Skull confirmed as Zahra Baker’s

February 21, 2013

Wednesday, the State Bureau of Investigations notified the Hickory Police Department and the Caldwell County Sheriff’s Office that the skull found off of Winkler Way in Caldwell County near N.C. 268 in April 2012 was Zahra Baker’s remains.  

The skull was found by turkey hunters in an area that was in close proximity  to where other remains of Baker were found.

Working together, the SBI’s Crime Lab, N.C. Medical Examiner’s Office and Marshall University in Huntington, W.V. were able to compare a DNA profile used for the prosecution of Elisa Baker, in Zahra’s murder case to the skull found in Caldwell County to confirm the findings.  

The examination of the skull was unable to provide any further details on how Zahra was murdered.

To read more of this story, pick up the Friday edition of Catawba County's community newspaper, The Observer News Enterprise, at newsstands throughout the county.