Justice Served After 25 Years

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Summary: Tara Baker, a 23-year-old University of Georgia law student, was savagely raped and murdered in her Athens, Georgia, apartment on January 19, 2001. Edrick Lamont Faust, 50, was convicted on all counts after 25 years, reports say.

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ATHENS, Ga. — More than two decades after a brutal attack ended the life of a promising University of Georgia law student, a jury has held the perpetrator accountable, bringing a measure of closure to a long-unsolved case.

Tara Louise Baker, 23, a first-year law student originally from Lovejoy, Ga., was found dead on Jan. 19, 2001, in her Fawn Drive apartment. Firefighters responding to a blaze at the duplex discovered her body around 11:30 a.m. Authorities determined the fire had been set intentionally to conceal evidence of the crime. Baker, who had turned 24 the following day, was reported missing after failing to attend her morning classes.

According to trial testimony and investigative findings, Baker was sexually assaulted, strangled with an instrument, stabbed in the neck, and subjected to blunt force trauma to the head before being left on the floor of her bedroom. The attack occurred sometime after 9:45 p.m. on Jan. 18 and before the fire was discovered the next morning. Her laptop computer was the only item reported missing from the scene.

The case remained cold for more than 23 years despite initial evidence collected by Athens-Clarke County police and the Georgia Bureau of Investigation. Advances in DNA technology, supported by a 2023 state law creating a dedicated GBI cold case unit, allowed investigators to reexamine biological material from the scene. In May 2024, authorities arrested Edrick Lamont Faust, then 48, an Athens resident with a prior criminal history that included multiple arrests around the time of the murder.

Faust faced 12 felony counts, including malice murder, felony murder, rape (aggravated sodomy), burglary, aggravated assault, first-degree arson, tampering with evidence, and possession of a knife during the commission of a felony. Prosecutors presented forensic evidence linking him to the crimes during a two-week trial in Clarke County Superior Court in February 2026. The jury deliberated for more than 11 hours before returning guilty verdicts on all counts on Feb. 17.

On Feb. 19, Superior Court Judge Lisa Lott sentenced Faust to two consecutive life sentences plus 45 years in prison. The terms included life for felony murder, a consecutive life sentence for rape, along with additional consecutive time for aggravated assault, burglary, arson, and the knife charge.

Witnesses at trial included firefighters who responded to the scene, forensic pathologists who detailed the injuries, and individuals who provided accounts from the period, such as a woman who recalled a suspicious man in the area near Baker's apartment on the day of the crime. Baker's boyfriend at the time also testified about their relationship and the events surrounding her death. Defense arguments, including attempts to challenge the DNA evidence and raise questions about consent, were rejected by the jury.

Baker had graduated from Georgia College and State University before working as a paralegal and enrolling in law school with aspirations of becoming a real estate attorney. She was remembered by those who knew her as hardworking, kind, and dedicated to her studies.

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