This browser does not support the Video element.
Tara Baker murder: Edrick Faust trial faces delay
Description After 25 years, the cold case murder of University of Georgia law student Tara Baker is finally heading to trial, but a last-minute legal battle threatens to delay justice.
ATHENS, Ga. - The case of a University of Georgia law student who was killed 25 years ago is scheduled to finally go to trial next month.
Tara Baker was found dead inside her home in Athens in 2001.
It took more than two decades for police to arrest a suspect and bring this cold case murder to trial, but it is moving forward with a new judge among a cloud of issues raised by
The murder of Tara Baker
The backstory:
Tara Baker, a law student at the University of Georgia, was last seen just before her 24th birthday on the evening of Jan. 18, 2001, at the university’s law library. She had called a friend at 9:46 p.m. to ensure they had arrived home safely and noted her own plans to leave shortly after.
The following morning, firefighters discovered Baker’s body inside her off-campus Athens apartment while responding to a fire that investigators later determined was intentionally set to conceal her murder.
SEE ALSO: Major cases expected to go to trial in 2026 in metro Atlanta, North Georgia
This browser does not support the Video element.
RAW: Tara Baker cold case presser
The Georgia Bureau of Investigation held a press conference revealing new details in the arrest made in the 23-year-old murder of University Georgia Law student Tara Louise Baker.
Baker, a native of East Point who graduated cum laude from Georgia College, would have celebrated her 24th birthday the next day. Family member say she had "big plans" for her life.
The case remained cold for 23 years until a breakthrough occurred following the 2023 passage of the Coleman-Baker Act. The law, named in part for Baker, established a specialized GBI cold case unit that used new DNA technology and forensic testing to reexamine evidence. In May 2024, authorities arrested Edrick Lamont Faust, 48, charging him with a 12-count indictment that includes malice murder, felony murder, rape, aggravated sodomy, and arson.
That led investigators to now-48-year-old Edrick Lamont Faust, who was arrested in 2024.
Graphic court documents filed by Faust’s defense attorneys describe Baker’s final moments. Baker was beaten, stabbed, and sexually assaulted. The assailant then allegedly wiped down the home, set a blanket on a stove until it caught fire before placing it on Baker’s bed to burn down the home in an effort to cover up the crime. The filing goes on to say the killer removed a laptop and documents from a filing cabinet inside her home.
This browser does not support the Video element.
23-year-old Athens murder cold case solved
Edrick Faust, 48, was arrested for allegedly killing UGA law student Tara Baker in a 23-year-old cold case out of Athens.
Edrick Lamont Faust's defense filings
What we know:
In those same documents, defense attorney Ahmad R. Crews argues court’s "pattern of conduct" indicates it is "invested in Mr. Faust’s conviction regardless of his guilt or innocence
In another recently filed motion Crews argues recent rulings have deprived Faust of a fair trial. Crews wants Athens Superior Court Chief Judge Lisa Lott removed from the case. The defense cites a Nov. 13 hearing where the court refused to enforce a subpoena for Brenda Swinney. According to the filing, Swinney previously admitted she "does not recall a single incident of Mr. Faust being sexually violent towards her," which would have contradicted the state’s evidence.
The motion also highlights a courtroom exchange regarding a "speaking objection". A transcript shows that when Crews objected to a speaking objection, Lott overruled him, stating, "I’m just going to tell you right now that’s not a thing".
Edrick Faust (Clarke County Sheriff's Office)
Judge recusal in murder trial
What's next:
A court hearing will be held on Wednesday to determine if Chief Judge Lisa Lott will be removed from the case following allegations of judicial bias.
Presiding Judge Lawton E. Stephens of the Western Judicial Circuit signed an order Jan. 20 appointing Judge H. Patrick Haggard to oversee the proceedings regarding the defense's motion to disqualify Lott.
Legal expert on defense challenges
What they're saying:
Legal experts suggest the number of pre-trial challenges is notable. "Having a judge recuse herself because of so many errors before the case has even gone to trial is extremely unusual," said Kay Levine, a professor at Emory Law School, adding that there seem to be "numerous grounds that the defense is concerned about".
Levine suggested that prosecutors should consider joining the recusal request to ensure any future verdict is free from "potential grounds for appeal".
Faust’s defense team also filed a separate motion to exclude evidence of a 2001 incident where Faust allegedly cut a man named Christian Foster. They argue that the two incidents are entirely different, noting that the assailant who killed Baker took "extraordinary efforts to conceal the crime," whereas Faust’s encounter with Foster was public.
"The only reasonable explanation for ignoring the law in favor of the State is to ensure a conviction," the defense motion stated.
The Source: The information in the article is drawn from recent defense filings, court transcripts, and various legal and law enforcement entities. Key figures who provided insight include Ahmad R. Crews, Faust’s defense attorney, and Kay Levine, an Emory Law School professor who commented on the unusual nature of the recusal request. Additional details about the 2001 crime and the subsequent investigation were sourced from the Georgia Bureau of Investigation (GBI) and past reports from FOX 5 Atlanta.