Adam Baker's Timeline.

Mountain_Kat said:

I'm trying to put together a comprehensive timeline of all the relevant dates of this case. Does anyone know the exact date of the running off the rd incident involving BB? I tried to look up arrest reports under official documents, but I'm getting a file error on the download.

ETA: Nevermind, I finally found it. It was May 22.

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Good job You might want to read this article, also. I thought is was good.

http://www2.morganton.com/news/2010/nov/01/abuse-turned-zahras-life-nightmare-here-ar-500680/

Hickory Born said:

Good job You might want to read this article, also. I thought is was good.

http://www2.morganton.com/news/2010/nov/01/abuse-turned-zahras-life-nightmare-here-ar-500680/

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That article, along with one of the dates on the arrest report was how I was able to confirm the date.

While I have you here, I was taking a long hard look at the Oct. 10 search warrant of the vehicles this morning (while working on timeline), and from timeline info and reading the warrant through more carefully, I definitely think the items taken were only from the vehicles.

Here's why:

If you look on page 1 of the warrant, you can see that the officer clearly states that the search he conducted was of the Tahoe and Camry. He checks the box at the bottom that says he seized the items listed in the inventory. At the top of page 1 is a notation to see attachment 01. If you go to attachment 01, on page 3 , you will see that it says, "In the matter of..." at the top. Here it again lists only the Tahoe and Camry.

My reading, taken as a whole, is that LE searched the Toyota, Tahoe and Impala located at 21 21st Avenue NW , and retrieved the items listed on the inventory from the Toyota and Camry. Nowhere on any of the sw pages does it state the house itself was searched. Also, on the last page of SW the officer indicates that, as no one was home at the time, a copy of the inventory of items seized was placed in the vehicle listed on reverse of search warrant. If the house had been involved at all, I think we would have had a copy of inventory noted as being left in the house.

The search warrant for the house itself was received 10/11/10 at 6:40PM and Executed at 11:13PM .

Mountain_Kat said:

That article, along with one of the dates on the arrest report was how I was able to confirm the date.

While I have you here, I was taking a long hard look at the Oct. 10 search warrant of the vehicles this morning (while working on timeline), and from timeline info and reading the warrant through more carefully, I definitely think the items taken were only from the vehicles.

Here's why:

If you look on page 1 of the warrant, you can see that the officer clearly states that the search he conducted was of the Tahoe and Camry. He checks the box at the bottom that says he seized the items listed in the inventory. At the top of page 1 is a notation to see attachment 01. If you go to attachment 01, on page 3 , you will see that it says, "In the matter of..." at the top. Here it again lists only the Tahoe and Camry.

My reading, taken as a whole, is that LE searched the Toyota, Tahoe and Impala located at 21 21st Avenue NW , and retrieved the items listed on the inventory from the Toyota and Camry. Nowhere on any of the sw pages does it state the house itself was searched. Also, on the last page of SW the officer indicates that, as no one was home at the time, a copy of the inventory of items seized was placed in the vehicle listed on reverse of search warrant. If the house had been involved at all, I think we would have had a copy of inventory noted as being left in the house.

The search warrant for the house itself was received 10/11/10 at 6:40PM and Executed at 11:13PM .

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Oh Kat, this SW is terribly confusing to me. Did you see page 7 where LE checked premises and did not check vehicle (bottom of page). Do you think they checked premises because they took something from the brush pile fire?

Why didn't they rope off the house and yard at this time for a crime scene kidnapping?

Hickory Born said:

Oh Kat, this SW is terribly confusing to me. Did you see page 7 where LE checked premises and did not check vehicle (bottom of page). Do you think they checked premises because they took something from the brush pile fire?

Why didn't they rope off the house and yard at this time for a crime scene kidnapping?

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No, I totally missed that. Ugh, now THAT makes me think we're looking at 2 different searches, 2 different inventory lists, and 2 different places the inventory lists were left. :banghead:

It does state that items were taken from a brush pile, but...

I give up.

Mountain_Kat said:

No, I totally missed that. Ugh, now THAT makes me think we're looking at 2 different searches, 2 different inventory lists, and 2 different places the inventory lists were left. :banghead:

It does state that items were taken from a brush pile, but...

I give up.

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That would explain my frustration. I'm going back to the emotional support thread, myself. :banghead:

Okay, back to the topic at hand:

I know that AB accompanied LE on some of the search done at the Hartland Rd. location. And I know that he was at the house in Hickory for one of the searches, but I'm missing these dates.

