Zahra Baker Update: Disabled NC Girl Died Two Weeks Before Being Reported Missing, Warrant States
NEWTON, N.C. (CBS/WBTV/AP) Newly released court documents indicate that 10-year-old Zahra Baker may have died more than two weeks before she was reported missing by her stepmother and father.
That revelation was contained in more than 200 pages of previously sealed search warrants that were released Tuesday afternoon.
According to CBS affiliate WBTV, in one of the warrants, Hickory police recount an interview with Zahra's stepmother, Elisa Baker, where police say Baker stated that Zahra died Sept. 24, and that the next day the body was dismembered and disposed of in various places in Caldwell County.
Elisa Baker, according to police, stated that Adam Baker, her husband and Zahra's father, helped to dispose of the remains.
Hickory police go on to state in the warrant that cell phone GPS records back up Elisa's story that she had gone to Caldwell County that week to dispose of Zahra's body. The cell phone records show that Elisa's phone was carried to the locations, but police also say cell phone records for Adam Baker's phone did not show movement into Caldwell County.
Authorities would not comment on the release of the warrants. The DA's office stated that the release of the warrants would not hinder the investigation or jeopardize any prosecution in the case.
No one has been charged in Zahra's death, and the warrants don't reveal how she died. Elisa Baker is currently in jail on charges of obstructing the investigation, allegedly by writing a false ransom note. Adam Baker is free on bond after facing charges unrelated to his daughter.
COMPLETE COVERAGE OF ZAHRA CLARE BAKER ON CRIMESIDER
