses that weren't actually there. It seemed like she had some sort of undiagnosed Munchausen syndrome. Elisa would lie and tell people that she needed organ transplants, or that she had brain tumors. In one of her MySpace posts, she wrote, quote, I was diagnosed with brain cancer for the first time in 1990, then in 94, and again in 2006. With each time they gave me up for dead and prepared my family for the worst, and I'm still here, but now I have something that I can't even begin to control.

How fair is that?" End quote. But it turns out none of this was true. At one point, she even told everyone that she was dying and only had a few months to live. She invited everyone to her final birthday party, but after a while, when her health did not decline, Everyone knew she was lying. Elisa loved the attention and sympathy she got from her fake illnesses. And she always took to MySpace to talk about them.

In another post, she wrote, quote, Healthy people have no clue how lucky they are. I swear I try not to complain too much, but I have this freaking disease, rare disease that has no cure, only medication to try and slow the problem. The sun causes flare-ups which make things really worse. Those of us with this disease hope one day for a cure to be found, or at least medication that really works. Enquote.

Elisa was desperate for attention, so desperate that she was willing to lie to everyone she came into contact with. And not only did she lie about her own illnesses, but she would lie about her children's illnesses too. According to her family members, when Elisa's daughters were younger, she would tell people that her youngest, Brittany had a terminal illness, and she would often make her oldest daughter, Amber, use a wheelchair for no apparent reason. Yes, all growing up, she always made out like her children was sick and possibly dying. And same with herself, she always had 10 to 20 illnesses that she always would say that was wrong with her. and you couldn't believe anything she ever said. Detectives were quickly finding out that Elisa was not the loving and caring mother

like she portrayed herself to be. In reality, she was an abusive liar with a laundry list of issues. Detectives also found out that Adam was her seventh husband, but their marriage wasn't technically legal. You see, when Elisa and Adam started talking on IMVU back in 2006, she was still married to her sixth husband, a man named Aaron Young. She even introduced the two, but she lied and told Adam that Aaron was her brother. It wasn't until after their wedding when Adam learned Aaron was actually her husband.

Elisa had also told Adam that she had only been married twice, when in reality she had been married six times before him. When the police talked to some of their neighbors, many of them didn't even know that the bakers had a daughter. Zara was never allowed outside, so they never saw her. But neighbors from previous homes would later come forward and shared their stories of what they witnessed. Detective soon learned about the times Elisa would make Zara exercise up and down the hill. They learned about her beatings.

And the time Elisa broke her hand on Zara's prosthetic leg. Or the times that Zara showed up to school with black eyes. But the neighbors weren't the only ones who were aware of abuse, going on inside of the home. In May of 2010, Zara came to school with two black eyes. That same day, she accidentally urinated on herself in class. Zara was given a change of clothes, but she was so terrified to go back home with urine on her clothes that she begged the school to wash them for her before she went back home

that day. Zara's teacher that year was so concerned about her well-being that she gave Zara her personal phone number and told her to call her if she ever needed any help. The assistant principal of the school actually came by the home to visit with Adam and Elisa, but nothing ever happened. That's the thing about abusers, and particularly ones that are good at lying. They can flip a switch and turn on their good side whenever need be, which was exactly what Elisa would do when confronted about her abuse. She would make up stories. She would tell people that Zara was just clumsy, that her prosthetic leg was the reason she was always covered in bruises. And sadly, people believed

her, that the Department of Social Services had been called multiple times to report that Zara was being abused. The first call came from a concerned neighbor. But when someone in the department came by to investigate, they were only in the department. inside for about 15 minutes before leaving. Nothing was ever done. The second call to social services was actually from Elisa's biological daughter, Brittany. When investigators questioned Brittany after Zara's disappearance, they were able to get a good idea of exactly the kind of person Elisa was. Brittany told them that she no longer stayed in contact with her mother because their relationship was volatile, but she had lived with them in their home for a period of time

while Zara was there. According to Brittany, Elisa was the definition of an evil stepmother to Zara. If she was having trouble walking, Elisa would beat her and make her run up and down the hill. Some days, she would lock Zara up in her room and not let her come out for the entire day. She was constantly yelling at Zara and taking her frustrations out on her for no apparent reason. Brittany also said that Zara was rarely ever allowed to leave their house. One day, she had taken Zara for a joyride around town. When Elisa found out, she threatened to call the police and report Britney for kidnapping. After that, Brittany decided to move out, and she wasn't alexia.

allowed to see Zara anymore. The only time she did see her after that incident was in May of 2010, when Zara came to another family member's house while Brittany was there. Brittany told investigators that when she saw Zara, she had a huge black eye. Brittany already knew that Elisa was responsible for the black eye, but when she asked Zara about it, she didn't want to answer. Afterwards, Brittany called the Department of Social Services, and she never saw Zara again. Now, after digging all of this up, investigators are sure that Elisa had something to do with Zara's disappearance.

