NC - Zahra Clare Baker, 10, Hickory, 9 Oct 2010 # 22

[LiveLaughLuv]

North Carolina police find mattress of missing Australian girl Zahra Baker
By staff writers From: NewsCore October 25, 2010 8:24AM

NORTH Carolina authorities searching a landfill for clues in the disappearance of Australian girl Zahra Baker discovered on Friday a mattress they hoped would provide crucial evidence in the case.

The mattress belonged to the missing 10-year-old and was disposed of by Zahra's parents days before they reported her missing on October 9.

Investigators were hoping to use the mattress to corroborate information given by people associated with the case, and to glean possible DNA evidence that could offer more clues, a statement from the Hickory, North Carolina, police department said.

Zahra's father, Adam Baker, reported her disappearance to Hickory, North Carolina, police, but a few days later officials said they were investigating her disappearance as a homicide.

http://www.heraldsun.com.au/news/br...girl-zahra-baker/story-e6frf7jx-1225943061871

 

[peg4x4]

Honestly,this is sounding more and more like a plot from Disney.. Wicked SM must be the most beautiful in the land,so she trys to kill the girl.. Mabe she used the movie for ideas..
I could have,when sm age,easily moved that weightand loaded a twin mattress.. I have burned a mattress,you wind up with lots of metal springs..
Oh gee-disjointed rambleings ~~

 

[NancyA]

I respectfully disagree! I TRULY think that everyone who knows this woman says the same thing....that she craved attention and absolutely loved the sympathy and added 'specialness' all of her mysterious illnesses gave her. I think THE REASON Zahra was such a nusiance and a threat to her was BECAUSE she garnered more attention, more sympathy, more love, more support.....
The LAST thing I would think EB would do is to in ANY WAY suggest that Zahra was ALSO more attractive, desirable, etc than she was. I think Zahra was a nusiance, a problem, an irritating bother for EB. I think that Zahra took away TWO things from EB....she took EB's sympathy card and she took AB's attention (as limited as it appears to have been). I think that EB took her anger and resentment out on Zahra....likely after an outing where someone (once again) pointed out how pretty, how brave, how strong, how wonderful Zahra was....and where someone completely failed to notice EB's 'beauty' and 'life-threatening illnesses'.

Respectfully snipped. I very much agree. I truly believe that everything about Zahra - sunny nature, natural charm, stoicism in the face of longterm illness, kind heart, youth and prettiness - would have been a thorn in the side of someone like EB, serving to throw all her character deficiencies into stark relief and arousing a lot of resentment. Yes, Snow White/Wicked Queen syndrome, as suggested by peg4x4.

Couple that with what seems to me to be ingrained indolence and an indifference to anyone's wants or needs but EB's own and you have a recipe for disaster should Zahra need any special efforts or expenses to be made on her behalf. She's growing, needs a new prosthesis, and in view of the whole uncertainty about AB's immigration status and whether Zahra was receiving medical treatment, I'm wondering if she was pulled out of school because they were asking for paperwork, proof of immunisations etc - all just too much work and bother for EB.

 

[KPMcLovin]

I personally think the daughter possibly made up the man from England to make EB seem like more of a flight risk so they would keep her in jail.
I've read the conflicting reports about the mattress and figure that one is still up in the air. I read in one of these articles that EB had been ruled out as a suspect. This surprised me. Does anyone know if there is truth to this? If so, they know WAY more than us.

 

[Fyrecat]

morning all,
I hope that there are some new developments in this case today. So I read the article from the Aussie paper...have they or have they not found a mattress?

this is confusing!

 

[bevichan]

I personally think the daughter possibly made up the man from England to make EB seem like more of a flight risk so they would keep her in jail.
I've read the conflicting reports about the mattress and figure that one is still up in the air. I read in one of these articles that EB had been ruled out as a suspect. This surprised me. Does anyone know if there is truth to this? If so, they know WAY more than us.

