NC - Zahra Clare Baker, 10, Hickory, 9 Oct. 2010 #24

[badhorsie]

I wonder if maybe EBs father was the co-sponsor. That could also be part of the falling out.....if they never followed through with the legalities once they got into the US.

I wondered that too PunKnLuV

 

[eleni777]

Anyway - looking at the last picture (with bandanna) she looks very sick. If she wasn't being schooled the way she should have been, it stands to reason that she may not have been receiving treatment the way she should have been. If (and I don't know) the parents were receiving some form of benefits for Zahra, and she progressively got sicker and passed away...do you think there's a chance the parents wanted to cover it up so as not to lose the benefits?

This is my first post on Zahra's forum as well, but I have been having those exact same thoughts. I wondered if it was possible that her cancer had returned and she died due to their negligence in getting medical care for her. That would be inexcusable, and something they would have most definitely wanted to cover up.

I'm leaning towards this conclusion also...that grainy photo of Zahra with the bandana reminded me of my dad right before he was diagnosed with Stage 4 lymphoma. Face swollen and puffy..very dark circles around his eyes..

With what we've seen of the "Bakers" they certainly didn't have the money for medical care and from his job I'm sure medical insurance wasn't offered. Neither of them qualify as the sharpest tools in the shed, so instead of filing for medicaid they probably just let her die. :furious:

 

[TallyHo]

My youngest daughter had Lymphoma - one of the symptoms was bruseing with very little cause.. The chemo was awful,and caused her to get Lukemia,which is being treated with blood transfusions.. I wonder if Zahra developed Lukemia,which left untreated caused her death..
Then EB got the bright idea to stage a kidnapping in which Zahra would be killed,thereby absolving them of her death by neglect..
Just random ideas of mine thrown into the pot..

Bless you and your daughter! I hope you are both doing well! I think this is is a very plausible scenario. I also know two people personally who developed leukemia after chemo, so it is obviously not a rare occurrence.

 

[badhorsie]

$800.00 for a family of three to survive a month? How is that even possible?

WTH was step-mom doing furniture shopping?

I am sure that I read that EB was shopping for a "loveseat":sick:
That's a very superfluous bit of furniture for someone of limited means
However I also read living room furniture available without ordering, all the conflicting information is driving me crazy...

 

[PunKnLuV]

Dear locals, what is your weather like???

Any signs of a search again?

I hope LE kept interagating those 2 all night!

It's a dreary day again. It hasn't rained at my house yet....but it looks like it is coming. I'm in Hickory and about 20 minutes south from where they were searching yesterday.

 

[Kamille]

BBM,
My understanding is that local LE can 'check' immigration status but I think it could only be acted upon on a federal level, e.g. ICE. Hopefully someone will correct me if I'm wrong but that's my take. Allowing LE to check immigration status is a relatively new process though according to this link:

http://www.nationaldefensemagazine....kDetainees’ImmigrationStatusCausesConcer.aspx

Just wanted to add though if he did apply for a green card the charges against him could easily have warranted a denial and probably would have done. As Nancy pointed out the paperwork and cost involved is enormous. Now, I moved from the States to the UK so there is some difference but just to give everyone an idea what should be involved when removing children from their native country:

- I had to undergo a 6 month long GAL investigation and half a dozen court proceedings requesting permission to remove my children from the country despite me having sole legal and physical custody.

- Passports for three - roughly $450 - had to submit affidavit and court docs to receive kids passports (and apply in person) due to fathers refusal to sign.

- Roughly $1000 to secure 6 month visas, $2000 airfare, $2500 for spousal (2 year limited residency) visas, and about $4000 to have our belongings shipped from the States.

- Had to travel to the UK prior to relocation to 'study' schools, crime rates, etc, document, and submit to the court. Had to go through a background check and submit six months of bank statements and my husband who sponsored us had to do the same and prove he owned our home. I can't stress enough (especially with Nancy helping out!) what a grueling, invasive process it all is.

Sorry if O/T but IMO because I was removing two minor children from the States I was duty bound to do whatever the US courts and UKBA requested of me...and it infuriates me that all the safeguards that should protect children from this type of scenario seemingly fell through. Simply put, Zahra should not have been allowed to leave Oz...and I believe had she not none of us would be discussing her now.

