Jury selection continues for man accused of murdering UGA law student Tara Baker in 2001

Jury selection is has begun for the man accused of murdering a University of Georgia law student and setting her apartment on fire to try to destroy the evidence.

The 2001 killing of Tara Louise Baker remained an unsolved cold case for more than 20 years until 2024, when the Georgia Bureau of Investigation and Athens-Clarke County police announced an arrest in the case.

Edrick Lamont Faust is facing charges that include malice murder, felony murder, aggravated assault, aggravated sodomy, tampering with evidence, and arson.

A decades-long cold case

On the morning of Jan. 19, 2001, Athens-Clarke County firefighters found the 23-year-old first-year law student's body while responding to a burning apartment. Investigators say they quickly learned that Baker had been killed and the fire was intentionally set.

The only thing taken from Baker's home was her laptop computer.

Athens-Clarke County Police Chief Jerry Saulters, who was an officer at the crime scene at that time, said that he had hoped for years that Baker's family would find justice.

"I remember being there during that horrific time," he said. "Seeing this case now full circle, I appreciate the hard work of the detectives, from then and now. Knowing that the evidence collected at that time contributed to the arrest today gives me tremendous pride in all the officers who worked this case over the years."

After a 2023 law established a GBI cold case unit specializing in DNA technology, investigators reexamined evidence gathered at the scene. Officials say this led them to Faust, who officials said had been arrested and incarcerated multiple times in the years around Baker's murder.

Faust has remained in custody in the Athens-Clarke County Jail since his arrest.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.