BBM
I haven't read that! Would you mind linking to that article, please? Thank you.
I just can't see her being ruled out. She is just too...evil?...something ... IMO of course.

 

[LiveLaughLuv]

I personally think the daughter possibly made up the man from England to make EB seem like more of a flight risk so they would keep her in jail.
I've read the conflicting reports about the mattress and figure that one is still up in the air. I read in one of these articles that EB had been ruled out as a suspect. This surprised me. Does anyone know if there is truth to this? If so, they know WAY more than us.

How did this man from London allegedly send EB the money? I'm hoping LE has tracked it...

That can be easily traced if he used Moneygram or Western Union. I don't believe EB's daughter would make something like this up, knowing this has turned into a homicide investigation. I took her as truly being fearful as she took the stand at the bond hearing..she knows her mom better than anyone, IMO and her fear showed..her claims of having to leave the state if EB gets released was real fear, IMO...

I haven't read anywhere that states EB has been ruled out as a suspect..LE hasn't even ruled out dad..JMHO

Adam Baker has not been ruled out as a suspect and his wife, Zahra's stepmother Elisa Baker, has been charged with obstructing justice after she admitted writing a fake $1 million ransom note.

Elisa Baker is also a suspect in the investigation amid claims she had abused the little girl.http://www.heraldsun.com.au/news/br...girl-zahra-baker/story-e6frf7jx-1225943061871

I also wonder how long AB knew EB before they decided to marry. I wonder if he watched the interaction between EB and Zahra. I also wonder if Zahra told anyone of the way she'd been treated...abuse is hard to disguise but I see DSS did nothing about these alleged reports made to them by many who claim they have. JMHO

:Welcome-12-june: to Websleuths KPMcLovin


Where is Zahra??

 

[bevichan]

I agree, LLL. I think the daughter was being as truthful as she could possibly be. No way does she want her Mom getting released on a lie technicality. Now, on the other hand, the mother could have lied to her about the $$ from the British fella and the daughter just believed it to be true. Hopefully we will find out a definitive answer to that particular question soon.

 

[believe09]

I personally think the daughter possibly made up the man from England to make EB seem like more of a flight risk so they would keep her in jail.
I've read the conflicting reports about the mattress and figure that one is still up in the air. I read in one of these articles that EB had been ruled out as a suspect. This surprised me. Does anyone know if there is truth to this? If so, they know WAY more than us.

BBM-would you mind linking the article please?

This defies all reason if this was actually reported I think.

 

[mama2echo]

I'm not sure about the whole trafficking/child *advertiser censored* scenario.... Wouldn't there be mountains of evidence on EB/AB's computer(s)?

Also, while I'm sure EB was capable of it I don't believe AB could do that to his daughter... I still think he became involved after Z was already killed by EB.

MOO, of course.

i dont think its possible either...cause i dont seem them being bright enough to get rid of the evidence properly in the 1st place(from a computer)...so if it was happening, i would imagine we would know about it already

 

[Norwegian]

How did this man from London allegedly send EB the money? I'm hoping LE has tracked it...

That can be easily traced if he used Moneygram or Western Union. I don't believe EB's daughter would make something like this up, knowing this has turned into a homicide investigation. I took her as truly being fearful as she took the stand at the bond hearing..she knows her mom better than anyone, IMO and her fear showed..her claims of having to leave the state if EB gets released was real fear, IMO...

I haven't read anywhere that states EB has been ruled out as a suspect..LE hasn't even ruled out dad..JMHO


I also wonder how long AB knew EB before they decided to marry. I wonder if he watched the interaction between EB and Zahra. I also wonder if Zahra told anyone of the way she'd been treated...abuse is hard to disguise but I see DSS did nothing about these alleged reports made to them by many who claim they have. JMHO

:Welcome-12-june: to Websleuths KPMcLovin


Where is Zahra??

Best post all day/night!

 

[Mrs G Norris]

If they could make money off this child she'd still be with us, so I don't agree that the *advertiser censored* / trafficking is plausible either. A case of brutal child abuse gone too far IMO.

