• Publication: The Red and Black (University of Georgia student newspaper)
• Author: Todd South
• Original Publication Date: Wednesday, September 14, 2005

The Athens Banner-Herald has filed a lawsuit against the Athens-Clarke County Police Department seeking access to information about two unsolved University student murders.

The complaint — filed Friday — stems from newspaper officials’ belief that the department is in violation of the Georgia Open Records Act, which provides the public with broad access to certain government records and documents.

The Banner-Herald submitted an Open Records request for information on the murder investigations of Jennifer Stone and Tara Baker, said Davis Dunaway, the newspaper’s attorney.

Stone’s body was discovered by three of her friends in her 187 Hull St. apartment on April 23, 1992.

Police determined strangulation as the cause of death, and they found evidence of sexual assault.

Firefighters found Baker’s body Jan. 19, 2001, while responding to fires set in her 160 Fawn Drive residence.

The police have denied the newspaper’s request for information on the murders, citing an exemption in the law for ongoing investigations, Dunaway said.

“We disagree with the police department on their definition of ongoing investigation,” said Jason Winders, executive editor of the Banner-Herald.

“We were not prompted by the families (of the victims),” Winders said. “We were prompted by years of what we feel is stonewalling.”

Winders said the Banner-Herald is looking for a neutral third party to review the information on the murder cases and make a decision on whether to release the information to the public.

Dunaway said the ACC police have 30 days to respond to the complaint and that there are multiple possibilities for the case.

One potential outcome is a hearing before the judge where the lawyers argue each side, he said.

Another possibility is that the judge can look at the information on the murder cases and decide whether or not releasing it will harm the investigation, he said.

Sandi Turner, public information officer for Athens-Clarke County, said it is policy not to comment on pending litigation.

Stone’s murder case has remained unsolved after 13 years.

About 70 of Stone’s friends and acquaintances were questioned, but police did not name any suspects at that time.

Stone’s apartment did not appear to have been ransacked, police told The Red & Black at the beginning of the investigation.

Two months after her death, a pair of her cameras were found in the possession of three local men. But police were unable to trace the cameras to the man who reportedly traded them for crack-cocaine, according to the Banner-Herald.

The Baker murder case has been under investigation for more than four years.

ACC police released information on the investigation — a description of a man seen fleeing the area near the murder and that her laptop computer was missing from her residence — nearly two years after the crime.

Neither victims’ parents could be reached for comment. But in a 2002 interview, Baker’s father told The Red & Black, “What we got from the powers-that-be is lip service — and not very good lip service.”

ACC police actions — handling of evidence, lack of communication — frustrated the Bakers, they said.

ACC police also kept the Bakers from identifying their daughter’s body from photographs for nearly three months after her death and burial, they said.

The case has been assigned to Judge Lawton Stephens’ court, but no hearing has been set, said a superior court clerk.

— Contributing: Staff Reports

KEY DEVELOPMENTS

Jennifer Stone

• April 23, 1992 — The body of Jennifer Stone is discovered in her Hull St. apartment

• June 1992 — A pair of cameras belonging to Stone are found in the possession of three local men, but police are unable to trace cameras

Tara Baker

• January 19, 2001 — Firefighters find the body of Tara Baker while responding to the fire set in her Fawn Drive home

• January 2002 — In an interview with The Red & Black, Baker’s father expresses frustrations with Athens-Clarke County police actions

• November 2002 — ACC police release information about the investigation, including the description of a man seen fleeing the area