Case Info

On January 19, 2001, around 11:20 a.m., the body of Tara Louise Baker was found by Athens-Clarke County firefighters responding to a fire at her apartment located at 160 Fawn Drive, Athens. Subsequent investigation has determined that the fire was intentionally set and the manner of death is homicide. Tara was a first-year law school student at the University of Georgia (UGA). Tara, 23, was last seen alive by a friend around 7:30 p.m. on January 18 at the UGA Law School Library. The same friend received a call at 9:46 p.m. from Tara, who was still at the library. Tara phoned to make sure her friend arrived home safely and said she planned to leave the library around 10 p.m. Tara was born on January 20, 1977 in East Point, Georgia. She graduated Love Joy High School in 1995 and enrolled at Georgia College in Milledgeville. She graduated Cum Laude in 1998 with two bachelor's degrees. Classmates remember Tara as a caring person who would often champion the cause of the underdog and never allowed serious students to be excluded from study groups or class projects. Anyone who may have information about Tara's death should contact: The Athens-Clarke County Police Department at 706-613-3330 or the GBI's Athens Regional Office at 706-552-2309.