Case Explained: RECAP: Day 2 of Tara Baker murder trial | City News – Legal Perspective

The second day of the Tara Baker murder trial began Tuesday 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 prosecution began by calling Dr. Andrew Falzon to the stand. Falzon was a consultant forensic pathologist with the Georgia Bureau of Investigation and conducted Baker’s autopsy in 2001.

Falzon outlined several injuries found during the autopsy. He noted neck bruises caused by strangulation and stab wounds on her arms. He also found blunt force injuries around her head, neck and below her waist, suggesting sexual activity. The prosecution used a prop knife to reenact a possible defensive struggle between Baker and her attacker to help the jury understand the attack.

The prosecution then presented several sets of photographs from Baker’s autopsy, prompting tears fromone of the jurors.

During cross-examination, the defense raised concerns about an evidence bag marked as pubic hair, that they argued was empty,  as well as potentially mislabeled vaginal swabs taken from the crime scene. The defense motioned for the evidence to be ruled inadmissible due to incorrect chain of custody management, which the judge swiftly denied.

The prosecution then called Baker’s law classmate and close friend Katherine Lahnstein to the stand. The two met at law school and quickly became close friends.

Lahnstein recalled her experiences during the days around Baker’s death. She said the pair had studied together the night before her death. The next day, Baker didn’t show up to their 9:30 a.m. property law class nor their planned meeting at a bar called The Winery. Lahnstein learned of Baker’s death the following day, Saturday, Jan. 20, when a friend called her about a news headline reading “Student Slain.”

The prosecution then asked Lahnstein about Baker’s relationship with her then boyfriend Chris Melton, leading to a long confrontation between the judge, prosecution and defense. In the previous court day, the defense had been prohibited from asking witnesses their opinion on Melton and Baker’s relationship. Because of this restriction, the defense claimed they were “being handcuffed” and “walking on eggshells.”

The prosecution then called Athena Gray, an ACC911 office training coordinator, who read 911 call logs from Jan. 19, 2001, including a call from one of Baker’s neighbors reporting Baker’s house appearing to be on fire.

The prosecution also called Lt. David Leedahl, a retired ACC police officer who processed the crime scene of Baker’s murder. Leedahl reviewed dozens of photographs taken at Baker’s home and presented them to the jury. He testified about evidence collected during the investigation, including attempts to lift fingerprints from Baker’s body. He said it appeared as though certain areas had been wiped down before investigators could recover usable evidence.

The jury was presented with several pieces of evidence gathered from the scene, including the knife found beside Baker’s body and the printer cable wrapped around her neck.

Before being dismissed, Leedahl said he could still remember the smell of Baker’s shampoo years later. 

The prosecution then introduced Brian Grove, a fire protection engineer.

Grove’s testimony will continue when the trial resumes at 9 a.m Wednesday.