Anyone have that info?

http://www.wsoctv.com/news/25355983/detail.html

• Oct. 15: Zahra's father is with investigators at the home where Zahra reportedly went missing. K-9s were also seen at the home, searching in wood piles behind it. A plastic bag, a mattress and a box spring are taken out of the home by investigators.

This also mentions Hartland Rd. search, but does not say if Adam was there.

The Hartland Rd search started Sat. Oct.9, 2010 and LE went back Tuesday, Wed, & Thursday, but I can't for the life of me find anything saying what day Adam was there with LE. Sorry. I know he was there, because the Burke County Sheriff had said something derogatory about him.

I think the Hartland Road was involved during the days LE was looking at AB's job sites and equipment locations wasn't it? Wondering if LE didn't have AB showing them his whereabouts in the days prior to Zara being reported missing, before LE even imagined that Zahra had been gone so much longer. If I am correct about the sequence of events.

I think this is the search (10-12-10) you are referring to and then they returned to drain the pond within days (14th I think). Never found anything there, but AB was on the scene during the first day, the 12th.

http://www.wcnc.com/news/Police-searching--104818544.html

I've put together the following based on a few sources. Have also added in a few quotes for relevance.

Sat Oct. 9: Zahra is reported missing by AB
Morning of Sun Oct. 10: EB arrested on several charges unrelated to the case (writing bad checks and failing to return property)

Adkins said Elisa Baker was interviewed Monday night and she admitted to writing the ransom note. She then told police she wanted an attorney.

As a result of their interview with Baker, the HPD obtained a warrant against her for felony obstruction of justice. According to the arrest warrant, the date of the offense was Saturday, Oct. 9.

Adkins said inconsistencies with Elisa Baker’s earlier information concerning the girl’s disappearance indicates “…she has not been truthful.”

Baker was charged on Sunday with driving with license revoked, larceny by employee, unsafe tires, six counts of worthless checks, and four counts of communicating threats.

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http://mccannexposure.wordpress.com...nce-police-remove-furniture-from-family-home/

(Sat Oct. 9 &) Sun Oct. 10 & Mon Oct. 11: searches of Tahoe & Camry at Baker home. Various items removed by LE. See warrant issues 10/10/2010, plus attachments and inventory.

Morning of Mon Oct. 11: AB on “Good Morning America” with plea for information on Zahra
Mon Oct. 11:

On Monday, police said a search warrant revealed that police dogs detected the scent of human remains on a Chevy Tahoe and a Toyota Camry in which Adam and Elisa Baker own.

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http://mccannexposure.wordpress.com...nce-police-remove-furniture-from-family-home/

tues Oct. 12:

During a media briefing Tuesday morning, police said an inspector was called to the house in recent weeks. The HPD is asking this person to come forward because they may have information which could be helpful to the investigation.

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http://mccannexposure.wordpress.com...nce-police-remove-furniture-from-family-home/

Note: have we heard anything further about this visit to the house by an inspector???

Afternoon of Tues Oct. 12: Warrant for EB after she admitted to writing and leaving the ransom note. EB charged with felony obstruction of justice.
Morning of Tues Oct. 12: Call off AMBER alert on Zahra. Case is to be viewed as a homicide.

Just before noon on Tuesday, Hickory Police Chief Tom Adkins called off the AMBER Alert for 10-year-old Zahra Baker and said the investigation had turned into a homicide investigation. Adkins also said that Zahra's stepmother, Elisa Baker, had admitted to writing a ransom note found during a search for clues in the case, and had been charged with obstruction of justice. Elisa Baker was already in jail, having been arrested on charges unrelated to the disappearance on Sunday.

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http://www.wcnc.com/news/Police-searching--104818544.html

Evening of Tues Oct. 12: Police search a wooded area late into the night (I have read for 7 hours?). Location is down a dead-end dirt road off of Hartland Road, north of Morganton. They search around a wood chipper and in mulch piles.

Burke County Sheriff John McDevitt said Tuesday's intensive search off Hartland Road would last until investigators find what they are looking for or rule out the area.
...
McDevitt said approximately 50 investigators were on scene Tuesday, watching as a backhoe cleared brush.

The land searched belongs to the family of a foreman at the tree trimming company where Zahra's father, Adam, works. It is an area where mulch, wood chips, and heavy equipment is stored. Bobby Green, a former employee of the company, says Baker would have had access there.

"There's a lot of places to get rid of somebody over here. I hope not, but this the most cohorted effort that I’ve seen in the search so far," Green said.

