Just after returning to classes at the University of Georgia for the spring semester, Tara Baker heads to the law library for a study session.
At a quarter to 10, Baker calls her friend from the library to ensure she got home safe, mentioning she’s heading home shortly. The next morning, Baker misses her 9:30 class.
In the mid-morning hours of January 19th, Athens-Clarke County firefighters are called to an apartment fire at 160 Fawn Drive. Firefighters break down a locked door to access the unit, and find a fire had broken out in the bedroom and burned through the roof. Among the rubble, firefighters discover the body of a young woman, later identified as first-year law student Tara Louise Baker.
Police do not release Baker’s cause of death, but tell the public they believe she was murdered, the attacker a stranger to Baker. Investigators consider the possibility that Baker’s murder is connected to a Christmas day arson at a complex just a block from Baker’s.
No one was home when someone entered the unit and set fire to a pile of clothes. Police also look at Baker’s boyfriend, but he passes a polygraph test and his alibi is confirmed. Investigators focus on a theory that a stranger broke into Baker’s apartment. Police reveal that Baker was beaten, stabbed, strangled, and potentially sexually assaulted.
Twenty-three years after Tara Baker’s body is found in her burning apartment, the GBI in partnership with Athens-Clarke County Police arrested a man suspected of her murder. Edrick Faust, 48, is put behind bars for 9 charges related to Baker’s sexual assault and murder.
Joining Nancy Grace Today:
Additional Guests
- Nicolle Brock – Firefighter, EMT, and Arson Expert
“Crime Stories with Nancy Grace” on Fox Nation is also a national radio show on SiriusXM channel 111, airing for two hours daily starting at 12 p.m. EST. You can also subscribe and download the daily podcasts at iHeart Podcasts.
[Feature Photo: Tara Louise Baker/Georgia Bureau of Investigation]
