Erica Nicole Baker

[admin4laney]

On Sunday, February 7, 1999, Erica Baker left home to walk the family dog at approximately 3:00pm. She was last seen near the Kettering Recreation Complex between 3:50 and 4:10pm. The dog was found wandering the grounds shortly thereafter, but Erica has not been seen or heard from since.

Date Missing: February 7, 1999
Missing from: Kettering, Ohio
Age at time of disappearance: 9
Age now: 15
Eyes: Hazel - blue dominant
Hair: Blonde
Height: 3'11"
Weight: 65 lbs
Complexion: Fair to medium
Race: White
Note: Erica's two front teeth slightly protrude.
She was last seen wearing a pink sweatshirt
with Winnie-the-Pooh characters on it, a
bubblegum pink hooded raincoat, light colored
blue jeans, and white cheerleading shoes with
purple inserts.



Please visit the official site for Erica: hometown.aol.com/__121b_hQkV/3rixjQDBXqd5WwgZYEZxCw0XmWxh08Kl7xIDZU=

[admin4laney]

www.lrcf.net/LRCTeam.org/EricaBaker/

[admin4laney]

Erica Baker Suspect Pleads Not Guilty

Reported by: 9News & AP
Web produced by: Mark Sickmiller
Photographed by: 9News
2/17/2005 4:28:02 PM

A man accused of disposing of the body of a girl missing for six years pleaded not guilty Thursday.

Christian John Gabriel, who participated in the hearing from prison through a video hookup, said nothing during the brief arraignment in Montgomery County Common Pleas Court.

Gabriel, 33, of Springfield, was charged in February with corpse abuse and evidence tampering in the disappearance of nine-year-old Erica Baker, who vanished in 1999 after leaving her Kettering home to walk the dog.

Prosecutors say evidence shows that the girl was struck and killed by a van, her body disposed of by those responsible. They say evidence indicates Gabriel may have been driving the van. They will not elaborate on the evidence.

Police don't know where the girl's body is, saying they need more information before knowing where to search. No one else has been charged in the case.

Members of the Baker family stared at Gabriel's image on the video screen from the front row of the courtroom.

After hearing Gabriel's not guilty pleas Erica Baker's mother, Misty, said it still brings her no sense of closure.

"The only thing I wanted was Erica, and that's still the only thing I want," said Misty Baker. "I still want to know where she's at, because I still don't have here. And I hope he tells us where she's at," she said.

Erica's father, Greg, also spoke about seeing the man accused of hiding his daughter's body.

"All I got to say is Christian Gabriel, you know where she is, you know what they did with her," said Greg Baker. "Just give us our daughter and let us put her to rest," he said.

Gabriel is serving a nine-month sentence for receiving stolen property at a prison near Lancaster.

Judge David Gowdown set bond at $250,000.

www.wcpo.com/news/2005/local/02/17/gabriel.html

[admin4laney]

Trial Begins Six Years After Girl's Disappearance

POSTED: 7:56 pm EDT October 4, 2005
UPDATED: 11:27 pm EDT October 4, 2005



DAYTON, Ohio -- A trial in the death of a 9-year-old girl is under way more than six years after she disappeared, News 5's Brian Hamrick reported.

Erica Baker, of Kettering, Ohio, vanished in February 1999 while walking her dog in the rain.

"She kept begging, and she said, 'Mom, please, I'll put on my raincoat,'" Misty Baker said. "And I finally said OK."

Baker's body was never found.

Christian Gabriel is charged with gross abuse of a corpse and tampering with evidence.

The Montgomery County prosecutor said Gabriel admitted he ran over Baker and buried her in a shallow grave.

His defense attorney said Tuesday that the confession was a lie, and only came after prolonged police pressure and nearly round-the-clock surveillance.

Another attorney, Beth Lewis, said her client gave her information about Erica's death. But now that client is dead, and Lewis said she still won't tell anyone what she knows.

"You've proved your case," Greg Baker said. "You're a good lawyer. Now bring my child home. Give me that closure."

Gabriel's trial could last another week, Hamrick reported.

www.channelcincinnati.com/news/5058009/detail.html

[admin4laney]

How Erica Died: 'We Heard A Thud,' Accused Says
Van Struck Girl While She Was Walking Dog, Gabriel Says

POSTED: 5:26 pm EDT October 5, 2005
UPDATED: 1:52 am EDT October 6, 2005

DAYTON, Ohio -- Six years after Erica Baker disappeared, her family and the community that spent day after day searching for her and praying for her safe return heard haunting testimony about how she died, News 5's Bina Roy reported.

Prosecutors in Christian Gabriel's trial Wednesday played a videotape of an interview with Gabriel. He told police he was riding in a van that struck and killed the 9-year-old as she walked her dog on a rainy Sunday afternoon in February 1999.

He also told police what happened to the body, which has not been found.

"We were going down the street and heard a thud and got out of the van, and someone was lying in the street," Gabriel said in the interview.

"You say she was walking her dog. How do you know she was walking her dog?" an investigator said.

"Because I saw the dog," Gabriel said.

Gabriel said he and three others in the van had been partying.

"I was drunk. I had a buzz. I really didn't see nothing until I heard the thud," he said, telling investigators he was riding in the front passenger seat.

The four people put Erica in the back and drove her to Gabriel's apartment and partied some more, he said. They discussed what to do with her, and Gabriel said he thought they were going to drive her to a hospital.

Instead, they drove to a park, he said.

Gabriel said he stayed in the van while the others dumped Erica's body.

"They said they just laid it somewhere," he said.

Gabriel didn't remember which park, he told investigators.

Prosecutors said Gabriel wasn't telling the whole truth. They said Gabriel was driving the van when it hit Erica, and he buried her body.

Gabriel's attorney claimed police coerced Gabriel's testimony.

Gabriel is the only person charged in Erica's death. He is being tried on charges on abusing a corpse and tampering with evidence.

Police believe another person in the van was Jan Franks. Franks has since died, and prosecutors are trying to force Franks' attorney in court to tell what she knows about Erica. But the attorney has resisted, citing attorney-client privilege even though her client is dead.

A woman who lives near the Kettering Recreation Center testified that she saw Erica walking her dog that day. Carol Strine said she later saw the dog alone.

"I was still feeling good about finding the lost dog, but then the news came on and it was showing the Kettering Recreation Center and the missing little girl. My husband looked at me and I looked at him and we called the police right away," Strine said.

The trial continues Thursday.

www.channelcincinnati.com/news/5062518/detail.html

[admin4laney]

Man Found Guilty In Baker Case

POSTED: 5:18 pm EDT October 7, 2005
UPDATED: 5:45 pm EDT October 7, 2005

DAYTON, Ohio -- A man was found guilty on two counts in the case of a 9-year-old girl who went missing while walking her dog, News 5 reported.

Christian Gabriel was convicted Friday of gross abuse of a corpse and tampering with evidence in connection with the death of Erica Baker.

Prosecutors said Gabriel admitted he ran over the girl on a rainy afternoon in 1999, but his attorney claimed the confession was coerced after intense police pressure.

Police believe another person in the van that hit Erica was Jan Franks. Franks has since died, and prosecutors are trying to force Franks' attorney in court to tell what she knows about Erica.

But the attorney has resisted, citing attorney-client privilege even though her client is dead.

Gabriel is the only person charged so far in Erica's death

www.channelcincinnati.com/news/5072520/detail.html