SHARE Byron Barker, missing hair stylist, being investigated as homicide. Family photo. 09/30/2005 The body of Byron Barker, missing Knoxville hair stylist, was found and identified by Knox County Sheriff's Office Friday. The body of Byron Barker, missing Knoxville hair stylist, was found and identified by Knox County Sheriff's Office Friday.

By Jim Balloch

Authorities have issued a probation violation warrant for Brett Allen Baker, who emerged last year as a suspect in the disappearance and presumed death of Byron Barker, a prominent Knoxville hair stylist whose skeletal remains were found in an East Knox County field.

The Knox County Sheriff's Office and Knoxville Police Department said this morning that the remains found last month are those of Barker, who was 47 when his family reported him missing May 19, 2005. His 2004 Nissan Altima was found in a hotel parking lot in Williamsburg, Ky.

Baker was revealed as a suspect in the case last year, when he was sentenced on a theft charge for stealing Barker's furniture, clothing, computer and antiques. The beauty school dropout claims he met Barker and moved in with him in 2004.

In June 2007, Baker, then 24, was sentenced to nine months in jail for theft, to be followed by monitored probation through June 28, 2009, court records show.

On Nov. 14, however, a state probation officer swore out a warrant accusing Baker of violating the terms of his probation. The warrant states that Baker was arrested on Oct. 5 and charged with public intoxication, simple possession of drugs and making a false report. Court records indicate Baker has not been arrested on that warrant.

Evidence in Barker's car found in Kentucky, including blood in the trunk identified as Barker's, suggested foul play. So does additional evidence recovered where the body was found, according to a joint statement issued today by the Knox County Sheriff's Office and Knoxville Police Department.

Investigators declined to state the exact cause of death, citing the ongoing investigation.

The remains were found Nov. 26 on a farm at 2525 Midway Road. Investigators from the Knox County Sheriff's Office and Knoxville Police Department, along with Dr. Murray Marks, a forensic anthropologist with the Knox County Medical Examiner's Office, returned to the farm Thursday to search for additional evidence.

Barker was well-known for his hairstyling expertise. He collected rare paintings and antiques. He drove a high-priced luxury car. Family members said he began going through a rough time, beginning in 2003 when his father died and his salon burned. He turned to cocaine and began surfing the Web for sexual trysts.

According to the statement released today, Marks identified the remains after meeting Tuesday with KPD Investigator Steve Still and reviewing information gathered during the missing person investigation.

Baker told a probation officer that he worked at Barker's salon as a shampooer.

According to investigators, Baker lied about Barker's whereabouts to relatives and police, wore Barker's clothes and stole his belongings.

He also hacked into Barker's computer and erased every file, e-mail message or trace of Internet history that linked him to Barker, and declined to take a polygraph.

According to a probation report, Baker more than once has found not only a paramour but a financial supporter via the Internet.

Baker insisted he had nothing to do with Barker's disappearance and told Still that Barker had met someone else online and was supposed to meet that person on the day he disappeared.

Get the complete story Saturday online and in the News Sentinel.