Thanks again for you invaluable information regarding immigration BritsKate. EB couldn't even get a driver's license or her vehicle registered legally so it's highly unlikely she would have gone through anything even close to this to get her new family brought into the country legally.

I think they came as visitors, which is what she indicated she wanted to do on the classmates profile, and never left. Some attempt at something was going on with those "passport type pics" that were taken in May 2009, but who knows if it was for an extension or for false identification altogether. You just can't tell with EB but I'm sure LE is very aware of it all now.

No surprise that AB requested that the consulate be notified after his arrest. :crazy:

So when does he have a bail hearing? Is there a required number of hours where someone has to be given one in NC? I think EB's was within 48 hours wasn't it?

MOO

 

[badhorsie]

I'm leaning towards this conclusion also...that grainy photo of Zahra with the bandana reminded me of my dad right before he was diagnosed with Stage 4 lymphoma. Face swollen and puffy..very dark circles around his eyes..

With what we've seen of the "Bakers" they certainly didn't have the money for medical care and from his job I'm sure medical insurance wasn't offered. Neither of them qualify as the sharpest tools in the shed, so instead of filing for medicaid they probably just let her die. :furious:

My dear little brother also became very puffy and swollen shortly before his cancer killed him, he died of a pulmonary embolism in the end...

 

[Yellow Rose]

I'm having some difficulty posting links but I was trying to do a google search of the area that they were searching yesterday near the falls. It appears to me that the terrain is much less level than those areas that were previously searched.
http://maps.google.com/maps?f=q&sou....864548,-81.372393&spn=0.001061,0.002057&z=19

 

[passionflower]

$800.00 for a family of three to survive a month? How is that even possible?

WTH was step-mom doing furniture shopping?

her part time job selling drugs paid allot!!!
and bad checks, skipping out on rent, stealing vaccuum cleaner,
HA and having 4 cars, EB nails done, hair dyed etc...........
and $10,000 from a guy in England????
How many other guys were her suckers...........

 

[Etilema]

My dear little brother also became very puffy and swollen shortly before his cancer killed him, he died of a pulmonary embolism in the end...

So sorry.
Hugs to you.

 

[Paige SC]

If you look at this picture, you can see that the canine (eye) tooth is still a primary tooth. According to wiki, permanent canine teeth erupt between 11 and 12, so the missing canine is easily explained away without nefarious means.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Maxillary_canine

I'm with you in that it can be explained away. I have an 11 yr old and a 9 yr old. Based on my (very limited :crazy personal experience, it's rather unusual to be missing only one eye tooth amid a set of permanent ones at that age. But certainly, anything's possible. Missing a tooth, coupled with a black eye and a swollen face lends itself to less than natural causes, IMHO.

 

[Meagain]

For her to get lung cancer after the bone cancer diagnoses and subsequent amputation because of it.... surely it had spread and they didn't get it. Bone AND Lung cancer - not good. And who knows right now where else it might've spread to that we don't know about. To me, it sounded like she might've been going downhill and I suspected from the get-go that this might've been the case in recent months and I believe it's highly possible a health neglect thing was going on. Just like taking her out of school. Perhaps AB was so disconnected/busy/in denial? that E was able to keep this from him.

IDK - I'm just babbling.

AND - I sure wish Zahra had her own forum. So very difficult to keep up. Or at least I wonder if the first post a new thread could be edited with news links?

 

[passionflower]

My dear little brother also became very puffy and swollen shortly before his cancer killed him, he died of a pulmonary embolism in the end...

((hugs))))


I still think that EB beat her.
IIRC the girl who took the pix just wanted to make Zahra smile because she had been crying.
Why oh why didn't that girl email that pix to child services????
I guess for the love of getting drugs or scared to death to get beaten also.

 

[passionflower]

From getting the news that Zahra was A-okay with the furniture ladies til her death.
I really do not think that cancer killed her.

