Elisa Baker Pleads Guilty To Murder

Elisa Baker is now a convicted killer. She pleaded guilty to second-degree murder this morning for the death of her 10-year-old stepdaughter and admitted to dismembering her body to hide the crime. Her punishment is 15 to 18 years in prison. Following the plea, prosecutor Michael Van Buren presented a detailed account of the evidence against Elisa Baker. Hickory Police Lieutenant Bobby Grace coordinated the search of three dump sites. These dump areas are illegal dump areas where people commonly take carcasses of wildlife, domestic animals and cast them out and other times of things like tires and appliances. These were identified by Elisa baker and her legal team," Grace testified. Van Buren: What remains of Zahra Baker were not found? Grace: We did not find Zahra's head. We do not have her right arm or her hands. We do not have her right leg from mid-thigh down. We never found her existing foot. Nor her upper left leg." District Attorney Jay Gaither agreed to the plea in exchange for that information. The investigation concluded that Zahra's father, Adam Baker, had nothing to do with her death even though it took him two weeks to report her missing. Police say he worked long hours as a landscaper and it was common for him to go extended periods without seeing his daughter. One question that was not answered today is why Elisa Baker killed Zahra.