The Hunt for Zahra Baker

In January 2011, according to court documents and The Charlotte Observer, it was revealed that Elisa Baker had allegedly told police that Zahra had died on September 24, 2010, two weeks before she had been reported missing, and that Adam had dismembered her body. She allegedly claimed that Zahra had died naturally. She claimed that she and Adam had disposed of her body parts the following day. She claimed that she and her husband's actions had resulted from them not knowing what to do after the girl died. The date provided by Elisa Baker conflicted with information provided earlier by the furniture store manager, who had stated that he had seen Zahra and her stepmother in his store on September 25.

Zahra Baker

Police uncovered additional information indicating that Elisa Baker, and possibly her husband, along with another man, had participated in role-playing games on the Internet site where she had met Adam. One of the games involved a "chainsaw massacre" and had allegedly been played on September 22, two days before Elisa Baker's claim that Zahra had died on September 24.

Adam Baker, meanwhile, denied any involvement in his daughter's dismemberment.

"There's no way I would do that to my baby," Baker told WBTV News. "There's no way in the world I would hurt my daughter."

Adam Baker's attorney said that Elisa Baker's claims were only a "desperate" attempt at distraction.