Thread: N.C.: Family: Stepmother says illness killed Zahra

Family: Stepmother says illness killed Zahra

Relatives say Bakers feared going to the hospital because the girl and her father were in U.S. illegally.

By Franco Ordoñez
Posted: Thursday, Jan. 06, 2011

HICKORY - Zahra Baker's stepmother claims she found the little girl dead after an illness that lasted some two weeks, and decided in a panic to get rid of the child's body instead of reporting the death, family members say.

Two relatives told the Observer the Bakers didn't take Zahra to a hospital and might have feared authorities because Zahra's father, Adam Baker, is in the country illegally, and because social workers had investigated her stepmother, Elisa Baker. The two relatives spoke on the condition of anonymity, and authorities won't comment on the allegations.

The family members' comments offer the first explanation of how the 10-year-old girl might have died and why her body was dismembered and discarded.

"She told me the whole time, every time I've visited her, that she did not kill Zahra. She found her dead," said another family member, Kathy Fairchild, who is a cousin of Elisa Baker.

Fairchild says she has visited Elisa Baker in jail three times and received several letters from her. No one has been charged in Zahra's death, but Elisa Baker has been jailed because police say she admitted writing a phony ransom note in the case.

Authorities confirmed for the Observer that Zahra's father is in the country illegally. He moved to the United States with his daughter in 2008 from their native Australia, where Adam and Elisa Baker had married after an online romance.

The Bakers might have stayed away from medical authorities and other officials because they feared Adam and Zahra could be deported if their immigration status were discovered, according to one of the relatives who spoke on the condition of anonymity.

Search warrant documents released Tuesday say Elisa had not yet divorced her prior husband at the time she married Adam. So it's unclear whether their Australian marriage is legitimate.

In general, marriages that are legally performed and valid abroad are also valid in the United States.

Family members say Adam Baker and his daughter came to the U.S. on a visa, possibly a tourist visa, that later expired. Relatives weren't sure what steps the couple might have taken toward obtaining a green card that would make Adam and Zahra permanent U.S. residents.

Search warrant records show that Elisa Baker told authorities that Zahra died on Sept. 24, more than two weeks before she was reported missing. The relative who spoke on condition of anonymity said family asked Elisa about Zahra because they hadn't seen her, and Elisa told them Zahra was sick with a virus.

But another Baker relative wonders if Zahra really died naturally, citing previous allegations of abuse against Elisa Baker.

"She may have gone too far," the relative said.

Investigators say reports made to DSS cite numerous investigations into abuse allegations as far back as 1999. Baker's previous attorney confirmed investigations were conducted but said the agency had not substantiated the claims.

Nearly three months after the hearing-impaired girl with the bright smile was reported missing, charges have yet to be brought in the gruesome death, leaving family members and residents frustrated.

Zahra's story has captured widespread attention because the child had survived so much, including cancer, the loss of part of her leg and possibly abuse.

Police are continuing to investigate.

They announced in November that they had matched Zahra's DNA to the DNA taken from a child's bone discovered in Caldwell County. They found more of her remains along a creek five miles away.

Documents call Elisa Baker a suspect in the case.

Search warrants say Elisa Baker told authorities Adam Baker dismembered his daughter's body, and that the couple dumped the remains in a various locations. Phone records retrieved in the investigation place Elisa Baker's phone at the dump sites but not Adam's.

Adam Baker was arrested on Oct. 25 on unrelated charges of writing bad checks and communicating threats. He was released two days later after posting bond.

Catawba County Sheriff's Capt. Mark Shook told the Observer that immigration authorities contacted the jail hours after Adam Baker was released and informed them Baker was in the country illegally and should be detained.

Immigration authorities declined to discuss the case but said they typically don't get involved with immigrants who are involved in U.S. criminal investigations until those cases are resolved.

Both Elisa and Adam Baker deny any wrongdoing in Zahra's death.

Kathy Fairchild said Elisa Baker has been sick, depressed, and has lost a lot of weight during her time in jail.

"It's very hard when you think someone in your family might have had something to do with (a crime)," Fairchild says. "I hope it's not true."

At least Zahra is now in peace, she says.

"The only thing that makes me feel better is that Zahra is in heaven. She can dance. She can hear."

www.charlotteobserver.com

Zahra's father, Adam Baker and stepmother, Elisa Baker.
Burn in hell!

I'M NOT BUYING THESE WOLF TICKETS THAT THESE FOLKS ARE SELLING. IF THAT LITTLE ANGEL BABY DIED FROM NATURAL CAUSES, THEN WHY DISMEMBER HER LITTLE BODY LIKE THAT I MEAN I DON'T CARE IF THEY WERE HERE ILLEGALLY, THEY STILL COULD HAVE TAKEN HER TO HOSPITAL. THAT WAS NO WAY TO TREAT THIS LITTLE CHILD OF GOD. AND FOR THIS WOMAN TO MARRY AGAIN KNOWING THAT SHE IS STILL LEGALLY MARRIED TO SOME ONE ELSE, WELL THAT TELLS ME THAT SHE IS NOT PLAYING WITH A FULL DECK

Originally Posted by airdale

Zahra's father, Adam Baker and stepmother, Elisa Baker.
Burn in hell!

Oh my dear Lord! How sick do you have to be to dismember a child you supposedly loved?!?!?!?!

Yes, to Hades with that family...

Please! When has any illegal invader ever denied themselves hospital care because of their illegal invader status! Hospitals (unfortunately) do not notify authorities regarding someone's immigration status. Besides, what parent would put their immigration status ahead of the welfare of their child?

Simply an excuse to mitigate their deplorable actions! I hope they rot in hell for their actions against this child!

Has anyone ever noticed that these illegals KNOW DAMN WELL they are criminals and they will always continue making committing more crimes.

Obviously I am in North Carolina, and this story has been headline news since it first broke. This is absolutely the FIRST time I have heard that Adam Baker and Zahra were here illegally. I am shocked that this has not been mentioned at all. I guess the media thought that the illegal issue was not relevant to what happened, but if Baker and Zahra had stayed in Australia, I don't think she'd be dead now. A sad story that only becomes sadder as we learn more.