And now that they are days into the investigation, with still no sign of the 10-year-old girl, it's becoming clear to everyone that Zara was most likely murdered. The Amber Alert on Zara Baker would cancel today. And the decision to focus this investigation from a missing child or adopted child will turn into a homicide investigation. So I'm a huge game nerd, but Courtney, you don't really love games, do you? Nope, I don't. But you love June's journey. Oh, I love June's journey. No, it's crazy because Courtney genuinely does not like games and she is,

practically obsessed with June's Journey. If you never get tired of a good who done it, then you'll love June's Journey. In the game, you play as June Parker, an amateur detective investigating a series of mysteries full of twists and turns around every corner. You'll put your powers of observation to the test, sharpen your sleuthing skills, and relish the thrill of solving the case. Now, let me tell you, we've had offers to work with a lot of game companies, but we love June's Journey, and I honestly love playing it.

You can sit back, relax, and let your inner Sherlock escape to. to the glamorous roaring 20s. In the game, you search for hidden clues to solve mystery after mystery across thousands of vivid scenes. The game is beautiful, and that's part of the reason why I love it. The artwork and the animation is just absolutely stunning. So,

honestly, if you are looking for something to kill the time with, June's journey is an amazing game. It's free to download. You search for hidden objects, and the game makes me think, which is why I love it, too. It's kind of, it's not educational, but it helps me work out my brain, just like I work out my body. With 30 million

and fans worldwide, there's a detective in all of us, and you can find your inner detective by downloading June's Journey free today on the Apple App Store or Google Play. That's June's Journey. We cannot recommend this game enough. But enough with the games. Let's get back to today's story. Shortly after Elisa lawyered up, the Caldwell County Police Department got a call from Elisa's other daughter, Amber, telling them that her mom was thinking about leaving the country. Allegedly, Elisa had been in contact with a man in London, who she met on IMVD, the same website where she had met Adam. Elisa told the man that she had cancer and couldn't afford her medicine. And that very week of Zara's disappearance, he had sent her $10,000. According to witness

accounts, Elisa had been talking about leaving North Carolina the day after Zara went missing. And at this point, authorities are positive that Elisa had something to do with Zara's murder. so they need to think fast. But luckily, while investigators were looking into Adam and Elisa's past to see what they could dig up, they found out that Elisa had a warrant for writing bad checks. Investigators quickly located her and placed her under arrest for her bad check warrant. They weren't sure if they would ever get Elisa to tell the truth about what happened to Zara Baker, but at this point, they decided to give it another shot.

And this time, they brought in Special Agent Heath McBride. It was October 11th, just a few days after the investigation started, when McBride questioned Elisa. He said, I didn't have a game plan going into the interview. I didn't know a whole lot about the interviews with Adam and Elisa. I just wanted to interview her and get her side of the story. And to everyone's surprise, Elisa makes a small confession. She told McBride that he was right. She was the one that wrote the ransom note, but I'm a good mother.

I would never do anything to hurt her. When he asked her why she wrote it, Elisa replied. I guess the reason I wrote the note is because Mark Coffey dictates everything Adam does and he thinks he's a god and I'm tired of it. She went on to say that she was upset, spontaneously wrote the note, and put it on Adam's work truck, but she meant to take it off because it was a heat-of-the-moment type thing. Elisa tried to convince the detectives that the ransom note had nothing to do with Zara's disappearance,

but they weren't buying it. Now, after this, Elisa asks for her attorney and detectives have to shut down the interrogation again. But investigators are hopeful that they will soon discover the truth. And because Elisa admitted to writing the ransom note, they were now able to charge her with obstruction of justice related to Zara's disappearance and assumed death. Shortly after her arrest,

the Hickory Police Department got a search warrant for the Baker home. A team of investigators in K-Nob. descended upon the house looking for any evidence they could find. Well, here is the latest on the search for Zara. Police spent at least two hours at the Baker's home in Hickory with those cadaver dogs. Investigators have not said if those dogs found anything unusual inside. After their search of the home, investigators discovered evidence of human remains. Traces of remains were found in the house and in the family's two vehicles.

