HICKORY — The owner of a crime memorabilia website is selling two letters he claims he received from Elisa Baker saying her stepdaughter, Zahra, is dead, and that her husband did something "horrifying" to the girl after her death.
"We didn't really kill her but what he did after the fact is kinda horrifying," says one of the letters Eric Gein claims he got from Elisa Baker, who is in jail. "Makes me scared of him."
Zahra Baker, who is hearing-impaired and walks with the help of a prosthetic leg, was reported missing by her father, Adam, on Oct. 9, and her story has attracted worldwide attention. Both Adam and Elisa Baker have denied any wrongdoing in the case.
The Hickory Police Department couldn't confirm whether the letters are authentic. Deputy Chief Clyde Deal said Tuesday night that much of the information in the letters has been widely reported in media accounts and isn’t new to investigators.
Deal said officers plan to compare the letters with other samples of Elisa Baker's writing. The letters will become part of the investigation, Deal said, but he’s unsure how important they are.
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