ATHENS, Ga. — Family members of UGA law student Tara Baker, killed 10 years ago, will finally get their wish to receive her death certificate.
"This is a big deal," said Baker's father, Lindsay.
On Jan.19, 2001, 23-year-old Tara Baker was killed inside her Athens apartment. Police said they believe the killer then set the apartment on fire to conceal her death.
The Bakers said they have been fighting for years to get Baker's death certificate, but the Athens-Clarke County coroner refused to release it because the investigation was still open. The killer remains on the loose.
Baker's father said it has been difficult conducting his daughter's affairs without it.
"The probate judge is like, ‘We can't do this, and we can't do that because we have no death certificate,'" he told Channel 2's Tom Jones.
Family members also said that not having the document kept them from having some sense of closure.
"It's like having that loose end hanging around you. Just can't close things down and move on," said Baker's mother, Virginia.
WSB-TV Tara Baker grave But Athens-Clarke County Assistant Police Chief Tim Smith defended the move to withhold the certificate. Smith said the document listed Baker's cause of death, which only the killer would know. He said investigators wanted to withhold that information from the public in case an arrest is made.
When Jones asked if the cause of death could be omitted from the death certificate, Smith said he would look into it.
"We could work with the coroner's office and other agencies that's involved in the investigation to see if that is possible," Smith said.
Smith later called Jones and said the coroner and the Georgia Bureau of Investigation agreed to release the certificate to the family without the cause of death.
The Bakers were elated. They said the whole family would meet in Athens to pick up the death certificate.
"That last little piece we need to finish this puzzle, from our point of view, is a death certificate," Baker's father said.
He said the rest of the puzzle includes finding his daughter's killer.
Police said the investigation continues and they are always pursuing leads. Anyone with information is asked to contact the Athens-Clarke County Police Department.
WSBTV