Alvin Webb, who lives next door, told NewsChannel 36 a deputy told him a cadaver dog smelled human remains on a mulch pile and on a wood chipper on the property. McDevitt said Tuesday night there have been "many hits" but none that he would call conclusive.

McDevitt confirmed that Adam Baker was on site with investigators. He characterized his behavior as "not exactly cooperative," adding that, in his opinion, Baker is not being truthful.

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http://www.wcnc.com/news/Police-searching--104818544.html

The girl’s father works for a landscaping company that uses a portion of the land to store equipment and dispose of brush.
...
“The dad had access to equipment and the property, so we needed to search it,” said Burke County Sheriff John McDevitt.

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http://mccannexposure.wordpress.com...nce-police-remove-furniture-from-family-home/

Morning of Wed Oct. 13: EB in court

Police are calling Zahra’s stepmother, Elisa Annette Baker, 42, a person of interest in the girl’s disappearance. Baker appeared in court Wednesday morning after being charged Monday with felony obstruction of justice.
...
The felony charge is the result a ransom note found in a vehicle parked outside Zahra’s home which demanded $1 million. Police said Baker admitting to writing the note to distract police investigators in their search for Zahra.

On Wednesday, Baker walked into courtroom #4 wearing a pink jail jumpsuit. She was handcuffed and escorted by sheriff’s deputies. The judge asked Baker if she understood the charges against her and she replied, “Yes.”

Baker is being held in the Catawba County Jail on a $72,200 bond. In court on Wednesday, Baker’s attorney, D. Scott Reilly, told the judge he planned to file a motion to have the $40,000 bond amount relating to the felony charge reduced.

The felony obstruction of justice charge against Baker is the result of an interview police investigators conducted with her Monday night.

The police chief told reporters Tuesday morning that Baker admitted to writing the ransom note and then asked for her attorney.

According to the judge, if Baker is convicted on the felony charge, she could spend 30 months in prison. Baker’s next court date on the obstruction charge is November 3, for a probable cause hearing.

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http://mccannexposure.wordpress.com...nce-police-remove-furniture-from-family-home/

Evening of Wed Oct. 13: drain pond and use a dog to sniff through piles of mulch and tree-trimming equipment at the Hartland Road location.
Thurs Oct. 13: final day of search north of Morganton (Hartland Road location). 60 acres have been searched.

Thursday evening, the search of 60 acres of land in the Hartland Road Community of Burke County ended with no trace of the girl who was reported missing last Saturday.
...
The Hartland Road site is one of several that have been searched in recent days, though more attention was given to it.

Cadaver dogs have gone over the entire property and a pond was drained Wednesday night in hopes of finding some evidence. None was found.

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http://mccannexposure.wordpress.com...nce-police-remove-furniture-from-family-home/

Note the above was written on the 15th, so the comment re "searched several properties" also includes the next day.

Fri Oct. 15: AB with LE at his home. K-9s seen at the home, searching in wood piles behind it. Some items removed include: plastic bag, a mattress, bed rails and a box spring
Afternoon of Fri Oct. 15: LE search previous residence of Bakers in Hudson.

Officers removed mattresses, box springs and bed rails from the house. Those items will be taken to the state lab in Raleigh to be analyzed for blood or any other forms of DNA. Baker left the house around 12:30 p.m.

Police also searched another home Friday afternoon in which the Bakers previously lived in near Hudson, NC.

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http://mccannexposure.wordpress.com...nce-police-remove-furniture-from-family-home/

Sun Oct. 17: K-9s continue searches based on information from tips and interviews.
Tues Oct. 19: LE interview – EB reveals information about dismemberment, burial locations mentioned in the 29th November 2010 warrant for Charter Communications. ie point # 10

"... Elisa Baker stated that Adam Baker dismembered Zahra Baker's limbs and they disposed of them in various locations, including but not limited to, Christie Road in Hudson and Dudley Shoals Rd/Burns Rd area."

