A 10-year-old girl who once jumped from a second-floor window begging strangers to save her from abuse was later sent back home — and months later, she was dead.
Rebekah Baptiste was found unresponsive on a highway in Holbrook, Arizona, on July 27. She later died in the hospital. Investigators say she had been abused and neglected for years. Her father, Richard Baptiste, 32, and his girlfriend, Anicia Woods, 29, were arrested and charged with first-degree murder, aggravated assault, child abuse, and kidnapping.
Nine months before her death, Rebekah had tried to escape.
According to investigators, the little girl jumped from a second-floor apartment window and ran for help. She went to a nearby QuikTrip and told the store manager that her stepmother was hurting her. Despite this, police later returned her to the same home.
At the time, Rebekah was just nine years old.
She told authorities that Woods made her run laps as punishment and had hit her with a brush on the back of her hand, according to ABC15. A report said she was also hit with a belt on her feet. Officers noted bruises and red marks on both of her feet.
Rebekah explained that she ran away after getting into trouble. She said Woods thought she was pretending to be asleep. That was when she escaped through the window.
She later spoke to police during an interview at Phoenix Children’s Hospital in October, after running away again. Hospital staff contacted the Department of Child Safety (DCS) after examining her, according to reports.
During that interview, Rebekah showed officers more injuries. She had a bloody lip and marks on her fingers, along with other visible injuries. When asked about what had been happening to her, she said, “It has happened a lot,” according to the report.
In a court hearing held in September, prosecutors described how dangerous her escape had been.
“She jumped from a two–story window in an apartment complex,” said Apache County Deputy Sheriff Kole Soderquist.
Despite all this, Rebekah’s father and stepmother denied abusing her. They claimed she was hurting herself instead. Police later said the case did not move forward because there were conflicting stories and not enough witnesses.
Because of that decision, Rebekah was sent back to live with the same adults she had accused.
Prosecutors now say the abuse did not stop.
They believe it continued until the day she died.
Records show that starting in 2015, there were 12 separate reports made about concerns for Rebekah’s safety. Still, she remained in the home.
On July 27, she was rushed to the hospital after being found unresponsive. She died three days later from what the Arizona Department of Child Safety described as “non-accidental trauma.” She was just 10 years old. Officials believe she had no family with her when she died.
Doctors who examined her said the injuries were severe. They reported signs of sexual abuse. They also noted that she was missing chunks of hair, had heavy bruising all over her body, and had what appeared to be cigarette burns on her back.
Body camera footage later showed the moment police found Rebekah unresponsive. In that video, her stepmother talked to officers about Rebekah trying to escape.
“She just ran away before we came up here,” Woods said. “That one was super scary.”
She also told police, “[Rebekah] jumped, she kicked out a screen and jumped out a good two–story window a week before we moved here.”
Prosecutors said Rebekah had been running toward a well, likely trying to get water and find help.
Before her death, Rebekah and her two younger brothers were students at Empower College Prep in Phoenix. Teachers there reportedly noticed concerning behavior. According to court documents, staff said the children often made up “stories to protect their parents” when questioned.
Prosecutors also said Woods and Baptiste admitted to hitting the children.
Rebekah’s father told investigators that he had hit her with a belt “approximately ten times.” He described the pain level as a seven out of ten and admitted that he had used “excessive force.”
At one point in the past, Rebekah and her siblings had been removed from Baptiste’s care. However, custody was later returned to him.
Before Rebekah’s death, the family moved from Phoenix to a rural area in Apache County, about 300 miles north.
Her uncle, Damon Hawkins, spoke publicly about what he says the family tried to report for years. He said Rebekah was badly injured when she died.
“She was black and blue from her head to toe,” Hawkins said. “She had two black eyes.”
He said he and his wife contacted Child Services many times, warning them about abuse. He said those warnings were ignored.
“I made it clear to the investigator and DCS that the system failed her,” Hawkins told AZFamily. “We have logs and logs of the times where, over the past years where they’ve been contacted, of the worry that we had.”
He also said there were concerns about sexual abuse long before Rebekah died.
“We got word of sexual abuse about a year and a half ago, and they [DCS] turned a blind eye to it,” he said.
After Rebekah’s death, the Arizona Department of Child Safety released a statement acknowledging that she had been known to the agency.
“Any time a child in our community is harmed, it deeply affects us all,” the statement said. “Our dedicated staff work tirelessly to ensure the safety of all children. Tragically, those who intend to harm children sometimes evade even the most robust systems designed to protect them.”
Richard Baptiste and Anicia Woods are both scheduled to return to court in January. Their trial is set for June.
