HICKORY, N.C., Nov. 17 (UPI) -- Zahra Baker's father says he had nothing to do with the dismemberment of his daughter, whose remains have been identified by North Carolina authorities.
Zahra's stepmother, Elisa Baker, told investigators the child, who had lost her left leg in a battle with cancer, was dismembered after she was dead and her remains were disposed of in several different locations, ABC news reported.
"There's no way I would do that to my baby," Adam Baker told CBS News affiliate WBTV. "There's no way in the world I would hurt my daughter."
Elisa Baker is in jail on charges including obstruction of justice for allegedly admitted to writing a fake ransom note following her 10-year-old stepdaughter's disappearance.
In jailhouse letters, Elisa Baker said her husband, Adam, did something "horrifying" to Zahra after she was dead.
Those claims were nothing more than a "desperate" attempt at distraction, Adam Baker's attorney told ABC News.
Hundreds of people showed up last night in Hickory, N.C., for a vigil to remember and honor Zahra on what would have been her 11th birthday.
Baker told WBTV that he wanted to go but didn't want his presence to be a distraction.
He can't go anywhere without people yelling at him and accusing him of murder, Baker told WBTV.
