The Arizona Department of Child Safety is facing intense scrutiny after a 10-year-old girl was allegedly murdered with disturbing signs of torture.
On July 27, Rebekah Baptiste was found unresponsive with “severe injuries” in Holbrook, a small city in northeastern Arizona. She was hospitalized and died three days later.
‘She was black and blue from her head to toe. She had two black eyes, and they’re thinking the cause of death was because of a hemorrhage.’
The girl’s father, Richard Baptiste, and his girlfriend, Anicia Woods, were arrested and charged with first-degree murder in relation to her death. On Monday, the couple appeared in court, and prosecutors presented some of the shocking evidence in the case.
Doctors who examined the girl said she was malnourished, dehydrated, and appeared to have been tortured. Prosecutors said she had bruises all over her body, had been starved, and had some toenails missing.
“The above findings are highly concerning for child physical abuse, sexual abuse, and torture, which is a surprisingly shocking, strong word for a medical doctor,” a prosecutor said, according to KPHO-TV.
Family members of the girl are demanding accountability from DCS, which they claim was repeatedly warned about signs of abuse and could have prevented the girl’s death.
“She spent the last four days in the hospital by herself, and the only thing DCS can say is, ‘I’m sorry you weren’t informed,'” said Damon Hawkins, the girl’s uncle.
“She was black and blue from her head to toe. She had two black eyes, and they’re thinking the cause of death was because of a hemorrhage,” he added.
Hawkins also said that a medical examiner told him the final results would take up to a year.
“I made it clear to the investigator and DCS that the system failed her,” he added. “We have logs and logs of the times … where they’ve been contacted of the worry that we had. We got word of sexual abuse about a year and a half ago, and they [DCS] turned a blind eye to it.”
KPHO said Rebekah and her two younger brothers had attended Empower College Prep until May and that the school told them they had reached out to DCS a dozen separate times. The school said DCS did not take any meaningful action.
“We firmly believe that this child’s death could have been prevented. The lack of timely and effective response from the Department of Child Safety demands accountability. We owe it to this child, and to every child in our community, to ask difficult questions and expect better from the systems designed to protect them,” reads the statement from the school in part.
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DCS released a statement to KPHO saying it was cooperating with the police investigation and reviewing its policies in relation to the case.
The couple were held on a $1 million bond.
The Apache County Sheriff’s Office lists a slew of charges against Richard Baptiste, including murder, child molestation, child abuse, sexual assault, endangerment with imminent death, sexual conduct with a minor, kidnapping, and dangerous crimes against children, all felonies.
Defense said during court that the two boys in the home were in the custody of DCS.
Holbrook has a population of about 5,000 residents.
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