Zahra Baker’s stepmother is finishing her murder sentence. What’s next:

HICKORY, N.C. — The only person ever convicted in the murder of 10-year-old Zahra Baker will finish up her sentence in North Carolina this week.

It’s hard to forget the tragic death of the young girl back in 2010 -- her stepmother, Elisa Baker, pleaded guilty to second-degree murder. She was sentenced to nearly 15 years in prison.

The search for Zahra was extensive; deputies spent weeks searching for evidence in the family’s Hickory home, ripping up floorboards, cutting holes in the ceiling, and hoping for answers behind the pink walls.

But while Elisa’s sentence is up tomorrow, she won’t be walking out of prison. After being convicted of Zahra’s murder, Elisa was also convicted of drug charges and sentenced to ten years of federal prison time.

SEE IT > The law that was inspired by Zahra Baker case has taken effect

In Caldwell County, a memorial honors Zahra’s life at a playground near Jake Icenhour’s property. He spearheaded efforts to build the memorial after some of Zahra’s remains were found in the area. Many of the stuffed animals and photos have been at the memorial since it was built more than 13 years ago.

“I’ve been all over the world and I’ve never heard anybody doing a kid that way. It’s just unreal. You stop and think about it, and it’s hard to believe,” Icenhour told Channel 9’s Dave Faherty.

Police were first called in 2010 about Zahra’s disappearance, and they initially focused their investigation on Adam Baker, Zahra’s father. But cell phone records showed Elisa was in the area where Zahra’s remains were found, while Adam was at work near Conover.

Timeline: The Zahra Baker case

Oct. 9, 2010, approximately 2:30 a.m.: Zahra is reportedly last seen sleeping in her bedroom at her Hickory home.

• Oct. 9, 2010, approximately 2 p.m.: Zahra is reported missing by her father and stepmother.

• Morning of Oct. 10, 2010: Zahra’s stepmother is arrested on several charges unrelated to the case. The charges include writing bad checks and failing to return property.

• Afternoon of Oct. 10, 2010: Police gather surveillance video from businesses near the home to put together a better timeline of events leading to Zahra’s disappearance. Dozens of police officers go door to door, handing out Zahra’s pictures.

Investigators also follow up on a call to the Hickory Fire Department from the Bakers’ home, where a small fire started on the front lawn.

• Morning of Oct. 11, 2010: Zahra’s father appears on “Good Morning America” to plead with anyone with information about Zahra’s disappearance to come forward.

• Afternoon of Oct. 11, 2010: Hickory Police Chief Tom Adkins holds a brief press conference to update the public on the 10-year-old’s disappearance. A search warrant is released that reveals more details about the case. According to the warrant, investigators who responded to the brush fire outside the Bakers’ home found a ransom note inside of a Chevrolet Tahoe that was parked outside.

• Afternoon of Oct. 12, 2010: Hickory police obtain a warrant for Zahra’s stepmother after they said she admitted to writing and leaving the ransom note. Elisa is charged with felony obstruction of justice.

• Evening of Oct. 12, 2010: Police search a wooded area late into the night. The area is dozens of miles from where Zahra was reportedly last seen, down a dead-end dirt road off of Hartland Road, north of Morganton. They search around a wood chipper and in mulch piles.

• Morning of Oct. 13, 2010: Zahra’s stepmother appears in court.

• Evening of Oct. 13, 2010: Investigators drain a pond and use a dog to sniff through piles of mulch and tree-trimming equipment. About 150 people gather at a candlelight vigil at East Hickory Baptist Church.

• Oct. 14, 2010: Police launch a massive search at a remote property north of Morganton, but it comes up empty.

• Oct. 15, 2010: Zahra’s father is with investigators at the home where Zahra reportedly went missing. K-9s were also seen at the home, searching in wood piles behind it. A plastic bag, a mattress and a box spring are taken out of the home by investigators.

• Oct. 16, 2010: Investigators narrow the timeline of when Zahra was last seen by someone other than a family member to Sept. 25. Police continue to ask the public to contact them with any information that could assist in the case.

• Oct. 17, 2010: K-9 teams continue to search areas identified by tips and interviews.

• Oct. 19, 2010: The 911 call made by Zahra’s father is released.

• Morning of Oct. 20, 2010: Zahra’s stepmother appears in court for a bond hearing. A judge increases her bond from $40,000 to $65,000, citing “disturbing and unsettling” allegations surrounding the charge.

• Afternoon of Oct. 20, 2010: A team of investigators begins searching a landfill in Lenoir in connection with Zahra’s disappearance. In a news conference, Chief Adkins would say only that searchers are looking for a “piece of evidence.”

