In Athens, Georgia, a 48-year-old man has been denied bond. He is facing charges for the murder of Tara Louise Baker, a 23-year-old first-year law student, and for setting fire to her flat 23 years ago.
According to the Georgia Bureau of Investigation (GBI), Edrick Lamont Faust is being charged with several crimes including murder, felony murder, aggravated assault, concealing the death of another person, arson, carrying a knife while committing a felony, tampering with evidence, and aggravated sodomy.
The Athens-Clarke County Jail arrested him.
The police were called to Baker’s flat on January 19, 2001, because there was a fire that was later determined to be intentional. She was discovered deceased indoors.
The GBI’s cold case unit collaborated with the Athens-Clarke County police in September to thoroughly review and analyse the ongoing investigation into Baker’s death.
On Thursday, the police apprehended Faust.
“Tara Louise Baker was a diligent student and had a promising future,” said Chris Hosey, the director of the GBI. “Tara’s life was taken by a terrible act of violence.” This arrest won’t bring her back to us, but I hope it brings peace to the Baker family as they continue to heal.
According to FOX 5, Baker graduated with honours from Georgia College in Milledgeville in 1998, earning two bachelor’s degrees. One day after she was found, she would have turned 24 years old.
Her friends last saw her at the University of Georgia Law School Library on the evening of January 18. According to the station, she called a friend afterwards to check if they had arrived home safely.
“I have been hoping for a long time that the Baker family would get justice for Tara’s death,” said Jerry Saulters, who is currently the chief of police in Athens-Clarke County.
“I have been thinking about this case a lot during my time at ACCPD.” I recall a difficult period when I was in that place. Now that I understand the whole situation, I appreciate the efforts of the agents, both in the past and present. I am really proud of the police officers who have been working on this case for many years. The evidence they collected in the past has played a crucial role in the arrest made today.
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