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Morning of Wed Oct. 20: EB in court for bond hearing. Judge increases bond from $40,000 to $65,000, citing “disturbing and unsettling” allegations surrounding the charge.
Wed Oct. 20:commencement of search at Lenoir landfill for "piece of evidence" next day this item is identified to be Zahra's old mattress.
Fri Oct. 22: end landfill search with no result.
Mon Oct. 25: AB arrested on unrelated charges (bad cheques, etc)
Tues Oct. 26: Zahra's old mattress located at Lenoir landfill. Sent for DNA tests.
Tues Oct. 26: Zahra's prosthetic leg found off Christie Rd in Caldwell County
Wed Oct. 27: LE announce Zahra's prosthetic leg has been found
Mon Nov. 1: LE confirm prosthetic leg is Zahra's based on serial number.
Wed Nov. 3: LE locate bone in Caldwell County – sent to medical examiners in Chapel Hill.
Wed Nov. 10: human remains located at the Dudley Shoals area of Caldwell County.
Fri Nov. 12: Chief Adkins announces they have identified the bone as Zahra's by DNA evidence. Remains found on Nov 10 are consistent with a child, but not confirmed as Zahra's

Sources:
11th October 2010 updated 22nd February 2011: http://www.wsoctv.com/news/25355983/detail.html
12th & 13th October 2010: http://www.wcnc.com/news/Police-searching--104818544.html
15th October 2010: http://mccannexposure.wordpress.com...nce-police-remove-furniture-from-family-home/
Plus warrants, etc.

The above indicates (if the media and sources are reliable) that AB was at the location of Hartland Rd on the Tues Oct. 12. I do not sense from the media reporting that he was there on the other dates. I'm not of the opinion that this information was given by EB along with the other locations for dismembered body parts as that statement was not made to the police until Tues, Oct. 19th. I would assume that: 1) they had the (fake) ransom note which indicated there was a connection with Mr Coffey, so they wanted to search any locations relevant to his business; also 2) they needed to cover all of AB's workplaces that might provide evidence. The quote about not trusting AB is also in the above.

So ... this implies that my question (asked in one thread or another) about other locations divulged by EB to the investigators in the interview session of Oct 19 are still possibly unknown (to me anyway).

I realise I've missed some details and dates, but was trying to keep the AB timeline (ie this thread topic) relevant to the overall case, so cut out some other stuff. Also haven't gone through all the warrants to add in. Most of them come after this timeframe anyway.

..a couple of things from news reports:

http://www.charlotteobserver.com/2010/10/15/1758012/missing-girl-now-believed-to-be.html



Police are familiar with the mobile home. They were called for service there more than a dozen times for incidents including family disputes, two break-ins, and a report by Elisa Baker's daughter that accused Baker of using her information to get utilities in her name without her permission.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
ADAM T. BAKER:

Worthless checks:​

Caldwell County

• May 11, 2009: $58.66 to Lowes Food Store
• May 11, 2009: $81.87 to Food Lion
• May 15, 2009: $63.40 to Food Lion
• May 20, 2009: $64.86 to Food Lion
• May 13, 2009 $110.62 to Food Lion

In March 2010, the Bakers were arrested and charged for failing to return a laptop computer, a 42-inch Zenith television, a stereo and a living room suite worth $2,411.69, according to court documents. The couple had rented the furniture and electronics from Bestway Rent to Own in Lenoir.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

------of note of course is----they arrived in the U.S. december 18/2008----adam finally got a j.o.b. in (approximately) april 2010 ( what DID he do for $$'s in those 16 months? dec.'08-april'10. )

...adam moved to Giru----lived with his parents----worked @ the sugar mill 2004-2008.​

Zahra was essentially raised from toddlerhood in Giru by her grandmother Karen, who moved to the township in May 2004 from Newcastle with husband Tony.​

Three of their four sons - including Adam - followed them north, and also settled in the town.

With her father and grandfather working shifts at the sugar mill, Zahra and her grandmother formed an extremely close bond.​

​

http://charlotte.news14.com/content/video_stories/631607/friends--family-hold-private-memorial-for-zahra-baker?ap=1&MP4​

--balloon "memorial" at the hickory house---October 17th 2010.

-------adam gathers with '(elisa's)family/friends' ( a week after zahra 'disappears', and the case has been classified a Homicide Investigation).​

Flakes said:

The above indicates (if the media and sources are reliable) that AB was at the location of Hartland Rd on the Tues Oct. 12. I do not sense from the media reporting that he was there on the other dates. I'm not of the opinion that this information was given by EB along with the other locations for dismembered body parts as that statement was not made to the police until Tues, Oct. 19th. I would assume that: 1) they had the (fake) ransom note which indicated there was a connection with Mr Coffey, so they wanted to search any locations relevant to his business; also 2) they needed to cover all of AB's workplaces that might provide evidence. The quote about not trusting AB is also in the above.

