Will There Be Justice For Emma Barker?

by katfish | April 14, 2010 at 10:50 pm

926 views | 7 Recommendations | 19 comments

UPDATE BELOW ORIGINAL STORY-

Emma Barker was just 18 months old when her mother, Stacey Barker, 25, led police to her little body on March 19,2009. Emma’s mother had dumped her body along side the Golden State Freeway in Sylmar, CA. twelve hours earlier.

When Emma was first reported missing Stacey Barker claimed she had been attacked and knocked unconscious, when she came to Emma was gone, evidently taken by her attacker(s). Later Barker admitted she had made up the story of the attack and kidnapping, she said Emma had died accidentally and she feared being blamed so she dumped her daughter’s body.

On April 27,2009, Barker was arrested and the charges filed against the young mother include murder, assault on a child causing death and child abuse. The complaint alleges that Barker willfully caused and permitted the child to be injured and harmed and that injury resulted in death. Barker pled not guilty to all counts on August 12, 2009. She has been held at the Century Regional Detention Facility on a one million dollar bond since her arrest.
For more details on this case click here.

There was supposed to be a hearing on Monday, April 12 in the Stacey Barker Murder Case. We had hoped to learn at this hearing if there would be a plea deal or if this case would be going to trial. There was not an actual hearing according to our friends Tori, Ange and TD who attended the “hearing“ and shared what happened in court with katfish….ponders, so that I could share with you. (Thank you friends!)

Public Defender Roberto F. Dager told the court that at 10 am, Stacey Barker was still en-route to the Michael Antonovich Antelope Valley Courthouse in Lancaster, CA. from the Century Regional Detention Facility in Lynwood. It's a 90 mile drive from the jail to the courthouse, one way. Dager told the court that when Barker arrived he wanted to see her for 5 minutes so she could sign some papers. Superior Court Judge Hayden Zackey set the next court date for Thursday, April 29, 2010.

PD Dager was overheard telling a few of Stacey Barker’s family, who had also came to the courthouse for the hearing, there was no use for them to stay because Stacey wouldn’t be seeing the judge today and after signing papers she would be on the bus right back to LA.

Our friends think it is pretty likely that Stacey Barker is accepting a plea deal and noted that Deputy District Attorney S. Kelly Cromer wasn’t present in the courtroom when this "hearing" took place. Had she and the Public Defender already discussed what needed to be discussed before the “hearing“? Hopefully we will find out more on April 29.…stay tuned

Update- 4/30/2010

There was another short hearing held 4/29 in Lancaster, Ca in the Stacey Barker murder case.Just a few short notes from our friends who attend the hearings and share with us:

The defendant's bus was late again coming from the Central Regional Detention Center. While waiting for the defendant to appear, DDA Kelly Cromer and PD Roberto Dager had a "little side conference" in the jury box. Our friend said Dager said "something" to Cromer, to which Cromer was heard to laugh and say," The only deal I'll go for is 15 to Life." With that, the discussion was over until the Barker was brought up to the courtroom. (keep in mind this was just part of a conversation that was over heard, so should be evaluated on that basis, not as fact pertaining to this case, just something you might have heard as well if sitting in the courtroom)

Something that was put on the record is Judge Hayden Zackey's desire to get a court date set in this case. PD Dager told the court he needs more time to interview more witnesses and there was still a question of some discovery. Judge Zackey said," I would like to start TRIAL within the 60 days, this is getting OLD." Zackey added, "I understand the nature and gravity of the crime, but I would like to proceed with trial soon." (Tori's thinks the "this is getting old " statement was in reference to the defendant being brought to court, 90 miles one way, and nothing being accomplished.Given the financial crisis in CA that seems a reasonable assumption.) Another hearing date was set for June 7 and court was recessed.

Our friends noted that Stacey Barker was in GREAT spirits today. When she entered the courtroom she said hi to her boyfriend in a flirtatious manner, during the hearing she was bouncy and laughing with her attorney, and when she was led out of the courtroom by the bailiff (despite an admonition earlier in the case not to have make any contact with the gallery) she turned in a "coy" way and said "BYE" to her family...kind of like she was somewhere other than a court of law.....bidding farewell to her fans. ( LOL, whatever)

Check back, our friends will attend and give us an update of what happens in court on June 7. Hopefully there will be a trial date set so there can be some Justice for Emma.

In this writer's opinion, getting to the Truth = Justice.

