Case Explained: RECAP: Day 1 of State v. Edrick Faust, the Tara Baker murder trial | City News – Legal Perspective

The first day of the State v. Edrick Faust trial began Monday at the Athens-Clarke County Courthouse. Faust is being charged with the 2001 murder of Tara Baker, a first-year law student at the University of Georgia, on 12 counts, including murder, rape, arson and aggravated sodomy.

The trial was scheduled to begin at 10 a.m., although four jurors were absent until approximately 11:30 a.m., which is when the trial officially began. The prosecution and defense presented their opening statements and the day ended with two witnesses being called to the stand. All statements made by attorneys, including opening statements and closing statements, are not considered evidence.

The prosecution’s opening statement began with a description of Baker and described her murder. The 23-year-old law student was sexually assaulted, strangled and stabbed before her bed and house were set on fire.

During Baker’s autopsy, a sexual assault kit was taken and DNA samples were found. In April 2024, agents Jeremy Howell and Elizabeth Bigham from the Georgia Bureau of Investigation tested that kit with TrueAllele technology and found a likelihood ratio in the DNA that matched Edrick Faust’s.

The DNA found also contained DNA from Baker and her boyfriend at the time, Chris Melton. DNA can only be found in a sample for a short period of time.

The prosecution said in their opening statement that Baker and Melton’s relationship was a very normal one. They were long distance at the time of her murder, as he was living in his parents’ house while she was in Athens studying at UGA’s Law School. They also stated that Melton’s coworker was with him all day on Jan. 19, 2001.

The defense maintains Faust’s innocence, arguing that Melton is the perpetrator, based on testimonies from a neighbor and an interview from Melton saying he had not seen Baker for 10 days, even though his DNA was found in the sexual assault kit sample.

The defense also argued that law enforcement failed to fully investigate the case and did not follow up on Melton’s alibi for four months.

The defense was also held in contempt of the court and fined $1,000.

David Freeman and Doug Whitehead, firefighters stationed at Fire Station 5 on the night of Baker’s murder, were brought to the stand as witnesses to explain what they saw when they arrived at Tara’s house in January 2001.

The trial will resume at 9 a.m. tomorrow.