So ... this implies that my question (asked in one thread or another) about other locations divulged by EB to the investigators in the interview session of Oct 19 are still possibly unknown (to me anyway).

I realise I've missed some details and dates, but was trying to keep the AB timeline (ie this thread topic) relevant to the overall case, so cut out some other stuff. Also haven't gone through all the warrants to add in. Most of them come after this timeframe anyway.

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When did the letters to that crime memorabilia guy surface? Can we remember when she wrote them to him? I think LE might have been working off of the info she had put in those letters. LE also responded regarding those letters that she was telling "people" those stories about AB. I think EB was talking from the get go.

MOO

Kamille said:

When did the letters to that crime memorabilia guy surface? Can we remember when she wrote them to him? I think LE might have been working off of the info she had put in those letters. LE also responded regarding those letters that she was telling "people" those stories about AB. I think EB was talking from the get go.

MOO

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http://www.aolnews.com/2010/11/02/exclusive-letters-say-zahras-dad-did-something-horrifying/
-----------Novermber 2, 2010--------
Exclusive: Notes Say Zahra's Dad Did 'Horrifying' Act

Oh how I wish I could compose a short and sweet post, but hey, not on issues Zahra. They are too important. So please bear with me, give this little thesis a read. Hopefully it will provide some thoughts of benefit. Apologies in advance. I just don't know how to do it with less words.
____________

When it comes to dating the letters there are a few clues to give us some idea of the dates. Note: I have read the Letters thread and the following contains new ideas of my own, plus some quote and references to the other thread. I thought about posting this in the Letter thread, but as this reply continues on from the previous posts in this thread, I decided to post here. If mods think it should be moved over then please do so!
____________

As we know, Eric Gein of serialkillerink.net says that he wrote to Elisa in jail with the pseudonym “ Damien”, to initiate an exchange. Weeks later she wrote in reply.

It's clear from answers in the first letter from Elisa to Gein (yellow paper, 1 sheet written on both sides) that he commenced the dialogue with certain lines of conversation and questioning (fishing for saucy material I’d call it). We’re told by Gein that LE has copies of his correspondence; however we’ve not seen them. Judging from EB’s answers, I'd say he mentions Charlie Manson, Elisa's MySpace page, asks about the symbolism of 666, asks if she can receive money orders and pictures, and what sorts of things she’s into – movies, music. He clearly initiates the correspondence in a flattering way and gives EB the impression that he wants to be her friend.

See also the Lisa Dubs quote way down the bottom of this post for her comments about the fishing expedition by Gein.

We can get a vague preliminary indication of the timeframe of the yellow 2 page letter as we know that Elisa has asked her lawyers to take down her MySpace page, yet LE has reinstated it and her Facebook pages as well (which she alleges were both set to Private), and we know she expects to miss Thanksgiving, Halloween and Christmas. But she does expect to be out soon! Tres optimistic! IMO it's a pretty narcissistic letter, though she invites more information about "Damien", pressuring him as "her only friend". Not one mention of the case of Zahra, or Adam ... it’s all about EB. Makes me think at this point she’s not told the LE about Zahra’s dismemberment or the burial locations.

I believe she has probably written this letter in three phases or sittings (possibly interrupted). The front page down to the word "sexual" is the first stage, and from there the writing changes to the second stage with a different slant (backwards). She continues in this second style on the reverse of the page, and then toward the bottom we see the third stage, “Have you ever been in jail?” where the hand finally deteriorates into a more printed form. Considerably more care is taken with the first session of writing, as the letters are more consistent and neater, and all fall at the same forwards angle. My thought is she’s written the first page on a roll, saying what SHE wants to say, with a happy and optimistic feeling. No doubt glad that there’s someone who cares (well, yes, he does ... about his bank balance!).

Before starting the second phase I feel she re-reads his letter. From the last sentence on page one, “You ask what things I am into” through to the point on page two where she writes “So what do you look like?” she appears to respond to his questions. You can tell as her comments assume he knows what she’s talking about as she switches from one topic to the next. To a degree some of his comments appear to be responded to on the first page too, but on the more narcissistic first page she feels in control (it is about her public profile/celebrity/notoriety ... in her mind). I don’t think she enjoys having the conversation driven by someone else. As she progresses, her writing has that backwards slant, and the tone becomes more and more down and depressed. She starts to feel quite sorry for herself. Once she reaches the end of his questions she suddenly – mid paragraph – asks him about himself ... like a child would do when trying to be polite.

