Emotional Toll

[Pugnolia]

Zahra, I think of your bright shining eyes and beautiful smile, and with such deep sadness mourn the loss of your beautiful potential; your potential for a lifetime of love, wonderful experiences and adventures, successes, marriage and children - all the things that one should hope to have in a fair and reasonable world.

But your world was not fair and reasonable.

The bottom feeders who were supposed to protect, care for, and love you, chose instead to disregard your precious life; they chose to neglect, abuse, dismantle, and throwaway the one thing they should have treasured above all.

They are hateful creatures. I hope Karma comes at them with a capital K.

 

[Hickory Born]

"Painting of Zahra Baker reminds Hickory PD of duty"
http://www.wcnc.com/news/zahra-bake...ker-reminds-Hickory-PD-of-duty-136936168.html

This headline makes me want to throw-up. Hickory PD did their duty.

How about Hudson Elementary School, which had a BOX of paperwork regarding Zahra's abuse! How about Dept of Social Services for TWO NC COUNTIES who should have recognized the abuse and fulfilled their jobs.

 

[diphi]

Let it out, Hickoryborn -- I know you are mad, mad, mad, frustrated, and you would at least like the opportunity, as I would, to see AB face-to-face and slap the smile off his ignorant, cold, uncaring, idiotic (all IMO) mug.

If the DA's office there is as money-tight as ours here in Raleigh/Wake County (big budget cuts), the DA may have just had to prioritize as to where the $$ is spent, time/pay to asst. DAs & county investigators, detectives, etc., etc., he may have put AB on the "cut" list. I don't know. It galls me, too.

And, worse, to not include AB in the murder -- any part of it to include looking the other way or not paying attention to whatever signals ZB may have been trying to send him, indifference, or his fear of EB -- is the biggest of all violations of human rights. But I must stop, or I'll rant another mile's worth.

Let us be content with his azz getting out of our country ASAP and his probable shunning and ill-will back in his own country. OZ is the biggest loser here -- they lost a wonderful and exemplary young citizen in Zahra. And her family -- those who truly loved and cared for her -- will never see her again -- they will be stuck with a worthless excuse for a father and citizen...

:: :maddening:

All very well said, boredem. Being in the money business myself at a state agency, I must say that budget cuts and prioritizing could well provide an explanation of the situation. We are forced to cut spending (as we all should) which makes for some very tough decisions. Maybe the State decided to be satisfied with having at least one to prosecute. That way, they could use the remaining money for another case that may not be so publicized but just as horrific.

This is all speculation on my part. It does seem to always come down to money, cost, and political will, though. You know...follow the money ( if you can)...

 

[borndem]

"Painting of Zahra Baker reminds Hickory PD of duty"
http://www.wcnc.com/news/zahra-bake...ker-reminds-Hickory-PD-of-duty-136936168.html

This headline makes me want to throw-up. Hickory PD did their duty.

How about Hudson Elementary School, which had a BOX of paperwork regarding Zahra's abuse! How about Dept of Social Services for TWO NC COUNTIES who should have recognized the abuse and fulfilled their jobs.

Yes, indeed they did, Hickory Born! And the HPD should be applauded for and proud of their tireless efforts to do their duty -- and the others, well, not so much... It's a tragedy in so many areas & on so many levels.

I hope the watercolor was meant as a tribute to their success in finding the wrong-doer(s), and nothing less -- I am going to choose to interpret it as a tribute to all their good, hard work -- so much, so much, and the long hours, and the tears they shed and the anger, frustration and sense of justice that drove them to pursue it like human bloodhounds. Blood, sweat and tears in that case -- from so many of them.

Look how long it took them to be able to hand it over to the DA's office for prosecution -- certainly not as long as the social services personnel and step-family members and PARENT had to make it stop while it was still "only" child abuse. Spilled milk in the case of homicide and other LEO's in saving Zahra, yes, but the only time the homicide detectives get cases having to do with child abuse is when it results in MURDER.

The social workers, step-family members, and father who were close to Zarha failed, failed, failed, IMO -- and it took much longer for them to fail, and they had evidence and clues from nearly the day her little foot stepped onto American soil.

All this is just my humble opinion, and certainly I do not know all the facts nor the whole story, so please pardon my mistakes if I have been wrong about anyone's role in this tragedy.

 

[Sabot]

I have only just realised that the death of Zahra has inflicted some emotional damage on me.
I don't usually stew about lack of justice but I am still stewing about this one.

 

[Hickory Born]

I have only just realised that the death of Zahra has inflicted some emotional damage on me.
I don't usually stew about lack of justice but I am still stewing about this one.

Hugs to you, Sabot. I am right there with you.