• Oct. 22, 2010: Police end the landfill search and announce that they were searching for a mattress belonging to Zahra. Searchers tested several mattresses found in the landfill, but did not find Zahra’s, police said.

• Oct. 25, 2010: Zahra’s father is arrested on charges unrelated to her disappearance. Zahra’s stepmother is taken out of jail and leads investigators to three locations in the search for the missing girl.

• Oct. 26, 2010: A mattress matching the description of the one police have been searching for is found. An employee at the Lenoir landfill found it while re-grading the area investigators searched. The mattress is being tested for DNA evidence.

• Oct. 27, 2010: Police announce that a prosthetic leg was found the day before in a rural area off Christie Road in Caldwell County.

• Nov. 1, 2010: Police confirm the prosthetic leg found on Oct. 26 is Zahra’s. They matched its serial number to the number on medical records that detectives collected from Zahra’s native Australia.

• Nov. 3, 2010: Investigators find a bone in Caldwell County that they said may be related to the case. The bone was sent to the medical examiner’s office in Chapel Hill for further examination.

• Nov. 8, 2010: District attorney asks the state attorney general to speed up testing on evidence in the case.

• Nov. 9, 2010: Six Crime Stoppers organizations offer up to $1,000 each for information about Zahra’s disappearance.

• Nov. 10, 2010: Searchers find human remains in the Dudley Shoals area of Caldwell County.

• Nov. 11, 2010: Zahra Baker’s biological mother, who lives in Australia, travels to Hickory and visits the memorial outside of the Bakers’ Hickory home.

• Nov. 12, 2010: Chief Adkins announces that investigators have recovered enough physical evidence to believe they’ve found Zahra. DNA evidence from the bone found on Nov. 3 matches a DNA sample taken from Zahra’s home, and the remains found on Nov. 10 are consistent with those of a child, he said.

• Nov. 29, 2010: Warrants in the investigation are released that say Zahra was sexually abused and dismembered.

• Jan. 18, 2011: Elisa Baker is indicted on bigamy charges. An Associated Press report shows Baker had at least seven husbands.

• Feb. 21, 2011: A grand jury indicts Elisa Baker for second-degree murder. A report from the medical examiner’s office is released and lists Zahra’s cause of death as “undetermined homicidal violence.”

• July 12, 2011: Elisa Baker’s attorney files a change of venue motion, saying his client can’t get a fair trial in the Catawba County area.

• Sept. 15, 2011: Elisa Baker sentenced to 18 years after pleading guilty to second-degree murder.

• Nov. 17, 2011: Ground was broken for a playground dedicated to Zahra Baker on Nov. 16, which would have been the girl’s 12th birthday.

• Dec. 1, 2011: A law inspired by Zahra Baker’s case went into effect in North Carolina.

• Dec. 7, 2011: It is announced that Zahra Baker’s remains were released to a funeral home sometime in November.

• Jan. 5, 2012: Elisa Baker pleads guilty to conspiring to distribute and possess drugs.

• April, 2012: A skull was found off Winkler Way near Highway 268, Hickory police said. The skull was sent away for DNA testing.

• May 19, 2012: The Zahra Baker Memorial Playground is official opened and dedicated to the memory of Zahra.

• Feb. 21, 2013: DNA testing confirms the skull found off Winkler Way near Highway 268 identified as that of Zahra Baker, Hickory police said.

In 2013, Faherty interviewed Elisa in prison. She said Zahra had been sick and died at home. She has not responded to our recent interview requests, but in 2013, she placed much of the blame on Zahra’s father.

Elisa Baker speaks from prison about murder of 10-year-old Zahra For the first time on Wednesday night, Eyewitness News is hearing from the only person convicted in the murder of 10-year-old Zahra Baker.

(WATCH ABOVE: Elisa Baker speaks from prison about murder of 10-year-old Zahra)

Adam spoke to us after her disappearance, but he said he didn’t know if Elisa had been involved in Zahra going missing.

Law enforcement from across Catawba, Caldwell and Burke counties conducted large searches for all of Zahra’s remains. Major Aaron Barlowe helped with those searches and says the case has helped law enforcement and child services work together on investigations involving abuse. He says what happened to Zahra is something no one here will ever forget.

“Very heartbreaking,” said Maj. Aaron Barlowe with the Caldwell County Sheriff’s Office, “when you think about such a sweet little girl and special little girl and how something that evil can be done to her.”

Elisa will finish up her state time at the women’s facility in Anson County at midnight Tuesday. At some point Wednesday, she will be transferred to a federal prison to serve an additional 10 years. That sentence doesn’t include the possibility of parole.

(VIDEO: Zahra Baker’s Father Speaks)