On Wednesday, January 21, 2026, FOX 5 Atlanta reported that Judge Lisa Lott will continue to oversee the case against Edrick Faust, who is accused of the decades-old murder of University of Georgia law student Tara Baker.
The decision came after defense attorneys argued that Judge Lott, presiding in Athens-Clarke County Superior Court, demonstrated bias against their client and requested her removal. A hearing was held on the motion, and a second judge ruled that Lott will remain on the case.
During a subsequent hearing, the defense revealed that their strategy involves implicating another individual in Baker’s murder. Prosecutors responded by arguing that the defense must share this information with the court before the trial commences.
Legal experts have noted the unusual number of pre-trial challenges. Kay Levine, a professor at Emory Law School, stated that a judge recusing herself due to numerous errors before the trial is uncommon, adding that the defense appears to have several concerns. Levine suggested that prosecutors consider joining the recusal request to ensure any future verdict is free from potential grounds for appeal.
Faust’s defense team has also filed a separate motion to exclude evidence from a 2001 incident where Faust allegedly cut a man named Christian Foster. They argue that the two incidents are distinct, highlighting the “extraordinary efforts” to conceal the crime in Baker’s murder, contrasting it with Faust’s public encounter with Foster.
The case against Faust stems from the 2001 murder of Tara Baker, a University of Georgia law student. Baker was last seen on the evening of January 18, 2001, at the university’s law library, shortly before her 24th birthday. The following morning, firefighters discovered her body in her off-campus apartment after responding to a fire that investigators determined was intentionally set to conceal her murder.
Prosecutors allege that Faust beat, stabbed, and sexually assaulted Baker before setting her Athens home on fire. Advances in forensic technology later allowed the Georgia Bureau of Investigation to identify Faust as a suspect more than two decades after the killing. Faust was arrested in May 2024 and charged with a 12-count indictment, including malice murder, felony murder, rape, aggravated sodomy, and arson.
Source: FOX 5 Atlanta