They also found blood in Zara's room and in the drain of the bathtub, leading everyone to assume the worst. And even though Elisa's arrest brings a little bit of closure, they still don't know where Zara's body is. The town of Hickory, along with Zara's family back in Australia, were devastated that the little 10-year-old cancer survivor was still missing. And although everyone knew she was dead, A sadness hung over the town knowing she was still out there somewhere.

In the weeks following Elisa's arrest, Adam maintained his innocence. But that didn't stop the townspeople from talking. Almost everyone knew that Adam was not an innocent victim in this story. But investigators didn't have enough evidence to link him to the crime. After all, the state didn't have a very strong case to begin with. They didn't have Zara's body. There were no witnesses. And the only reason they had Elisa in custody was because she admitted to writing the ransom note.

No one could even pinpoint the last time Zara was seen. One of the last known sightings of her was called in from a random lady in town named Pat Adam. Pat claimed to have seen Zara inside of a store two weeks before her reported disappearance. I recognized her pitch. on the computer. They came in on that Saturday morning, September the 25th. Elisa said she was just wanted to look around. So we let her look around. I was going down the aisle and I saw Zara standing in the middle of the aisle. And as I walked past her, I laid my hand on her shoulder and said, excuse me, sweetheart. And she looked at me and smiled. And I went on down the aisle.

I went back to customer service and the ladies up there were talking about the little girl with the prosthetic leg. And I remember thinking that how sad it was, a child that young, having the hearing aid and the prosthetic leg. This case was incredibly frustrating for everyone involved. Everyone knew that Adam and Elisa had the answers to Zara's whereabouts. But they refused to tell anyone. They were both sticking to their story that they were. They didn't know what happened. But Elisa's own family knew that she was lying, the moment they heard that Zara's prosthetic

leg went missing with Zara. My honest opinion, I think Lisa has something to do with it. I just think this is something for a long time that we knew was going to happen, everybody that was close to the family. I knew it from the moment my father had called and told me, this is Lisa. Zara, when she spent the night with us and she stayed with us a lot, an hour, before she would go to bed, she would put a pajamas on, always take her leg off. It was just, it was a routine for her.

She never, ever went to bed with her leg on. Everyone knew that the only way they would be able to get answers was if Adam and Elisa turned against one another, and that day would be just around the corner. While in custody, Elisa decided to make a confession. After investigators found Zara's blood throughout the home, Elisa knew it was a only a matter of time until everything came crashing down. So she decided to come clean. She tells them that Zara died on September 24th, weeks before they reported her missing. But she wasn't murdered, she claimed. According to Elisa, she and Zara were eating

ravioli that night while Adam was at work. Shortly after, Zara went to bed, and hours later, when Elisa went to check on her, she noticed that Zara was dead. She must have died from natural causes, she claimed. Afterwards, Elisa calls Adam to let him know what happened. Knowing that he could be deported back to Australia, he comes up with a plan to try and conceal Zara's death. By this time, it was like three, three somewhere around in there. She was laid on her bed, and I said, Zara, but you're okay?

And I walked over to the bed, and I said, Zara, she still, I still didn't move. I put my hand on her and I could tell she wasn't breathing. My first thought was CPR. So I immediately started CPR. I got scared, started doing CPR. We need to go ahead and call 911. He said, Lisa, sit down, take you some medicine, calm down.

I'll take care of it. He said, you're going to take your medicine. and everything's going to be fine. I've got a plan. Elisa claimed that Adam then put Zara's body into the bathtub and dismembered her. He then put her in the back of his truck and disposed of the body in different areas around town, one being on Christie Road in Caldwell County. She said he picked those particular locations because there were a lot of animals in those areas

that would scavenge off Zara's bones. Then, two weeks later, once in a number, enough time had passed, they decided to write the ransom note and make Zara's disappearance look like a kidnapping. But Adam would later claim that this was all untrue. He said that he didn't even know Zara had disappeared until two weeks later. During those two weeks, he claimed, he was so busy with work that he didn't even notice Zara's absence. Elisa was the one who murdered, dismembered, and disposed of his daughter. That's the biggest loss she's ever told. The first status is no way I could do that to my child.