But not long until she goes into what I see as the third stage of the letter, where the narcissism takes over again. This is the printed section, still slanting backwards, but not “running writing” (cursive). Commencing “Have you ever been in jai?” ... desperate for sympathy, and pours out the misery (solitary confinement, on the floor, miss my warm waterbed. Oh the crocodile tears!


The second letter is the 3pp white one also released to the media by Gein (1st sheet written on both sides, 2nd sheet written on single side). From her comments it is apparent that Gein (“Damien”) has not written back to her: “since I heard from you I wrote to you and still haven’t heard back”. She is concerned his interest in her (ha!) may have been affected detrimentally by the media which she knows is not favourable. She writes in her first phase of this letter down to the “he says it could take 6 to 8 months”. Once again her first page is written consistently and neatly (though as she get down to the final sentence of that first phase she starts to tire and writing is messier). She stops at a point where the mood is becoming depressed again (after starting far more confidently). If she had an eraser I think she’d have rubbed out some of it, but instead she seems to just write spontaneously – not a whole lot of thought goes into it, and there are no crossed out words either. I think she makes do with the little equipment she has (just a little paper, an envelope and an envelope). I think it’s also telling that she gets so down about her circumstances, you can see the depression and self-pity coming through, BUT there’s not one skerrick of remorse or acceptance of responsibility for what she’s done to get herself in this situation! But hey, I guess she thinks it can work for her!

When the second phase of misery guts starts up, her writing slopes dramatically to the right. It’s still fairly neat, but the content is all over place about her suffering – solitary confinement still, now suicide watch, missing Halloween BOO! Nothing to live for, NG, a “fighting chicken”. By the end of that phase at the “fighting chicken” bit, the pencil is really getting scrappy. Ah no sharpener! An indication of timeframe is: “I am gonna be debriefed this week so Adam is suppose to be arrested then again”. Also that she is missing Halloween.

Third phase is clearly written after a gap in time I think; possibly days. “When I saw my attorneys today” is one key to timeframe. I feel this is since the second phase was written, and she’s not happy with the news. “I am beyond stressed” ... and you can tell exactly how messed up she feels, as her writing’s all over the place – upright, backwards, forwards, and the pressure of the pencil on the paper is inconsistent. She’s aggressively pressing harder into the paper IMO. She’s fuming as Adam has been let out of jail – another key to timeframe. It suddenly becomes a little bit “Obi-Wan Kenobi you’re my only hope!” in the way she gushes at “Damien”; quite desperately. She’s realising she’s losing this battle.

Note: Adam was arrested on Monday 25th Oct 2010. He was released on Friday 29th Oct. At this point in time we know they have found Zahra prosthetic leg/gel liner (?).

Her words also reveal that in some way “Damien” gave an impression of his own character (well, fake character) ... as EB feels some affinity with him. Clearly she’s under the impression that he’s like her, an outsider, one of the “freaks” ... after all she’s going to launch a campaign for “people like us”. I think she ends this phase of writing at the point: “need to know exactly what I am dealing with out there.” There’s a very final period at this point. I think she then re-reads her letter (either immediately or a while later) and returns to writing as if the line of thought continues.

“Some pscho...” is the fourth phase, with writing slanting to the right. Note: in the Letter thread, DLT88 (11-05-2010, 11:51 AM) mentioned how the left edge alignment of the handwriting can indicate when lies are being told. At this point the writing suddenly moves inwards down the page, indicating (according to DLT88’s graphology studies) that EB is being more spontaneous and honest.** She does sound fearful for her life. The third page gives us another indication of time-frame as well. She states “the cops know where she is and what he has done. That’s right what he has done.” And then claims that Adam wrote the ransom note. Big deflection going on here. After all, she should have been out in 3 weeks if she hadn’t written that “stupid note” ... Of course it’s not her that was stupid, it was the note! Reminds me of children that bump into a table and hurt themselves and then smack the bad table for hurting them! Ie she has been in jail for over 3 weeks at the time of writing this letter.

After another little reprise she writes the final fifth phase of the letter asking about Halloween, and eager for another letter from her good mate “Damien”.

Again, I’d love to see what Eric Gein wrote to her. I wonder if all the “dark” and “freak” stuff has to do with how he introduced himself. I suspect the choice of the name “Damien” was deliberately a reference to “The Omen” movie, and that set the stage for him to appeal to her darker side as a kindred spirit (I suspect with talk of vampires, dark sides, Goth culture, etc). I think he was very flattering to her, like she was on a pedestal as some kind of celebrity, and preyed upon her ego.

