'Chainsaw Massacre' Chat Linked to Girl's Murder

Zahra Baker, 10, was killed the same day as chilling conversation, cops believe
By Mary Papenfuss,  Newser Staff
Posted Jan 5, 2011 2:22 AM CST
'Chainsaw Massacre' Role Play Linked to Girl's Murder Case
Mourners listen to a speaker during a vigil for Zahra Baker in Hickory, NC, two months ago.   (AP Photo/Chuck Burton)

Her parents' creepy chat about a "virtual chainsaw massacre" emerged on the internet the same time their young daughter may have met an unbelievably horrific end. Police, who recovered pieces of the 10-year-girl in the North Carolina woods, aren't revealing how Zahra Baker was killed. But her stepmom has confided to investigators that the girl's body was dismembered by her dad. Shortly before her death, the girl, who had lost a left leg to cancer and her hearing to cancer treatments, was reportedly raped by two male friends of the family, a tipster has told police, according to CNN.

A user of the social networking Instant Messaging Virtual Universe website told cops that Zahra's parents, Adam and Elisa Baker, and Baker's ex-husband talked about a chainsaw massacre the same day police speculate Zahra was killed. The online conversation "regarded their involvement with chainsaw massacre role-playing," said a search warrant. Investigators are seeking mental health records on Zahra's stepmom, who reportedly abused 3 biological children for years. During a search of the family home in Hickory, police took some 30 blood swabs, and removed several cameras, cell phones, a knife and stun gun, reports WSOCTV.
(More crime stories.)

Get the news faster.
Tap to install our app.
X
Install the Newser News app
in two easy steps:
1. Tap in your navigation bar.
2. Tap to Add to Home Screen.

X