Tuesday marks the second day of the murder trial for Edrick Faust, the man accused of killing University of Georgia law student Tara Baker in 2001.
According to the Georgia Bureau of Investigation, Baker was last seen by a friend outside a library around 7:30 p.m. the night before her body was discovered. That friend later received a phone call from Baker, who said she planned to leave the library around 10 p.m. Authorities said that call was the last time anyone heard from her.
Baker, who was 23 years old, was found dead inside her burned apartment off Fawn Drive on Jan. 19, 2001—one day before her 24th birthday. Investigators later determined the fire had been intentionally set and ruled her death a homicide. No arrests were made for more than two decades until Faust was taken into custody in 2024.
During opening statements on Monday, the prosecution argued that evidence heavily links Faust to the crime. The prosecution described the trial as the final chapter in a long, painful saga for the Baker family. The defense maintained Faust’s innocence, arguing that investigators overlooked other suspects in their rush to close a decades-old cold case.
The trial is expected to continue with witness testimony Tuesday morning.
FOX 5 will stream the trial in full on YouTube and on FOX Local.