IMO, North Carolina dropped the ball by not putting more people in jail. This would have been a prime time to show the public NC is tough on crime and drugs. They didn't do it!

We have not been made aware of any punishment for the school or DSS.

We are not aware of any punishment for the drug users who purchased from the Bakers.

We are not aware of any punishment to friends/family who knew Zahra was being abused (I think NC Law states it is mandatory for citizens to report child abuse).

All we are aware of is Elisa got prison time and Adams is trying to get out of a meager 30 days in jail.

 

[Sabot]

Hugs to you, Sabot. I am right there with you.

IMO, North Carolina dropped the ball by not putting more people in jail. This would have been a prime time to show the public NC is tough on crime and drugs. They didn't do it!

We have not been made aware of any punishment for the school or DSS.

We are not aware of any punishment for the drug users who purchased from the Bakers.

We are not aware of any punishment to friends/family who knew Zahra was being abused (I think NC Law states it is mandatory for citizens to report child abuse).

All we are aware of is Elisa got prison time and Adams is trying to get out of a meager 30 days in jail.

Thanks, HB. Unbelievable, isn't it. They all knew this was going on and no one did a thing. And then they all have the cheek to wail about how upset they are.
In France not that long ago two Doctors and a Social Worker were given prison sentences for doing nothing about the abuse of a child that they knew of who died. And very pleased I was to hear it too.
As for the drugs and Adam Baker's total lack of duty of care, I am speechless. He admitted to being bombed out of his tiny brain for at least two weeks while Zahra was being abused, killed, dismembered and her body being scattered across the countryside. And if that isn't gross neglect then God alone knows what is.
I can only hope that Australia will do something about him when they finally get him back.
And now he has what little of Zahra's body that was found.
I can hardly wait for The Funeral and the wailing and crying. Although why I should want to make myself feel any worse I really do not know.

 

[Lanie]

IMO sperm donor should be rotting in a cell along with his precious wifey. I will never forget Zahra.

 

[Sabot]

IMO sperm donor should be rotting in a cell along with his precious wifey. I will never forget Zahra.

I don't think anyone ever will, who was involved in this case from Day One. But he isn't going to finish up in a cell in America. Let's hope Australia has more to say about it.
I don't believe he had anything to do with killing or dismembering Zahra, but his neglect of that child beggars belief. And how he got his hands on Zahra's limited remains was the last straw for me. What he and his rotten family did to Emily was so cruel.

I do not believe in Divine Retribution, but his conscience will bother him in the small, dark hours of the night. This is where the real retribution lies. Believe me, it will happen.

 

[Lanie]

I don't think anyone ever will, who was involved in this case from Day One. But he isn't going to finish up in a cell in America. Let's hope Australia has more to say about it.
I don't believe he had anything to do with killing or dismembering Zahra, but his neglect of that child beggars belief. And how he got his hands on Zahra's limited remains was the last straw for me. What he and his rotten family did to Emily was so cruel.

I do not believe in Divine Retribution, but his conscience will bother him in the small, dark hours of the night. This is where the real retribution lies. Believe me, it will happen.

I know I'm preaching to the choir, but please allow me to rant anyways.

I will never understand, NEVER, how this man has not been charged. And unfortunately, I know people like this man all too well. This man's mommy has spent his whole life hardwiring his brain to believe he has no personal responsibility for ANYTHING. Everything is always someone else's fault. If anything is in his head in the small, dark hours of the night, it is how could his wife cause so much trouble for him when he was so good to her. I guarantee you he is not thinking about what horrors his child suffered because of him, he is not feeling any guilt about his part in what happened to Zahra, no, all this *** is thinking about is "Poor, mistreated me."

:furious::furious::furious:

 

[Sabot]

I know I'm preaching to the choir, but please allow me to rant anyways.

I will never understand, NEVER, how this man has not been charged. And unfortunately, I know people like this man all too well. This man's mommy has spent his whole life hardwiring his brain to believe he has no personal responsibility for ANYTHING. Everything is always someone else's fault. If anything is in his head in the small, dark hours of the night, it is how could his wife cause so much trouble for him when he was so good to her. I guarantee you he is not thinking about what horrors his child suffered because of him, he is not feeling any guilt about his part in what happened to Zahra, no, all this *** is thinking about is "Poor, mistreated me."

:furious::furious::furious:

What you say is always possible, but I think he will have some difficulty with getting The Graphics out of his head. These reactions are involuntary. I expect that most of us have some experience of remembering things we would rather forget. But this will be so much worse since he apparently doesn't know what actually happened, and this is a real horror story which ever way you look at it.
No, I don't want him to live in hell in his own head. I just want him to be Sorry.

