Edrick Faust was recently sentenced in February 2026 to two consecutive life sentences plus 45 years in prison for the 2001 cold-case murder of University of Georgia law student Tara Baker.
As of May 2, 2026, there is no news of his death; he is currently serving his sentence in the Georgia prison system.
The Case and Trial (2024–2026)
The case remained unsolved for over 23 years until it was cracked by the Georgia Bureau of Investigation’s (GBI) specialized cold case unit.
Arrest (May 2024): Faust was arrested after new DNA analysis linked him to the crime scene.
The Crime: Tara Baker was found dead in her Athens, Georgia, home in January 2001. She had been sexually assaulted and strangled just hours before her 24th birthday. The perpetrator set fire to her apartment to destroy evidence.
The Verdict (Feb 17, 2026): After a two-week trial, a jury found Faust guilty on all 12 counts, including malice murder, felony murder, rape, aggravated assault, and arson.
Sentencing (Feb 19, 2026): Judge Lisa Lott handed down the maximum sentence, stating that rehabilitation was not appropriate given the “incomprehensible evil” of the crime.
Current Status
Faust is incarcerated following his February conviction. During the sentencing, members of the Baker family delivered victim impact statements, describing the 25-year wait for justice as a “collision of pure good and incomprehensible evil.” While Faust’s defense team argued that the DNA evidence was unreliable due to its age, the jury and judge upheld the conviction based on the forensic match.