For her to sit there and say that I dismembered my child, there's no way on earth that I could do that. And although everyone knew Adam wasn't innocent, investigators didn't have enough evidence to arrest Adam for his part in Zara's disappearance. Elisa, however, was a different story. This confession she made proved that she not only wrote the ransom note, but she also knew where Zara's remains were. And with that, the Hickory Police Department

had enough circumstantial evidence to indict Elisa on murder charges. My name is Jay Gaithen. I'm the District Attorney for the 25th District, representing Burke, Caldwell, and Katava County. Earlier today, the Toppa County Grand Jury returned a true bill of indictment naming Alisa Annette Baker and the murder of Tsar Claire Baker. The indictment reads as follows. The defendant named above Alisa Annette Baker

did unlawfully, willfully, and feloniously, with malice of forethought, kill and murder, Zara Clara Baker. The indictment of second-degree murder on Elisa Baker today is a milestone of holding someone accountable that members of Team Zara have been working towards since the first words spoken on that 911 call made October 9th, 2010. We will continue our investigation and follow every lead until the first day of trial. Many different theories of how and who is responsible for the death of Zara have been made by anyone who has followed this case. Not every case is clear cut and only the facts and evidence of the case can dictate who is charged and for what offenses. We concur with the decision made today by the Katava County Grand Jury.

We are thankful for the support of our team has received during this investigation and the outpouring of love shown to remember Zahar from our community and the world. Not a day it goes by that members of this team of professionals have not thought of Zara for this case. Now that Elisa was arrested, it was time to find Zara's remains. Elisa admitted that they would find parts of Zara on Christie Road in Caldwell County. This road was isolated and it was known to be a place where people dumped dead animals. There were many bones along Christie Road. Most of them were deer carcasses and roadkill, but not all of them. Investigators hadn't found her yet, but parts of Zara were among the dead animals.

It was now November, 25 days into the search for the 10-year-old girl. Authorities had been searching along the road for hours that particular day. Elisa was there too. She sat next to her lawyers as investigators drove up and down the road trying to find Zara's remains. The search team used chainsaws to make their way through the thick brush. Eventually they get to a creek where they find thousands upon thousands of bones in different states of decomposition.

The air smelled of decay, which was normal considering the amount of death surrounding them. But among the bones, Sergeant Philip DeMoss, whose own daughter was around Zara's age, sees a bone that stands out. On the end of it was a piece of cartilage, indicating it hadn't been there very long. Sergeant DeMas picks it up, with the earth-shattering realization that he's probably. probably holding Zara's body part in his hands. He later says, quote, I can't believe I'm actually holding the remains of a 10-year-old girl that was murdered by someone who was supposed to protect her.

But those are feelings you have to fight off so you can stay focused on the investigation." Not long after, the medical examiner would confirm that the bone was indeed human. It was the humorous of a young child. The bones were then brought back to a lab and compared to the DNA found on Zara's toothbrush. It was a match. We have recovered enough physical evidence to believe we have found Zara.

Please understand that I cannot get into many specifics about the investigation. But the DNA evidence from the bone found on Christie Road matched a sample a DNA sample from the house on 21st Avenue Northwest. The sample from the home was taken from personal items believed to be Zara. A known DNA profile of Zara

will be created from cheek swabs from her biological mother and father. The swabs will be sent to North Carolina State Bureau Investigation Lab to create that profile. Remains found at Dudley Shoals Road in Colwell County have been sent to North Carolina Medical Examer's office and then to the State Bureau of Investigation Lab for positive identification.

According to medical examiner's staff on site when the remains were recovered, they are consistent with a child. Investigators continued to work tirelessly searching for more of Zara's remains. Eventually, they would find her arm bone, prosthetic leg, torso, and pelvis. They also found vertebrae in bones with saw marks.

Her head, however, was still missing. Investigators, agents, and officers and staff are devastated that we're not able to find Zahar alive and bring her home safely. We appreciate the support we received from the public. Today, our community mourns, our state mourns, our nation mourns. and the world mourns as we go forward. Thank you. Many people in the town of Hickory were relieved that Elisa was finally arrested,

but they were also angry. In their eyes, justice wouldn't be served until Adam Baker was arrested too. Adam claims that he didn't see his disabled daughter for two weeks, and because of his work schedule, he didn't think anything of it. He claimed that he had no idea his daughter was missing until the day of the fire. But phone records proved that Elisa called Adam nine times within a short period of time on the day Zahar died. No one calls someone that many times unless it's an emergency.