Look what happens when we don't get new news for two days!

 

[Patty G]

How do we know that DSS did nothing? All we have is everyone stating they called DSS when some didn't and those who claim they did call DSS wouldn't have a clue if DSS was there or not, IMO. DSS is not going to give out any information to anyone IF they went to the home to check on Zahra.

There is so much of they said this, and we did this, and we know this, and why wasn't this done and I saw this, and I didn't see her etc., etc.

If there was any money from London, it will surface for sure especially if it went through a direct wire transfer to a checking or savings account, or picked up at Western Union, MoneyGram, or even Pay Pal.

What really bothers me personally is that no one within the group of people who claim they saw the abuse, family and friends within Elisa's circle as well as family and friends within Adam's circle didn't come up with a single "dollar" for a reward for Zahra.

It was a group of Crime Stoppers who collectively came forth with $4,000.00 reward for Zahra.
http://www.wral.com/news/state/story/8497546/

 

[Kimberlyd125]

Well the school notified DSS, several others notified DSS.
Zahra is missing and presumed dead. I can't say DSS did nothing, but I can say they didn't do ENOUGH!

 

[LiveLaughLuv]

You might be right, PattyG...seems DSS allegedly did investigate but was unsubstantiated??? Now Zahra is missing...how well did they investigate???

Since Zahra's disappearance, questions have swirled about what should have been done to protect her.

Friends and family say they saw her with bruises and a black eye. At a recent vigil, a family friend said the family reported suspected abuse of Zahra on three occasions.

Allran said he discussed the case this week with members of the N.C. Child Fatality Taskforce, which recommends child safety improvements to the General Assembly.

He said he wants the state to review how well DSS protected Zahra with "an eye toward remedial legislation."

"The hard part is figuring out what went wrong and how to fix it," Allran said.

DSS officials in Catawba and Caldwell counties, where the Bakers most recently lived, have said privacy laws prevent them from discussing any involvement they might have had with Zahra.

Elisa Baker's attorney, Scott Reilly, has confirmed the DSS investigated reports of abuse against Elisa Baker but said social workers found they were "unsubstantiated."

Read more: http://www.charlotteobserver.com/20...l-search-produces-no-clues.html#ixzz13NGcUwYh

 

[KPMcLovin]

Sorry, big important typo for me. The article I read said AB had been ruled out, not EB. I will see if I can find it.

 

[shopgirlnc]

Go for Gold, Granny!!!

This is the status for the facebook page "Hope for Zahra"

 

[tk71texas]

I hope we hear some news today.

 

[NCMOM]

I remember reading it was a living room set.

Wasn't it a sleeper sofa?

 

[Patty G]

You might be right, PattyG...seems DSS allegedly did investigate but was unsubstantiated??? Now Zahra is missing...how well did they investigate???

Read more: http://www.charlotteobserver.com/20...l-search-produces-no-clues.html#ixzz13NGcUwYh

Elisa's attorney will state what Elisa tells him. IMO, there is no way that DSS will tell Elisa's attorney anything.

Even if DSS investigated the claim regarding Elisa yelling at Zahra outside the house when it is "allegedly" reported that Elisa made Zahra walk on her leg, exactly HOW would DSS know that months later Zahra would go missing?

If DSS went to the home to investigate the incident of yelling and making Zahra walk and let's say they interviewed everyone; yelling at a child because she didn't want to walk is not abuse. Elisa could tell DSS, Zahra MUST walk on her leg to strengthen the muscles in her leg because she wears the prosthetic leg. This is part of her rehab, and because she yelled at Zahra, Elisa could have stated Zahra has severe loss of hearing and wasn't wearing her hearing aids on that particular day.

I don't like when people yell at children, however I am guilty of yelling at my own from time to time out of frustration. If my child didn't want to walk with me and started having a "tantrum" a swift smack on the butt got him moving. However, this was back in the day when you could smack your child on the butt, not sure if this is "acceptable" anymore based on the rules of rearing a child.