**I want to add, in my own defense, that I’m not certain this always applies in isolation. My handwriting which is very old fashioned, Victorian English style, is always perfectly aligned at the left, almost as straight as a ruler. If I meandered down the page, I’d re-write it! Needless to say, if anyone was analysing my writing I’m certain they’d be able to determine enough other information about me to know that this ‘inward means telling the truth’ doesn’t apply, as it would mean everything I write is lies! I think there need to be more things considered than just the alignment of the left edge, though I accept it is a significant issue when considered in the overall scheme of things. DLT88's is certainly a good point to consider.

We only have 2 of the 3 letters, but it appears that the two we have are possibly consecutive (though ?????). As we all know these were all for sale on Eric Gein's serialkillerink.net website. The first two were accompanied by envelopes bearing the location of origin, indicating jail. The third letter was abruptly withdrawn from sale. I'm not able to confirm if it had an envelope or not.

We know the third letter has not been released in full to the public, but was discussed on NG, in certain newspapers, and in our EB letter thread. It was apparently written after the others (was it?????). I suspect the reason the third letter may have been removed from sale is EB's lawyers were able to force Gein to remove it on the basis of deception. The others may have been sold by this stage (??). Possibly the third letter was also filled with very sensitive and disturbing information, or secret for the LE investigation (???). A comment was made by EB’s ex-lawyer, Lisa Dubs, prior to the court hearing on Monday 15th November 2010, stating:

"Unfortunately, this man, who apparently goes by the false persona of 'Damien' used fraud and deceit with the sole intention of profiting from the disappearance of Zahra Baker ... Ms. Baker unfortunately believed this man's representations that he only wanted to offer friendship and support during her incarceration. Much of the information in these letters is in response to specific questions posed by this man.

The release of these letters is regrettable and only serves to sensationalize an already complicated situation," she added.
http://www.upi.com/Top_News/US/2010...-stepmom-alludes-to-death/UPI-46771289873745/
http://abcnews.go.com/US/zahra-baker-exclusive-elisa-baker-jailhouse-letter/story?id=12145895&page=1

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Kudos to dar107, salvarenga and tehcloser for their posts in the Letter thread that give us some information and media links on the content of the third letter. Adding to their excellent research:

I’ve taken the sample of the letter into Photoshop so I can read a little better, plus added in material from media links. It’s hard to read the full date as the watermark from serialkillerink.net partially covers the second numeral. I’ve seen an abc article that says this date is the 29th October, 2010, but I am not convinced by what I can see – an upwards kick at the base of the second numeral which tends to indicate it’s “Oct 22”. The formation of the “2” at the start of the date gives us a basis for comparison for the second digit. Also, given my info below regarding the envelope (which I believe is dated 27 Oct), I am strongly leaning to the 22nd. It makes sense that there might be a delays of days from a prisoner writing and the post-office processing. Given the abc who claims this letter was dated 29th Oct., I wonder if they saw the original? The article states: “In the latest letter, obtained exclusively by ABC News”. But they may have received the watermarked version too, but in full rather than the crop we see. But, who knows? There is a distinct possibility that this letter was actually written in between the other two!

It’s certainly odd that she dated this as neither of the other letters appear to bear a date. Maybe time was starting to mean more to her?

Here it is again:

”Hello My Darkest Friend(?).
So where is my dark Knight. Hopefully you haven't disappeared too. It takes forever for those letters to get through the mail I know. I figure they read every- thing I write, so much for privacy, huh. Well if you been watching the news you know some truth of whats going on. And I say some litely(likely?). I am helping the cops try and get soon-to-be ex-husband in here. The cops promised if I would help them with what I know, they would keep him locked up for my safety.

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Other quotes available in the media from the third letter are cited as:

"I was trying to save us both, but why should I? He is letting everyone destroy me,"
EB says she "ain't the monster people are saying."
"I want a chance to be heard damn it. This is my life and everyone is playing with and I have no control over what is said or done"
"Maybe I should just change my name to Evil, what do you think? LOL."
"My family will never believe Adam has done what he has"
EB feels like a "freak in a carnival" whenever she's in view of the media's cameras and is concerned about being attacked while in prison
"[But it's] not like I am not able to defend my freaking self"
EB announces she has changed her name from “Elisa” to “Elesa”
The letter is signed: "Dark Wishes, Elesa."
http://abcnews.go.com/US/zahra-baker-exclusive-elisa-baker-jailhouse-letter/story?id=12145895&page=1

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Also from the abcnews website we see this letter was also 3 pages long: “In the letter, written to crime memorabilia dealer Eric Gein, Baker says she will be living alone when she gets out of prison. In three rambling pages, she never mentions Zahra or any concern for her stepdaughter, who was still a missing person when the letter was written on Oct. 29. She also doesn't cite any remorse for the girl's disappearance.”

