GA GA - Tara Baker, 23, Athens, 19 Jan 2001

georgiagirl

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I saw this on Haunting Evidence last night and it was so sad to see her mother...... This was a horrible murder, she was beaten, stabbed then her apartment set on fire. Alot of forensic evidence lost in fire...

It was six years ago on Friday when a 23-year-old UGA law student was murdered in her Athens apartment., which the killer then torched to cover his tracks.

Since that day, Tara Baker’s family has waged a non-stop battle to find justice for the young student.

When Lindsay Baker buried his daughter in 2001, the part of the cemetery that she was buried in was all but empty. But now, six years later, Tara Baker is no longer alone. And there is still no justice for the murdered law school student.

“Next to the tiny angels who guard the grave, there is a small granite monument chiseled with the scales of justice. A promise etched in stone to the young student who loved the law that one day, the police will catch a break in her case.

“In the last year or so, there’s been a change of command,” said Lindsay Baker. “Some new faces brought in, some fresh ideas, and things are starting to move a little bit. Not that they’ve solved it yet, but I think they’re doing the right things.”

As important as the writing on the front of the headstone, is the empty space on the back. Because this is the unfinished chapter -- the place where the rest of Tara's story will be written -- hopefully, with the arrest of her killer.

“There's someone out there that killed my daughter, and someday, definitely in the next life, but hopefully in this life, he's going to have to face it and I just hope I'm still around to see it,” said Lindsay.
http://www.11alive.com/news/article_news.aspx?storyid=90793
 
Bumping.

I came across Tara's story not too long ago and started reading about her.

Here is a link to her family's website about her:
http://www.tarabaker.com/index.html

Under the Articles tab I think they have posted just about every article written about her.

Her front door was locked and deadbolted from the inside. I don't think LE has released if there was forced entry. If there was not then that would lead one to the conclusion that Tara knew her killer and had let them in willingly. For whatever reason I don't feel like this was someone Tara knew at all or if she did she did not know them very well.
 
GEORGIA BUREAU OF INVESTIGATION -- UNSOLVED HOMICIDE
88662065baker.jpg

TARA LOUISE BAKER

Case Info
Incident Date: Fri, 01/19/2001
Location: Residence located at 160 Fawn Drive, Athens
Sex: Female

On January 19, 2001, around 11:20 a.m., the body of Tara Louise Baker was found by Athens-Clarke County firefighters responding to a fire at her apartment located at 160 Fawn Drive, Athens. Subsequent investigation has determined that the fire was intentionally set and the manner of death is homicide.

Tara was a first-year law school student at the University of Georgia (UGA). Tara, 23, was last seen alive by a friend around 7:30 p.m. on January 18 at the UGA Law School Library. The same friend received a call at 9:46 p.m. from Tara, who was still at the library. Tara phoned to make sure her friend arrived home safely and said she planned to leave the library around 10 p.m.

Tara was born on January 20, 1977 in East Point, Georgia. She graduated Love Joy High School in 1995 and enrolled at Georgia College in Milledgeville. She graduated *advertiser censored* Laude in 1998 with two bachelor's degrees. Classmates remember Tara as a caring person who would often champion the cause of the underdog and never allowed serious students to be excluded from study groups or class projects.

Anyone who may have information about Tara's death should contact: The Athens-Clarke County Police Department at 706-613-3337 or the GBI's Athens Regional Office at 706-542-7901.
http://gbi.georgia.gov/case/unsolved-homicide-381
 
Student's murder remains unsolved after 11 years
The Red & Black
Posted: Friday, January 20, 2012 12:16 pm
Jacob Demmitt

“I’ve come to the realization that my sister’s killer may never be caught,” Tara’s sister Meredith Baker told The Red & Black in 2008. “But we owe it to Tara to keep pushing her story. That’s the only way we have a chance for justice.”
UGA student's death a decade-old mystery
Killer never found for law student Tara Baker
By Joe Johnson
Morris News Service
Wednesday, Jan. 19, 2011 5:34 AM

snip
Witnesses reported seeing a white man in a T-shirt and jeans run from Baker's backyard that morning before the fire was reported, police said.

snip
The first-year UGA law student had been beaten, stabbed, strangled and possibly sexually assaulted, sources said, an indication that Baker may have known her killer - perhaps someone who was enamored with her and flew into a rage when she spurned his advances.

