Tara Baker Trial - Ex-Boyfriend Chris Melton - GA v Edrick Faust - Direct Examination

Описание: Tara Baker's former boyfriend Chris Melton testifies on Day 6 of GA v #EdrickFaust. Melton is the defense's 3rd party culprit and the man who has been accused of starting the fire at the home of #TaraBaker.

I. Background of Chris Melton

• Early Life: He grew up in the Loganville and Walton County area, graduating from Loganville High School in 1996.
• Education and Sports: He attended Georgia College in Milledgeville, where he became involved in the cheerleading squad despite having no prior experience. He eventually left college before completing his degree.

II. Relationship with Tara Baker

• Meeting and Early Dating: Melton met Tara through a mutual friend at Georgia College. Their first date was her sorority formal, though the relationship did not become serious until after they both left college and moved back to their respective parents' homes.
• Nature of Relationship: The couple had an exclusive relationship for over two years. Melton described Tara as an "incredible student" who graduated a year early with two degrees and aspired to attend UGA Law School to practice "happy law" (real estate).

III. Professional Life and Living Arrangements

• Plumbing Career: After leaving college, Melton began working for McCart Plumbing. He found he had a natural aptitude for the trade, following in the footsteps of his father, a fabricator and engineer.
• Subcontracting: About a week before Tara’s death, Melton began working for himself as a subcontractor, partnering with Nash Plumbing.
• Dual Residences: To save money on travel to job sites west of Athens, Melton stayed with his parents in Walton County during workdays but maintained an apartment in Athens at Jamestown North to be near Tara.

IV. Timeline of January 19, 2001 (Day of the Incident)

• Morning Work: Melton woke up around 6:00 AM and met his employee, Josh McCurdy. They went to Nash Plumbing to load materials and then visited a bank in Loganville around 9:00 AM.
• Mid-day Activities: They visited a business called Truck Customs regarding a ladder rack for his work truck and checked on a completed plumbing job in Grayson.
• Afternoon: They traveled to a new construction site in Forsyth County but were unable to work due to rain. They returned to Loganville to drop off Melton's truck at Truck Customs for installation around 4:00 PM.

V. Notification and Identification

• The Page: While at Truck Customs, Melton received a page from Tara’s mother, Virginia Baker.
• The News: Upon calling her back, he learned there had been a fire at Tara’s residence and that a body had been discovered.
• Identification: Melton traveled to Athens and was asked by detectives to identify the body. He was shown a digital photograph of the victim and confirmed it was Tara after identifying the diamond earrings he had given her.

VI. Cooperation with Law Enforcement

• Voluntary Participation: Melton testified that he cooperated fully and voluntarily with the police, answering questions without a lawyer and providing blood and hair samples.
• Physical Evidence: During his initial interview, his hands were stained with purple plumbing primer and cement from work.
• Hand Injuries: On January 20th, the day after the murder, Melton had an emotional breakdown at his apartment and punched a sheetrock wall repeatedly, causing swelling and scratches to his hands, which the police photographed on January 21st.

VII. Emotional Impact and Aftermath

• Grief and Faith: Melton described a period of intense struggle, involving "bottling up" his emotions during the day and experiencing deep despair at night. He noted that his faith helped him carry on.
• Public Perception: He felt that friends, family, and investigators looked at him with suspicion as the investigation continued, leading many people in his life to distance themselves.

00:00:00 - Chris Melton Direct Examination - Tara Baker Trial - GA v Edrick Faust
00:47:17 - "I didn't want to see what devastation I may have caused."
00:48:40 - "I got to identify her."
00:51:00 - "I got to gaze upon these pictures"
00:59:09 - "I just remember unleashing my emotions on the sheet rock wall."
01:05:35 - On my knees pounding sand

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