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LCoastMom

at 17:15 on April 16th, 2010

Thank you, as usual a great job writing. I love the picture of Emma with the flowers - she just looks so content and peaceful. What a precious angel.

katfish

at 23:06 on April 17th, 2010

Yes she does LCM, my first thought when I saw this picture was, she looks ready to stick that flower in her mouth any minute. LOL

AmyMac (not verified)

at 07:14 on April 23rd, 2010

Thanks for the updates on this case- I live in Michigan and heard about this one night on headline news then never again.. I have a baby girl the same age as Emma and I have been occasionally wondering about this case. So very sad- she was such a beautiful baby with such a big smile. I hope her mother gets the punishment she deserves.

katfish

at 12:59 on April 23rd, 2010

AmyMac,

I'm glad you found us. I'm in IL but met some friends on here who live in Lancaster and are attending the hearings in this case. I have a blog called katfishponders and started writing about the hearings based on their observations, I post the entries here and at my blog. There are some very nice people following this case on here. Right now we are "talking" on the previous thread...Stacey Barker....Will It Be A Plea In March Or A Trial In April? join in anytime. Have you read the entry from the preliminary hearing? Very enlightening and sad. Poor Emma!

greeneyez (not verified)

at 18:22 on April 30th, 2010

I worked w/stacy barker and I saw emma grow in her stomach, we will always show each other pictures of are babies and to think she will do a horrible thing to her own daughter breaks my heart. stacy deserves every punishment she gets.. I new something was up when she took down emma's pictures from her desk 1 week before emma past away..

katfish

at 20:00 on April 30th, 2010

WOW! Green eyes, that is very disturbing. Wasn't Emma a beauty! Some here have the opinion this was a premeditated murder because of the amount of allergy medicine that Emma had in her system. I haven't made up my mind if SB premeditated Emma's death, but after the info that came out of the preliminary hearing, it looks pretty likely this was an intentional act. Even if it was found to be an accident, she was selfish enough to dump Emma in a ditch and make up a huge lie..... Too sad.

Taking down Emma's pictures a week before she died could be what might be called a bad fact.....was she getting tired of the responsibility of caring for a toddler? cutting into boyfriend time? or maybe it was the control that Stacey's parents exerted over her life because they helped care for Emma?

Has anyone from the District Attorney's office been out to interview co-workers about Stacey's behavior close in time to Emma's death? just curious.

LCoastMom

at 22:26 on May 1st, 2010

Ah... heartbreaking. The pain and loss just keeps on growing.

Greeneyes if you haven't told this to the LASD or the DDA Comer you should...

katfish

at 10:27 on May 2nd, 2010

I agree LCM!

LCoastMom

at 16:24 on April 30th, 2010

Thank You my friend, your usual excellent job! I am behind DDA Comer 110% we will have to hope the jury sees the same "Open and Shut Case" we have been watching.

I recently shared with a friend at WS, how - even tho he was out of time, PD Dagar is dragging this out - for all it is worth. We know time is a friend of the defense. Knowing the trial was supposed to start in April, one would think the PD would at least have been thru his witness list - in the last 13 mos he has had to prepare!!

Like Judge Zackey, I can appreciate the nature and gravity of the crime. Rushing justice would likely come back and bite the courts collective backsides repeatedly; and when a perp is released on a technicality - Justice Fails, big time. But driving ms b. 180 miles round trip, twice a month, wasting the courts valuable time, is ridiculous.

We can't allow any of defendant Barkers 'rights' to be shuffled to the side, we get it. I need to know: where does a baby killer get off having such an air of entitlement? How is that she can walk into the courtroom and look family members in the eye? Looking like she is playing at being the star. That, I don't get. .

but I would like to proceed with trial soon."

katfish

at 17:05 on April 30th, 2010

Hey LCmomma :),

Time is definitely a friend of the defense! I don't remember if I mentioned this on the other thread...... I attended a hearing for Sheley yesterday. His attorneys just managed to drag his trial date out another 3-5 months, now it will be Jan-Mar 2011.

Where do you go on WS? I have followed links back from my stat counter to Emma's thread TYVM....I know you sent them{{{HUGS}}}. I haven't ventured any farther though. I have seen some pretty good comments made there that someone C+P to another site.

Hmmm Mr. Katfish says quesadillas are ready.....YUMMMM

TTYL kat

tori a

at 03:00 on June 9th, 2010

LC...

there you go again writting in invisable ink...LOL...was something in the middle?

yeah, I hope the trial is soon tooooo....if all goes good on the 28Th of June and both sides have all they want from each other the Trial will be on the 26Th of July!

Do you think you are going to be out here by the July trial date? if you are PM us and let us know so we can find a place to meet up with you.

Much respect and luv to all my sista's here..ttys T

AmandaB (not verified)

at 07:58 on May 28th, 2010

I went to high school with Stacey. She was a bit younger than me, but her brother Matt is one of my dearest and closest friends. I just cannot believe that she would do something like this. That poor baby girl. I hope justice is served!

katfish

at 13:30 on May 28th, 2010

Hi AmandaB,

Many who know Stacey have commented they can't believe she would do anything like this. I feel so bad for her entire family, this has got to be one of the most difficult periods of their life. I really believe that justice will be served. IMO, Justice = Truth

tori a

at 02:54 on June 9th, 2010

Greeneyez,

I have heard from others that work at BOFA (ex-Countrywide) that SB had taken down ALL the pictures of Emma about a week or more before the murder, she and another person were having problems with each other and one had to be moved to another dept within the company, at that time her attitude and personality had changed quite a bit in the past months and that is around the time she started dating a new guy that his mother works there...from what I was told the new boyfriends family was not fond of SB, I have no Idea if this is the truth or not but the people that say this stuff have said it from the day of the murder and it has come to light in bits and pieces, so I lean towards it being true.