 

[Mountain_Kat]

Of all the cases I've followed on websleuths, this is the only one that has really truly damaged me emotionally. I can still clearly see us all mapping and looking at google images of the area when the news came in that body parts had been located. I can still see LE taking that house apart. I can still see the photos of our girl's demolished pink bedroom after LE was done with it. It feels as though those thoughts and images are burned into the very core of my being, and the seering pain of it just never seems to end. I often find myself driving down the rural roads of TN, looking off into the woods, and thinking, " Zahra was tossed in an area just like this." And I truly can't help but have the morbid thought that somewhere, here in what used to be my paradise, another child's broken body might be lying undiscovered. Thoughts like that warp your mind, and rob you of peace.

If this case taught me anything, other than the true depth of evil that exists in this world, it taught me to be a great deal more protective of my own emotional well-being when working these cases.

 

[MandyLeigh]

I am in with you guys as well.

I still check in hoping that something somewhere has changed. I know it won't but I can't help but hope. And I wonder if she lived in a different city or county how this would have played out. Would more have been done?

I'm watching the Travis Alexander case and it makes me wish that the people involved could have been involved in little Zahra's case too. It's almost like the luck of the draw. How serious the people are and how willing they are to hold everyone involved responsible. I don't feel Zahra's case was so lacking in evidence that they needed to go this route.

 

[Sabot]

Are we ever going to be told about what happened to that poor child's head?
It could show evidence of injury.

Probably not legally important since the case is over. But while I have no doubt about who killed her, I would still like to know how. I need some closure on this due to my own treatment at the hands of a stepmother, although she didn't actually kill me, obviously, because I tended to fight back. But then I wasn't missing a leg.
I swear she took that child's leg away from her. Vile, disgusting woman.

 

[FrayedKnot]

ITA about wishing the same energy had gone into the case against Elisha and Adam (scot free-makes me BURN) as has gone into the case against Jodi Arias.

Zahra was a helpless little girl with the most lovely spirit and she deserves at least to see her father held partly responsible.

And the rest of her body found.

 

[Sabot]

I don't believe that Adam Baker had anything to do with Zahra's death, or the disposing of her body, but his parenting skills leave me nearly speechless. And I do believe that he took Zahrs out of Australia illegally. For that alone he deserves some punishment for his appalling arrogance that lead to her death.

I did post on an Aussie Forum for a while but no one seemed to know anything about it, so it seems that he has faded into oblivion.
He and his family, in particular his Mother, treated Zahra's Mother very badly, so I think they all bear some responsibility. If Zahra's Mother had been informed then she would not have allowed Zahra to leave the country, as was her right. But she didn't even know where Zahra was because The Baker Family moved and failed to inform her.
One can only hope that they feel some guilt in the small hours of the night.

 

[simlyme]

I don't believe that Adam Baker had anything to do with Zahra's death, or the disposing of her body, but his parenting skills leave me nearly speechless. And I do believe that he took Zahrs out of Australia illegally. For that alone he deserves some punishment for his appalling arrogance that lead to her death.

I did post on an Aussie Forum for a while but no one seemed to know anything about it, so it seems that he has faded into oblivion.
He and his family, in particular his Mother, treated Zahra's Mother very badly, so I think they all bear some responsibility. If Zahra's Mother had been informed then she would not have allowed Zahra to leave the country, as was her right. But she didn't even know where Zahra was because The Baker Family moved and failed to inform her.
One can only hope that they feel some guilt in the small hours of the night.

Not being intentionally snarkey,but you write,I don't believe that Adam Baker had anything to do with Zahra's death, then you write,arrogance that lead to her death, ?
what about his drug use, what about him not knowing where Z was for days, what about the fire in the backyard,what about his lies, what about his cover ups, the painting, what about ,he knew lisa was abusing her, so,so much more, of course he had something to do with it!

 

[Renee110]

I didn't hear about this when it happened....I just finished reading all the threads on poor Zahra's life and death.

There really are monsters walking among us.

I came to this site when the Jodi Arias trial was going on, and since then have read about Zahra, Shaniya, and the Jamison's.

I had no idea people could be so monstrous.

I will never be the same.

RIP Zahra.

 

[Linda7NJ]

I didn't hear about this when it happened....I just finished reading all the threads on poor Zahra's life and death.

There really are monsters walking among us.

I came to this site when the Jodi Arias trial was going on, and since then have read about Zahra, Shaniya, and the Jamison's.

I had no idea people could be so monstrous.

I will never be the same.

RIP Zahra.

(((((Hugs))))) it is a shocking realization isn't it?

I've been here a very long time and there are more than a few cases that will never leave me, never, and Zahras is one of those.



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[Reba]

Today is the first day I have returned to WS since Zahra's remains were found. This case was so emotional to me and I had to step away. I'm ready to come back and I continue to pray for these sweet babies who touch all of our hearts. . . .