 

[BritsKate]

Court dates are bolded:

District CATAWBA BAKER,ADAM,T / / 11/12/2010 0004 AM 2009CR057692
District CATAWBA BAKER,ADAM,T / / 11/16/2010 0004 AM 2009CR057696
District CALDWELL BAKER,ADAM,T 08/06/1977 11/18/2010 0001 AM 2010CR051925
District CALDWELL BAKER,ADAM,T 08/06/1977 11/18/2010 0001 AM 2010CR051926
District CALDWELL BAKER,ADAM,T 08/06/1977 11/18/2010 0001 AM 2010CR051927
District CALDWELL BAKER,ADAM,T 08/06/1977 11/18/2010 0001 AM 2010CR051928
District CALDWELL BAKER,ADAM,T 08/06/1977 11/18/2010 0001 AM 2010CR051929
District CATAWBA BAKER,ADAM,T / / 11/19/2010 0004 AM 2009CR057693
District CATAWBA BAKER,ADAM,T / / 11/19/2010 0004 AM 2009CR057697

http://www1.aoc.state.nc.us/www/cal...=Baker&start=0&navindex=0&submit=Submit+Query

 

[PunKnLuV]

I wondered that too PunKnLuV

It would make sense. A falling out about bills is not unusual in families.....but to use your father like that would be enough IMO to turn the family against you for awhile.

 

[LaLaw2000]

For her to get lung cancer after the bone cancer diagnoses and subsequent amputation because of it.... surely it had spread and they didn't get it. Bone AND Lung cancer - not good. And who knows right now where else it might've spread to that we don't know about. To me, it sounded like she might've been going downhill and I suspected from the get-go that this might've been the case in recent months and I believe it's highly possible a health neglect thing was going on. Just like taking her out of school. Perhaps AB was so disconnected/busy/in denial? that E was able to keep this from him.

IDK - I'm just babbling.

AND - I sure wish Zahra had her own forum. So very difficult to keep up. Or at least I wonder if the first post a new thread could be edited with news links?

I wonder if Zahra was on any 'maintenance medication' in Australia that she was supposed to have continued to take even when she moved over here.

 

[rbrnmw2]

((hugs))))


I still think that EB beat her.
IIRC the girl who took the pix just wanted to make Zahra smile because she had been crying.
Why oh why didn't that girl email that pix to child services????
I guess for the love of getting drugs or scared to death to get beaten also.

JMO I am with you on this because if natural causes were the case EB or AB would have spilled it by now They would only be looking at Negligent Homocide and abuse of a corpse, Instead of a Capital Offense MOO

I hated writing that but couldn't find a way to word it.

 

[Paige SC]

For her to get lung cancer after the bone cancer diagnoses and subsequent amputation because of it.... surely it had spread and they didn't get it. Bone AND Lung cancer - not good. And who knows right now where else it might've spread to that we don't know about. To me, it sounded like she might've been going downhill and I suspected from the get-go that this might've been the case in recent months and I believe it's highly possible a health neglect thing was going on. Just like taking her out of school. Perhaps AB was so disconnected/busy/in denial? that E was able to keep this from him.

IDK - I'm just babbling.

AND - I sure wish Zahra had her own forum. So very difficult to keep up. Or at least I wonder if the first post a new thread could be edited with news links?

IIRC, her subsequent metastatic cancer had been treated and she had reached a level of NED (no evidence of disease, aka remission). The amputation was done quite a while ago as we've concluded based on the fact she had outgrown her prosthetic leg. Her hair had grown out which would have taken a minimum of two years post chemo to reach that length. Childhood bone cancer is serious but often not fatal despite metastasis. She was obviously neglected and mistreated but I don't believe for one second she died from a sudden recurrence of cancer AND parental neglect in just a few short months time.

 

[bellyup]

$800.00 for a family of three to survive a month? How is that even possible?

WTH was step-mom doing furniture shopping?

If that's all the "legit" income they had .... they HAD to have income from other sources, IMO. Which goes along with the bad checks (re: puts money in their pockets) drug dealing, etc.

I think it's sad (honestly) that this family had to retort to illegal means in order to pay for food and only the basics. It's certainly not a "pass" for harming your child, but poverty really can be a recipie for disaster.