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One day before her 24th birthday, promising law student Tara Baker's bright future was violently stolen from her. A deadbolted door, a deliberately set fire, and an apartment in flames created a perfect storm that nearly erased all evidence of what really happened that night in January 2001.

Tara was the embodiment of what makes an exceptional lawyer - brilliant, compassionate, and committed to fighting for the underdogs of society. Her fellow UGA law students remember her as the person who brought people together, ensuring no one felt excluded. She had just finished another late night at the law library, calling a friend at 9:46 PM to make sure they'd arrived home safely. Hours later, firefighters would make the devastating discovery that would haunt Athens, Georgia for more than two decades.

For 23 years, the case remained unsolved despite several promising leads: a boyfriend (quickly cleared), a suspicious classmate, a local criminal spotted nearby, and a former colleague who mysteriously left town after her murder. The crime scene itself presented nearly insurmountable challenges - water from firefighting efforts washed away crucial evidence while the deliberately set fire destroyed other potential clues.

The breakthrough finally came through the power of modern forensic science and a newly established cold case unit named partly in Tara's honor. In May 2024, authorities arrested Edric Lamont Faust, a man with a violent criminal history but, surprisingly, no connection whatsoever to Tara. The DNA evidence collected at the original crime scene, preserved for over two decades, had finally spoken. This wasn't a crime of passion between acquaintances as initially theorized - it appears to have been a random attack, a devastating moment of opportunity that robbed the world of a promising advocate for justice.

Listen as we unravel how this case finally found resolution, the complicated emotions faced by Tara's family, and how her legacy lives on through Georgia's dedicated cold case unit that bears her name. If you have information about this or any unsolved case, consider reaching out to authorities - your tip could be the missing piece that brings a family the answers they've waited decades to hear.

Sources:

Last updated: October 20, 2024
https://www.podchaser.com/podcasts/classic-city-crime-1332721/episodes/introducing-classic-city-crime-69782265

https://gbi.georgia.gov/cases/unsolved-homicide/tara-louise-baker


by: Hollie Lewis
Posted: Jun 1, 2022 / 05:45 PM EDT

Updated: Jun 1, 2022 / 05:23 PM EDT
https://www.wsav.com/now/uga-law-students-homicide-cold-case-of-tara-louise-baker/


https://www.onlineathens.com/story/news/state/2017/02/26/still-no-arrest-16-years-after-uga-law-student-s-murder-police-believe-case/15433794007/

By Kim Leoffler and FOX 5 Atlanta Digital TeamUpdated May 10, 2024 5:08pm EDTAthens-Clarke County
https://www.fox5atlanta.com/news/athens-man-charged-with-murder-in-2001-murder-of-uga-law-student-tara-louise-baker

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A night out with friends turns deadly when Ashley Brown, a 27-year-old surgical technician, steps outside for a cigarette and vanishes without a trace. Days later, her body is discovered at a Nashville trash disposal site, leaving investigators puzzled and her family devastated.

Ashley had built her career helping others during their most vulnerable moments. As a travel surgical tech who had worked across multiple states, she had a gift for calming patients and anticipating surgeons' needs in high-pressure situations. Just six months after relocating to Nashville, her promising life was brutally cut short. The mystery deepens when we learn Ashley worked at St. Thomas West Hospital, where two other employees were also murdered within a four-year timespan – though investigators believe the cases are unrelated.

What happened during those critical moments after 3:30 AM when Ashley stepped outside, leaving behind her purse, keys, and wallet? How did she end up five miles away at a garbage facility? Detective Matthew Filter continues to pursue leads and physical evidence, but the case remains unsolved years later. For Ashley's parents, the questions of how and why their daughter died haunt them daily. They remember her as intelligent and caring, with a wry sense of humor – someone who quoted Edgar Allan Poe and embraced life's adventures.

Do you know something about what happened to Ashley Brown that December night in 2016? Call Crime Stoppers at 615-742-7463 or submit an anonymous tip at nashvillecrimestoppers.com. Even the smallest detail could help bring justice for a woman who was, in her mother's words, "tossed like an afterthought" when she was anything but.

Facebook link: https://www.facebook.com/p/Help-find-Ashley-Brown-100063477456381/

Source Material:

Price, Marika, April 11, 2017, Family Desperate for Answers in Disappearance and Murder of Young Nashville Woman Ashley Brown, https://www.nbcnews.com/dateline/family-desperate-answers-disappearance-murder-young-nashville-woman-ashley-brown-n745181

Majica, Adrian, December 4, 2020, Third Nashville nurse working at St. Thomas West found murdered in four years, https://newschannel9.com/news/local/third-nashville-nurse-working-at-st-thomas-west-found-murdered-in-four-years-crime-tennessee

Moor, Julia, March 30, 2023, Man jailed for 25 years Over Roadside Murder of ICU Nurse in Tennessee, https://people.com/crime/man-jailed-25-years-roadside-murder-icu-nurse/

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A popular teenager found hanging from a tree. A sister who dies mysteriously three years later while investigating her brother's death. A small Texas town torn apart by rumors of devil worship and human sacrifice.

Welcome to Childress, Texas, 1988, where the death of 17-year-old Tate Rowland sparked a community-wide descent into fear and paranoia. Tate was known around town as a wild child with a mile-long streak of rebellion – tearing up the main drag in his blue Ford pickup, getting into scraps over his on-again, off-again girlfriend Karen, and occasionally crossing paths with local law enforcement.

When Tate's body was discovered hanging from a horse apple tree on the outskirts of town, the circumstances immediately raised questions. Two rope burns on his neck contradicted typical suicide patterns. The shifting story of the only witness, 15-year-old Chad Johnston, added to the suspicion. Yet authorities quickly ruled it a suicide without performing an autopsy.

What followed was a textbook case of satanic panic consuming a small American town. Strange occurrences at Tate's funeral – a mysterious veiled woman, chanting mourners – gave way to increasingly bizarre rumors. The discovery of what some called an "altar" near the hanging site fueled speculation about cult activity. Halloween night cemetery visits led to terrifying encounters near Tate's grave. Reports spread of strangers attempting to kidnap blonde, blue-eyed children for sacrifice.

When Tate's sister Terry died three years later under questionable circumstances while actively investigating her brother's death, the community's fears reached fever pitch. A suicide note from a local man claiming knowledge of Terry's death only deepened the mystery.

Was Childress truly infiltrated by satanic forces? Or did the power of gossip, fear, and 1980s moral panic transform ordinary tragedies into something far more sinister? Join us as we untangle the threads of this haunting tale where small-town dynamics, teenage angst, and America's obsession with occult conspiracy collide in the Texas panhandle.

Sources:

https://spellcasterghosttours.com/satanic-panic-texas/

Skip Hollandsworth; July 1992

https://www.texasmonthly.com/true-crime/possessed-by-the-devil/

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Deaths_of_Tate_Rowland_and_Terrie_Trosper