The biological mother of missing 10 year old Zahra Baker spoke out for the first time in a television interview in Australia.
Emily Dietrich shared that she knows in her heart that her daughter is dead. The news of her disappearance came only three days after Dietrich had managed to track down Zahra and her father, Adam Baker through the internet. She had not yet made contact with either.
When referring to whether she had any hope that Zahra would be found alive, the mother simply said “I don’t feel it”. She shared that the more the police discovered in evidence and in the way Zahra was treated the less hope she had. The mother shared that her biggest hope was that Zahra was not being hurt anymore.
Dietrich admitted that she suffered from postpartum depression after the birth of her daughter. According to her this resulted in father, Adam Baker, getting custody of the little girl. However, Dietrich said she had spent most the past decade fighting to have her share of custody. She had finally managed to locate Baker and her daughter in the NC town where they lived a few days before it was announced that Zahra was missing.
Zahra was reported missing on October 9. On October 12 police switched from a missing persons case to a homicide investigation. On October 10 Zahra’s stepmother, Elisa Baker, was arrested on unrelated charges. She later confessed to writing a fake ransom note and was charged with obstruction of justice. Last week she was indicted on that felony charge.
Adam Baker was arrested last week on unrelated charges but is currently out on bond.
Police have discovered a mattress they believe to have belonged to Zahra. It is being tested for DNA evidence. They also discovered a prosthetic leg that has been matched to the one Zahra was fitted with at 5 years old. This week investigators discovered a bone that they believe may be linked to the case.
Dietrich expressed her anger and hurt at the entire situation. She expressed that “he had no right to do any of it, to keep her from me” and said that she felt broken.
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