If she was TRULY remorseful and it was a accident she would have just plead guilty and started her sentence, but here we are 15 months later still waiting for justice for Emma WHY? because she does not want to do time, she wants to get in and out in the least amount of time she can so she can get back to her party LIFE, so she allows her PD to use everything in the book to get her off, taking up precious court time and county resources

I do hope the Trial starts on the 26Th of July like Zackey wants it to....

A7XMommy

at 10:38 on June 10th, 2010

Ok sorry, I am continuing from the comment thread that just closed. Are we talking about the same devil dude that was there a few months ago that you guys were saying looked super creepy?! And I thought inmates couldn't have contact with eachother. What's up with that?

And somehow, I think BB is off doing his own thing. He doesn't strike me as the type who would "wait" for her. Of course, I could be wrong, but if that's the case, then for him to be mad about her talking to another guy may seem hypocritical...???

Your story makes sense, Tori. I can see why she would leave Emma there for those reasons. However, if she were trying to make it look like a kidnapping, the way she was, it seems to me that she might try to hide her a little better than she did. I don't know. It's all very strange to me. But, we will soon find out. July 27th, right?

There is another hearing on the 28th of this month, correct? If so, I would really like to try to go to that one. My kids will be out of school which will make it a little easier, and I start back to school on July 6th, so any weekday after that for the next 13 months is pretty much shot.

Hope all is well with you ladies. Thank you for the update from earlier this week. :)

katfish

at 11:59 on June 10th, 2010

Tori,

I hope you can find that news clip. I would LOVE LOVE to see it! I tried to find Craig's story but would have to subscribe to AV news to see it online. If I had known back when this would drag on so long I might have subscribed, hopefully we are at the tail end now....

I took the reference to devil dude out of the post since we aren't absolutely sure he is the inmate ######. I hate to put anything in a post we aren't sure of. There could be another inmate named ###### but I have a feeling you are right. They most likely rode the bus together at least the one time they both appeared before Zackey. After Casey Anthony's letters it is obvious it doesn't take much more than a smile and a wave to bond inmates. I saved what I had written though because it was good....if I say so myself. LOL !

I wonder if SB is in protective custody or if she is in general population? Her case received some national attention but I don't know if it was enough to be considered high profile. There is international interest in the case, I can tell from the stat counter on my blog. I have a feeling she is in g p because early on she had some cornrows, a popular jailhouse 'do.....and hard to do yourself.

7xMommy, I used your picture in the write up from Monday's blog. I will bring the post here to NP and post the link on this thread.Tori said the trial is tenatively set for July 26, did you hear the 27th? The only hearing listed on her booking detail is the June 28 at 8:30, so far. You should try and attend the 28th hearing...it is an interesting experience.

I wonder why BB would continue to attend the hearings if he has moved on? Pity? Guilt? Hmmm

Hey LCM! That would be so cool if you were in Cali at the time of the trial.Did you hear they are digging for Stacy Peterson's body in my neck of the woods? I made a post about it. They seem to be waiting for some equipment that does magnetic imaging right now, not to mention the weather interfering. That Dr. Vass from Oak Ridge lab in TN needs to bring his LABRADOR machine up here. (Discussing it in Casey Anthony case) It is used to detect the gases of a decomposing body. That will be another legal battle getting those findings from her trunk in. If it had actually found Caylee's body (or any body for that matter) it would make it easier to have it's findings admitted..

TTYS, kat

katfish

at 12:18 on June 10th, 2010

Here is a link to new post about June 8 hearing.

http://my.nowpublic.com/culture/trial-date-set-stacey-barker-murder-trial

I don't care which thread we use to chat. :)

kat

tori a

at 16:49 on June 10th, 2010

Mommy,

the pretrial hearing is on the 28TH of June and the Trial is set for the 26Th of July.

And yes it is the same Devil Dude that we talked about months ago.

I am sure that you can write to each other if you are both in Jail, I just don't think you can visist an inmate if you have a felony on your record.

Mommy, come and visit with us on the 28Th it might be boring since it is just to find out if both sides are content with all the evidence they have shared and want nothing else, but on that day we will find out if Trial will start on the projected date...

Kat, this is so strange I can not find anything for av3 news, twc3 news or any news feeds anyplace...shoot that makes me mad....also I ran across a few pictures I have never seen before of Emma, I am gonna send em to you.

tty s T