Of the nine phone calls, phone records proved that three of them came from Elisa's phone near Christie Road, where Zara's remains were found. Adam couldn't have been there because his phone records proved he was at work, over 20 miles away. Now, this proves that Adam wasn't present during Zara's murder, dismemberment, disposal. But it also proves that Elisa was calling him while she was disposing of Zara's body, most likely updating him along the way. So it's very likely that Adam knew what his wife was doing that night. Almost everyone that hears this case knows that Adam is no innocent victim. But the police interrogated him for a total of 80 hours throughout their investigation. And throughout everything,

there was never enough evidence to connect him to the crime. And to this day, Adam claims he had nothing to do with the murder of his daughter. At this time, the state has no credible evidence to suggest that anyone other than Lisa Baker was involved in the murder of Zara Claire Baker. On November 16, 2010, Zara's friends and family came together to celebrate what would have been her 11th birthday. Zah was the best friend, and I wish she was still here. But her name is going to be a great place.

We love her and we will never ever forget her smile. And this is her birthday, right? And we just wanted to say happy birthday, Zara. The news of Zara's death was devastating for everyone. But it was particularly difficult for Emily, Zara's biological mother. Just months before her death, she had tried to reach out and reconnect with Zara. but she was too late. I never got to say goodbye.

I never got to say hello. Soon enough, Hickory's district attorney would announce the charges against the sole defendant in their case. The jurors for the state pond their oath presented that with respect to the offense to allege in count one, the charge of murder in the second degree, that there were the following five aggravating factors related the sentencing pursuant to North Carolina General Statute 15A-1340.

The defendant, Elisa Baker, had a history and pattern of physical, verbal, and psychological abuse of the victim, Zara Baker. That the defendant, Elisa Baker, secreted the victim, Zara Baker, from family and others prior to and after the defense, delaying detection of the offense. That the defendant, number three, Elisa Baker desecrated the body. of Zara Baker to hinder detection, investigation, and prosecution of the offense. Number four, that the victim, Zara Baker, was very young, physically infirm, or handicapped. Number five, that the defendant, Elisa Baker, took advantage of a position of trust or confidence,

including a domestic relationship to commit the offense. Ten days before the anniversary of Zara's death, on September, November 15th, 2011, Elisa would plead guilty to second degree murder in exchange for an 18-year prison sentence. 18 years for murdering and dismembering a disabled little girl. 18 years for discarding her body like trash. Adam and Emily, Sarah's biological parents, would read Elisa their victim impact statements. None of us know how we meet to deal with such. unimaginable things. Maybe to drill home the pure evil that Alyssa has committed, I should

reach down and find the strength to discuss how Zara was pulled apart like some human puzzle and discarded like rubbish for wildlife to graze. There are no words to explain the hate I have for you, for the hurt and the pain I feel every day for the loss of Zara. Adam Baker would go on to face his own legal battles after the death of his daughter. Unfortunately, they wouldn't be related to Zara's murder. Instead, Adam was arrested for writing bad checks, and because of this arrest, he was set to be deported back to Australia.

But just before that was set to happen, investigators made a big discovery in the case. In 2012, they finally located Zara Baker's head, the last of her remains. Closure in the Zara Baker murder case came in the last. Our FBI agents confirmed the skull that was found in Coldwell County last year is Zara's. Everyone was hopeful that finding Zara's skull would lead to a cause of death. But unfortunately, it didn't give them any more answers.

We still don't know if Zara was murdered or if she died from natural causes. Giving Elisa's abusive past, she very well could have been murdered. But we just don't know. The only people that do know what happened are Elisa, Adam, and Zara. Zara can't tell us her side of the story. Elisa is a pathological liar, and Adam got away with it, so he definitely won't ever reveal what really happened. But what we do know is that after Zara died,

Elisa took her body into the bathroom and laid her in the bathtub. According to the medical examiner, after looking at Zara's bones, it was evident that two different saws were used to dismember Zara's body. The first saw, they concluded, did not work as well as she had hoped. So she moved on to a better, more convenient saw. The act of dismembering a body is a long and drawn-out process. Not only is it time-consuming, but it's incredibly messy, and difficult.

