CALDWELL COUNTY, N.C. — A law sparked by the death of 10-year-old Zahra Baker took effect Thursday.
It will serve as a tool for prosecutors in cases like Zahra’s, in which a body has been dismembered.
More than a year after Zahra's death, someone has placed Christmas decorations around where some of her remains were found in Caldwell County.
Dorthea Cooper, who visits the site often, is a strong supporter of the new law but said she doesn't think it would have stopped the crime. Zahra’s stepmother, Elisa Baker, pleaded guilty to second-degree murder in the case.
“No, I don't think she would because she’s a sick individual,” Cooper said.
The new law makes it illegal to dismember or desecrate a body to conceal it from police, which is what happened in the Zahra Baker case.
District Attorney Jay Gaither was one of the people who led the effort to get the law passed. Gaither also doesn't believe the law would have stopped Baker from killing Zahra, but said it would have helped prosecutors and police in other ways.
“I don't see this as being a deterrent, but a punishment,” Gaither said. “Some conduct is so heinous and so unpredictable that really, the punishment probably isn't going to deter somebody from doing (something) but there should be that punishment there.”
Gaither said if the new law had been in effect at the time of Zahra's death, it could have added seven years of jail time to Elisa Baker's sentence.
Clark Devier could see police from his front porch on the day they recovered Zahra's remains near his home. He said he often thinks of the 10-year-old and is pleased with efforts to make the law tougher.
“It is just heartbreaking that people could do a child like that,” he said. “This new law coming in, I think is a great law.”