Plea bargain the talk of the Justice Center

The lack of activity outside the Catawba County Justice Center on Thursday did not hint at the emotions inside Superior Courtroom No. 1.

In that room, Elisa Baker was pleading guilty to nine felony charges, including second-degree murder in the death of her stepdaughter, Zahra Baker. She was given 177 to 222 months in prison.

Was it enough? Was justice served?

“Yes, I think it was,” said David Ridgway, as he and his wife, Lisa, were leaving the premises shortly after noon when the hearing recessed. The Ridgways are friends with Zahra’s birth mother, Emily Dietrich. She stayed with the family during a previous trip from Australia to Hickory, and she was a guest in the Ridgeway home the night before the hearing.

“It looks like justice will be done,” David said.

Dietrich arrived at the Justice Center by separate vehicle. Many people connected with the Baker case were the recipients of extra security measures put in place for the hearing.

The Ridgways walked in and out of the building without interruption. “Zahra’s mother wanted us to be here for support,” Lisa Ridgeway said, “and of course we will support her.”

David said Wednesday night was a long ordeal. Emily’s arrival was delayed because the airline misplaced her luggage.

“She was late getting into Charlotte,” he said, “and she landed with nothing.”

The couple looked tired, but that didn’t diminish the attention they gave to Zahra’s mother.

 Different focus

 The chatter inside and outside the Justice Center was about the death of 10-year-old Zahra and the amount of punishment her stepmother would get.

No onlookers tarried at the courthouse to hear the conditions of the plea bargain negotiated between Elisa Baker’s attorney and the prosecutor’s office. There was concern that the hearing would attract a crowd outside. Justice Center employees went about their business, and proceedings continued in other courtrooms, just like any other day.

Still, people expressed strong opinions. Lawyers who had other business at the courthouse talked about the case itself. The women waiting at the bus stop at the Justice Center talked only of Elisa Baker and Zahra’s father, Adam.

They didn’t want their names used, but they didn’t hold back.

“She (Elisa) should get the worst. They ought to do to her what she did to that precious little girl,” one said.

“And the daddy (Adam Baker) isn’t innocent,” another chimed in. “He had to know what was going on.”

“No, he was in on it, he had to be,” said the woman who was left in the glassed-in bus stop when the other two walked toward the Government Center.

“I wasn’t there, and I don’t know what went on, but he had to know, and I think he helped that old woman (Elisa Baker).

Adam Baker has not been charged with wrongdoing in connection with his daughter’s death and dismemberment. That hasn’t stopped blame from coming his way from an irate public.

“He could at least go in and kiss his little girl good night, no matter how hard he worked,” the woman at the bus stop said. “If you love your child, you’ll take care of them and keep up with them.”

Adam Baker has said he didn’t see Zahra the last few weeks of her life.

Conversations with attorneys who meandered in and out of the Justice Center was more about the mechanics of the case.

They didn’t want to be perceived as trying the case, and were reluctant to be identified. But they agreed that first-degree murder could not be proved, and a second-degree murder conviction would be tenuous if Elisa Baker went to trial.

The consensus was that a murder conviction would be difficult in the absence of a murder weapon, a credible witness and the fact that all of Zahra’s body parts have not been found. Too, since truth North Carolina applies “truth in sentencing,” Elisa Baker would have to serve all of the minimum sentence detailed in a plea agreement. That means she must be imprisoned for 14 years and nine months, minus the time she’s already spent in jail.

Retired Judge Oliver Noble mused that what happened in state court Thursday can be used as an aggravating circumstance in federal court, where charges are pending against Elisa.

“The may try to tack on everything they can,” in federal court, Noble said, “and give her more time.”

He said trying Elisa for a capital crime was out of the question for two reasons: “The media has made a circus out of death penalty cases,” Noble said, indicating that publicity has an effect on juries and proceedings. He noted that North Carolina does not have a history of executing women.

The last woman to be executed in North Carolina was Velma Barfield. She was linked to as many as six deaths, but was convicted and sentenced to die for one murder. She was executed by lethal injection in November 1984.

Noble was not aware of the plea bargain details at the time, but he said a deal in Elisa’s case was not surprising.

 There for Zahra

 Bill Wiggs, former Kiwanis Carolinas District governor, is one of the leaders in raising money for Zahra’s All Children’s Playground at Kiwanis Park in Hickory. He attended the hearing because he plans to talk to more groups about supporting the playground “and I know they’ll have questions.”

Catawba County’s Kiwanis Clubs launched the playground campaign with the City of Hickory just months ago. Wiggs said $130,000 has been raised so far.

He did not comment on the merits of the case. “I just came down to hear the verdict,” he said early Thursday morning.

When the proceedings recessed for lunch, Wiggs said the prison sentence give Elisa Baker was “not bad. Better than nothing.” Then he added, “Eighteen years is a long time in prison.”

However, there are some people who think Elisa should face the maximum punishment. There was the familiar refrain, “They ought to do to her what she did to the girl.”

A woman driving in front of the courthouse toward the Government Center rolled down her car window and shouted to the crowd exiting the building for the recess.

“Give her the electric chair,” she screamed.