The only thing taken from the home was Baker's laptop computer, which might have held e-mails that would have incriminated the killer, sources said.
^Much more at the link

Authorities release Baker death certificate
Online Athens
Posted: Wednesday, January 19, 2011

Police had refused to release the document because they didn’t want to publicize the cause of death, something they said only Baker’s killer would know.

A $30,000 reward is offered for information that leads to the arrest of Baker’s killer. Anyone with information should call Athens-Clarke police at (706) 613-3337 or the Crime Stoppers confidential tip line at (706) 613-3342.
^Cont. at the link

Tara Baker Website -- includes links to over 50 news articles, photos, and personal remembrances
The 10 Most Notorious College Crimes
Unsolved Mysteries Wikis
 
I had not been familiar with this case. Thanks for the new links, bessie. I'm sure you, along with me, cannot help but think of Lauren G. reading about Tara.
 
Indeed. I only pray that 10 or 20 years from now Lauren's family isn't waiting for answers as Tara's family does today.
 
I don't know how I missed this one. When the US Navy had the Naval Supply Corps School in Athens, I spent five and a half months there and then went back for training for 2 more times. Probably one of the best college towns I've ever been to. My classmates who from outside the South came in with low expectations and after a couple of weeks were favorably impressed with the people and the community. Some even said if they knew the U. of GA was like this they might have come there instead.

It's difficult to see this happening in Athens GA. Proof that there is evil everywhere. I hope the thing that did this is caught soon.
 
The Athens Clarke County Library has files on some crimes that took place in Athens, GA. You'll need your ID but go to the Heritage Room on the 2nd floor, the people there are pretty helpful and you can scan files and email them to yourself for free. There is also Clarke County directories so you can figure out locations of businesses or persons of interest during the time period when the crime took place.

I know that UGA has news footage of multiple crimes and events archived (the podcast Atlanta Monster was able to access some footage from there) at their school. I have yet to look into public access but that's also a place to start if you are serious about digging.

Online is helpful but so much is not published online in cases before and in the early 2000's.
 
From the linked article:
It’s been over 20 years since Tara Louise Baker was found dead in her Athens apartment on the day before her 24th birthday.

According to an incident report provided by the Athens-Clarke County Fire Department, firefighters responded to the residence at 160 Fawn Drive around 11:20 a.m. on Jan. 19, 2001 where they found heavy smoke and flames coming from the rear corner of the apartment.

…(snipped)…

Subsequent investigation determined that the fire was intentionally set and the manner of death was ruled homicide. Baker had been beaten, stabbed, strangled and possibly sexually assaulted,.
…(snipped)…
_____________________________________
BBM - I wonder how this was determined, and if any DNA was collected. Unfortunately, I doubt it, but if so, perhaps Tara’s case could benefit from the advanced genomics being performed by @othram to solve cold cases.

Tara’s family had to wait 10 YEARS before they even got a death certificate for her!*
They waited 20 YEARS to see the autopsy report.**

* Slain UGA student's family finally set to receive death certificate

** Classic City Crime will look into other Athens murders after turning up new details in the Tara Baker case

Just thinking about Tara Baker this morning, with continuing hope that one day justice will be served.
 
1674095544141.png
Jan 18 2023

''On Wednesday, the Baker family as well as the family of another cold case murder victim and Georgia lawmakers introduced a bill that would allow the Georgia Bureau of Investigation to take over or assist in reopening these cases.
The bill would also create a cold case database and allow families to get death certificates even if the case hasn’t been solved.''

''Tara Baker, who was a law student at the University of Georgia, died in 2021 after someone broke into her off-campus apartment, killed her and then set the house on fire to cover up the murder.''
 

From the article:

Although not a law yet, HB 88, or the Coleman-Baker Act, gets victims’ families a step closer to not only reopening cases but to potentially applying new technology and resources to help in solving them.

The Georgia Bureau of Investigation’s website shows the agency is keeping tabs on more than 100 unsolved homicide cases, with the oldest case dating back to the 1970s. If the Coleman-Baker Act becomes law, it will nudge authorities to revisit the cases and possibly solve them.

The Coleman-Baker Act would give crime victims’ families a look at case files if six years have passed. Law enforcement agencies would also be required to have a system in place to accept such requests and reinvestigate the case if the families call for it.

Though the legislation overwhelmingly passed in the House, it will need the support of the Senate before heading to Gov. Brian Kemp’s desk.
 

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