To Governor Brian Porter Kemp,

We- the family of Tara Louise Baker, Cameron Jay of Classic City Crime, and undersigned members of the Community- respectfully request this Office’s help in finding Justice for Tara Louise Baker. After nearly two (2) decades with little to no answers from the Athens-Clarke County Police Department, the undersigned members of our family and of the community have lost all faith in the ACCPD and their abilities to solve this heinous crime. 

Tara Louise Baker was born on January 20, 1977 in Fulton County, Georgia. Born a bright child, she became the guiding light to her siblings, cousins and peers. She was fiercely loyal and was a champion of those she loved. If you were her “person”, there was never any doubt that you were loved.

A natural leader, Tara was the founding president of the Button Gwinnett Society of the Children of the American Revolution and the youngest of four living generation members of the Daughters of the American Revolution. Tara debuted at the State Conference for the Daughters of the American Revolution in 1995 as a member of the Augustin Clayton Chapter. During high school, Tara wrote to, and quickly made friends with, Congressman Mac Collins. Mr. Collins accepted her invitation to her civics’ class presentation on local government officials. Mr. Collins spoke of their friendship and her bright future at Tara’s funeral held in 2001.

Tara then graduated from Georgia College and State University cum laude in three (3) years with two degrees; Bachelor’s of Science in political science and paralegal studies. In addition to her studies, Tara was an active member and officer of the Alpha Delta Pi sorority and member of the student government body at GCSU. Tara began working for a successful lawyer in her hometown following graduation before finding her way to Athens, Georgia. Tara soon began work as a legal assistant in the real estate division of Fortson, Bentley & Griffin. During Tara’s time there she honed her professional skills, bent the ears of any partners willing to listen, and applied for law school.

Tara had just started her second semester at the University of Georgia’s Law School when her body was found in her burning home on Fawn Drive in Athens Georgia on January 19, 2001. Tara had been murdered the day before her 24th birthday. After she had been beaten, strangled and stabbed, her killer(s) set her apartment ablaze to conceal the evidence. 

Tara led a beautiful life and was so full of promise. Her death is the very definition of tragic. 

While police maintain that her murder was a burglary gone awry, the only item stolen from the home was Tara’s laptop. A jewelry box containing family heirlooms remained on Tara’s dresser and diamond studded earrings were in her ears at the time of the grim discovery. Additionally, the bedrooms of Tara’s roommates remained untouched.

The Athens Clarke County Police Department’s 20 year investigation of Tara’s murder is flawed, incompetent and ripe with misconduct and malpractice. 

The police failed to secure the scene. Phone records indicate that emergency personnel broke protocol and made personal phone calls from the scene using Tara’s landline further contaminating evidence. The coroner at the time, who was also a staff member of the police department, used his home as his office and had photographs in the open from the autopsy, thereby further compromising the integrity of the investigation. 

Basic tasks were not performed at the scene. No vacuumings were done of the scene or Tara’s car, the trash was not taken from the apartment and no elumillunol was used at the scene. The police made the initial statement when meeting with the family on January 19, 2001 that there were significant samples of DNA under Tara’s  fingernails that had been clipped and collected. A statement heard by four (4) family members that the police later denied ever being made. 

It was later learned that a detective “on loan” from the University of Georgia’s campus police department sought out and informed Tara’s classmates of exact details of Tara’s death in a concerted effort to obtain information and essentially frame a fellow classmate for the murder. Information that had not been released to the family was given to these law students in this scheme.

The police withheld the theft of the laptop for over a year. A detail that, had it been made public, could have easily tracked down, apprehended and led to the conviction of the killer(s). The police withheld the death certificate for over ten (10) years from the family and the true cause of death. The police withheld the autopsy report from the family for nineteen (19) years until an outcry from the public and threat of an independent exhumation of Tara’s body was made in recent weeks.

The Baker family organized and raised funds to have Dr. Henry Lee enlisted to help with the investigation. The ACCPD denied this request. Instead, the investigators presented Dr. Lee with a single notebook during a convention that could not have possibly given Dr. Lee an in camera review of the evidence given the voluminous case file. It has been confirmed to this date by Dr. Lee and staff, that no record of this meeting exists and that Dr. Lee did not offer any findings to the police.

Throughout our 20 week private investigation, it has been noted time and time again that individuals who went to the police with credible information were either ignored or dismissed all together. It has come to light that there are and were several conflicts of interests within the police department and several persons of interest. It has come to light several missteps on the part of the investigators and emergency responders. It is evident that after twenty (20) years, the ACCPD is incapable of nor will admit that they are simply in over their heads.  

For too long the “blue curtain” has shrouded this investigation and others alike from the police department’s missteps and misdeeds. There are currently a voluminous amount of unsolved murders in Athens. How many murders must go unsolved? How many killers will be allowed to walk free? How many families will remain helpless and without answers? How many?

We respectfully request the use of any and all powers of the State Government of Georgia and the Governor’s Office to have Tara Baker’s case relinquished from the hands of the Athens-Clarke County Police Department. For 20 years, Tara’s case has remained active and the police department refuses to label the case cold which has prevented the family from seeking outside help to review the case. Twenty (20) years later, and the police are no closer to an arrest or a conviction than they were on January 19, 2001. We, the Petitioners, have lost confidence in the local jurisdiction’s ability to solve this case and only further exacerbated by their continued denial of help from the Georgia Bureau of Investigation and other private forensic experts of the family's choosing.

We thank this Office for the time in reading the presented petition and for its consideration. We, the Bakers, Cameron Jay and the Community await this Office’s decision.

-The Family of Tara Louise Baker

Mrs. Virginia Baker, Tara's Mother

Meredith Baker S., Tara's Sister

Adam Baker, Tara's Brother

Kevin Baker, Tara's Brother

Cameron Jay, Classic City Crime Podcast