ATHENS, Ga. — The trial is now underway for a man charged in a University of Georgia law student’s murder from 25 years ago.
Tara Louise Baker, 23, was found dead after a fire at her apartment in 2001. Investigators determined that the fire was set intentionally.
The case went cold before the Georgia Bureau of Investigation arrested Edrick Faust in May 2024. The GBI said DNA evidence led to his arrest.
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Jury selection began on Tuesday for Faust’s trial after it was delayed for the winter storm that hit Clarke County.
The judge gave instructions to the prospective jurors and advised them not to research Baker’s cold case or Faust to avoid bias.
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Baker was a first-year law student at the University of Georgia at the time. She graduated from Lovejoy High School in 1995 and enrolled at Georgia College in Milledgeville.
Baker’s family never gave up their search for justice.
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