Stepmother Pleads Guilty in Australian Girl’s Death in US
Australian girl, Zahra Baker, 10-years-old, as a result of cancer, had hearing impairment and a prosthetic leg, was reported missing last October in Hickory. The searched for the little girl ended, found her dead with a mutilated body. Parts of her body have not been found, that includes her head.
Elisa Baker, Zahra's stepmother, had a plea agreement with prosecutors. Baker was sentenced to be in prison up to 18-1/2 years, equivalent to 177 to 222 months.
Baker, 43 years old, admitted that she committed physical, verbal and psychological abuse of Zahra. She pleaded guilty of obstruction of justice and second-degree murder. She even admitted that she wrote a ransom note to support her claim that the Australian girl had been kidnapped.
According to Elisa Baker's attorney, she gave a tip to the authorities involving the whereabouts of Zahra's remains that could render help in solving the case.
Baker told the police that she found the 10-year-old girl not responding in her room last Sept. 24, 2010 and even tried to save the girl by ding CPR. Baker accused her husband and Zahra's father, Adam Baker, as the one who dismembered Zahra.
Adam was not charged. Law enforcement officials disagreed that he's part of the murder.
"Elisa, I trusted you with the most precious person in my life," Baker told in court. "You robbed her of a future. You robbed the world of an amazing girl who I have no doubt would have changed the world."
"I feel there will be no real justice for Zahra. Her life was taken by an evil selfishness that none of us will ever understand," said the mother of Zahra, Emily Dietrich, who travelled all the way from Australia for the hearing of the case.
Emily said that the murder of Zahra tore her family apart and left her with nightmare and regret.