It requires a lot of muscle, and it's likely that Elisa was breaking a sweat, hovering over her stepdaughter's corpse, removing limb after limb. When you picture that thought in your head, it makes you wonder how someone could possibly do that to anyone, let alone a disabled little girl. Elisa spent hours that night, sawing away at her 10-year-old stepdaughter's body, a stepdaughter that she was supposed to love and protect. After Elisa dismembered her, she placed Zara's body parts into some trash bags, puts them into the back of her vehicle, and then drives around Hickory, discarding Zara's body like trash. And the entire time she was doing so,

she was calling Adam, giving him updates along the way. Afterwards, Elisa comes home, and begins the cleaning process. There would have been blood everywhere, and it's likely that Elisa spent hours cleaning up the evidence of her stepdaughter's dismemberment. When you really walk through the steps of what happened that night, it's hard to believe that Elisa only received 18 years. In 2013, however,

she got an additional 10 years added to her sentence for conspiracy to sell prescription drugs. But even then, it still doesn't seem like enough. Zara was failed many times throughout her short life. Not only did she face years of health issues, chemotherapy, the loss of her hearing and her leg. But the time she did spend on this earth was full of abuse at the hands of the people who were supposed to love her.

Once Zara's head was finally found, her remains were cremated and sent back. to Australia with Adam Baker, who was still a free man. He never had to pay for his part and this crime. But don't worry, he still faces the wrath of everyone who is aware of Zara's case. Adam says he receives death threats on the regular. When he walks the streets, people call him a murderer. And even if those claims aren't true, he was supposed to protect. his little girl. And instead, he invited the evil in and gave them a seat at their table. Zara was not only failed by her father and stepmother, but she was also failed by the system

that didn't intervene when reports of abuse were made. Zara was known for her optimism. She was known to always wear a smile even when facing the worst things this world has to offer. and even in the end, she expected to defeat the villains in her story. But ultimately, her evil stepmother ended her fairy tale long before it was meant to end. And thanks to her, Zara didn't get the happy ending she deserved. Many people after hearing the story were outraged that a little girl, who had already endured so much, would have her life taken in such a brutal way.

But her death wouldn't go down in vain. In 2011, the year after her death, a law was passed in North Carolina, known as Zara's law. The law makes it a felony to disturb or dismember human remains. It states that, quote, any person who, with the intent to conceal

the death of a person, fails to notify law enforcement authority of the death, or secretly buried, or otherwise secretly disposes of a dead human body is guilty of a class one felony, attempts to conceal evidence of the death of another by knowingly and willingly dismembring or destroying human remains by any means, including removing body parts or otherwise obliterating any portion thereof, shall be guilty of a Class H felony."

The story of Zara Baker, the 10-year-old Australian cancer survivor, gained coverage all over the world. Many people were touched by her story and hundreds of thousands of dollars were donated in order to build a playground in her honor. A beautiful yet sad reminder of the horrors that occurred in Hickory, North Carolina in 2010.

This story goes to show that life can be cruel and there are villains everywhere. But it's our job to keep Zara's name alive to tell her story and to look out for warning signs of childhood abuse. Zara's story didn't have to end the way that it did, and if more people had protected her, the way she should have been protected, it's possible that she'd still be here today.

So if you, the listener, if you see something, say something, that's one of the most important things that we can do as a culture, as a society. It's one way we can prevent this type of abuse. And may we never forget the little Australian girl who always smiled, was always laughing, and always fought through whatever obstacles life through her way. The community held a vigil for Zara. We prayed for her spirit.

Amidst the prayers and candlelight, there was a sense of regret. I hope this will be the beginning of no one, not speaking out when they see a child being hurt. Hey, everybody, it's Colin here. and Courtney. Thank you so much for listening to today's episode of Murder in America. Sorry on the delay. We have been so busy. Courtney, what have we been doing? We moved to Philly. Yeah, we are recording this in Philadelphia, so that's pretty crazy, isn't it? Yeah, if you're from the area, let us know we would love to do a meetup someday, see all of our Philadelphia fans. Yeah, y'all are awesome. I want to shout out our new... Good hair days do more than we give them credit.

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Yeah, we are so thankful to have everybody out there listening. We're going to be on a schedule soon now that we're here in Philly. But once again, thanks for tuning in, and we will be back very soon with an episode. Love you guys. Have a good one, everybody. We'll catch you next week.