Naman Shrestha
The episode titled ‘A Window of Time’ of NBC’s ‘Dateline’ chronicles the untimely and unexpected January 2001 passing of Tara Louise Baker, a promising 23-year-old law student at the University of Georgia School of Law in Athens, Georgia. It took law enforcement officials more than two decades to get to the bottom of the case. Thankfully, advanced DNA technology cracked it wide open in 2024. All the intricate details about the case and the decades-long investigation that ensued are explored in the documentary, which also features exclusive and emotional interviews with Tara’s loved ones and the officials who worked hard to solve the case.
Tara Baker’s Remains Were Discovered Inside Her Burning Athens Apartment
Lindsay and Virginia Baker gave birth to Tara Louise Baker on January 20, 1977, in East Point, Georgia. Growing up in Hampton alongside two brothers, Adam and Kevin, and a sister named Meredith, Tara attended Lovejoy High School. After graduating from there in 1995, she went to Georgia College in Milledgeville, where she pursued two bachelor’s degrees in Political Science and Paralegal Studies and graduated Cum Laude in 1998. Described as a compassionate and friendly individual, Tara was also known for her inclusivity and for speaking out in support of those less fortunate.
After graduating from college, Tara landed a job at Hancock & Echols in Forest Park before moving to Athens, Georgia. There, she worked as a paralegal for Fortson, Bentley & Griffin for a year. By 2001, she was pursuing her law degree at the University of Georgia School of Law. With dreams of becoming a successful lawyer, Tara worked hard in college. Unfortunately, her aspirations were shattered in her first year at law school as she met her untimely demise in early 2001 in her apartment at 160 Fawn Drive in Athens. On January 18, 2001, Tara was at the UGA Law School Library around 7:30 pm and planned to return home around 10 pm, as per her friend’s account.
However, the following morning, around 11:20 am, the Athens-Clarke County firefighters responded to a fire at Tara’s apartment. When they entered the burning residence, they found the 23-year-old law student dead. The investigators rushed to the scene and inspected the burned property, concluding that the fire was set intentionally. The medical examiner determined that Tara had died from a combination of strangulation, a stab wound to her neck, and blunt force trauma that caused hemorrhaging to the brain. Medical examiners concluded the young woman was sexually assaulted after her demise. Two years after her passing, in May 2003, the University of Georgia School of Law awarded Tara her law degree posthumously.
Tara Baker’s Killer Was Brought to Justice More Than Two Decades Later
Due to the arson and the limited pieces of evidence recovered from the crime scene, the authorities didn’t have much to investigate, as they also lacked advanced DNA technology. After digging deep into Tara Baker’s life and the circumstances surrounding her passing, the detectives interviewed several people in her life, but every other lead resulted in a dead end. Thus, the case remained unsolved for more than two decades until the Coleman-Baker Act was passed in September 2023, which encouraged law enforcement agencies to review cold cases comprehensively. Thus, as the Georgia Bureau of Investigation (GBI) partnered with the Athens-Clarke County Police Department, the DNA evidence was reexamined using advanced DNA technology. It led them to a suspect named Edrick Lamont Faust.
On May 9, 2024, the authorities announced the arrest of Edrick Faust, who was charged with the murder of Tara Baker. As established during his trial by prosecutors, Edrick fatally attacked Tara in her Athens home and sexually assaulted her before setting a blanket on fire and leaving it in her bedroom in an attempt to get rid of the evidence of his crimes. Less than two years later, in early February 2026, the suspect stood trial for the homicide. During the two-week trial, the prosecution presented several pieces of incriminating evidence against the defendant, while the defense argued that there was no physical evidence linking him to the crime scene. In the end, the jury deliberated for two days and on February 17, 2026, convicted him of all the charges against him, including malice murder, felony murder, first-degree arson, tampering with evidence, aggravated assault, aggravated sodomy, and burglary.
A couple of days later, at his sentencing hearing, Tara’s mother’s victim impact statement was read by her son-in-law, stating, “Her life was full of promise and light. The person who took her lived in complete opposition of everything she stood for. His actions were selfish, depraved, without compassion or regard for the lives he destroyed. He did not only end her life and her dreams, he tried to erase her completely by setting the fire. Our family did not know violent crime before that day. Her absence still wounds her siblings, her friends and all who loved her. The pain is constant, even in moments that should be joyful.” Ultimately, Edrick received two consecutive life sentences and an additional 45 years in confinement.
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