Her introduction indicates that she still has not received a reply from “Damien”; in the final two she claims she’s not received a reply at the time of writing. Beyond the small ample posted by

I have managed to find an image of the envelope from one of the letters that accompanied the sale of a letter by Eric Gein.



The hand-written address confirms that this was sent from a PO Box at the Catawba County Sheriff’s Dept. It has a dot matrix post-mark stamped over the stamp at the right. Unfortunately the baselines of the dot matrix printer are out of alignment, slightly over to the right, which makes some of the letter and numerals hard to read. When enhanced in Photoshop and with the baseline of the post mark 1 pixel high shifted to the left x 2 pixels, I can see that the formation of pixels indicates that the first number in the date resembles the “2” in the “2010”. This is also confirmed by the fact that the font used in the date does not have a serif on the ascending portion of the numeral “1”. So my conclusion is the postmark is “27 October 2010”. Please see notes on the below image.



So when we consider all this information in the context of events on timelines that we have (I only have done the one above in my previous post), I estimate that the first of these letters (yellow) predates the interview with LE regarding the dismemberment and burial of Zahra which took place on the Tues 19th Oct. She does not reveal anything about involvement in the case. E know she has confessed to the ransom note, but at this stage it would seem that she is not revealing much – certainly not to her “admirer” Damien. She appears (perhaps delusionally) to think she will only be in jail for a short period of time. I think the second letter post-dates the 19th Oct interview (as she states that LE knows the details). We know from her comments that it is written prior to the date of Halloween – Sunday 31st October 2010. And she is furious that Adam has been released from jail which puts this letter at about the 29th Oct. Then the third letter comes hmmmmm maybe before the "second" white letter, around the 22nd (or 29th) October, well into the investigation, when EB realises things are not going her way at all, and starts to sound angry. I suspect this was the letter mailed in the envelope above, dated 27th Oct. Again, I could have this wrong Either way I think the mail is slow to get out of prison, they process it, and then despatch to the post office, so the envelope date kind of confuses things.

We know that the letters were released to the media in the first days of November.

Note the following:

CHARLOTTE, N.C., Nov. 15 (UPI) -- A bond request made Monday in a North Carolina court revealed Elisha Baker told lawyers weeks ago she knew how and when her stepdaughter died, an attorney said.

On Oct. 22, Baker allegedly told her legal team, led by Scott Reilly, about the circumstances surrounding the disappearance and death of 10-year-old Zahra Baker, Charlotte's WBTV reported.

Reilly said his team obtained a significant bit of evidence that was turned over to authorities and within two days told police Zahra was dead, and her body dismembered and dispersed in different locations.
...
Before the bail hearing, Baker had many people speculating about how much she really knew because of three letters she wrote to crime memorabilia dealer Eric Gein, a man who also goes by the nickname, Damien, ABC News reported Monday.
http://www.upi.com/Top_News/US/2010...-stepmom-alludes-to-death/UPI-46771289873745/

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Adding to that ... messy dates again ... the police already knew on the 19th October that Zahra was dead, dismembered and buried in various locations, if we are to trust the date given in the warrant I have cited in posts prior to this one. However they had not yet located the prosthetic leg or any of her at this time. I am therefore a little suspicious about the date 22nd October. Though consider the letter that I think was written on the 22nd Oct (third letter) that sounds quite desperate and angry. Hmmmmm...

Anyway, I started this great long post thinking clearly in my mind that the third letter came after the explosive one known as the Second letter. But after doing this I have decided that perhaps that's not quite right. I think the third letter came in between them. The envelope contributed to this conclusion, but also the issues about Adam being let out of jail in the second letter. If only we had access to the entire third letter!!!

Please accept that these are just my own ideas. I am not a professional hand-writing expert; however my amateur analysis of handwriting related to the formation of letters, pressure of imprint on paper, etc, has been used successfully in court to prove forgery of documents. As for the Photoshop and typography stuff ... that's what I do for $. This DOES NOT mean that I have the facts straight in the above. I'm just trying to follow on from a question in a thread, and got carried away in the moment.

Now my brain is scrambled egg.