A 10-year-old jumped from a two-story window in a bid to escape her stepmom and dad before she was ultimately tortured to death, according to police.
Rebekah Baptiste was found unresponsive on a highway in Holbrook, Arizona, in July after allegedly enduring months of abuse at the hands of her parents.
She was rushed to hospital where she died days later from ‘non-accidental trauma’.
Doctors said the little girl showed signs of sexual abuse and had ‘severe bruising throughout her body’ as well as ‘possible cigarette burns’ to her back and ‘missing chunks of hair’.
Her father Richard Baptiste, 32, and his girlfriend Anicia Woods, 29, were arrested and charged with first-degree murder and child abuse.
Prosecutors described the horrific physical and sexual abuse Rebekah allegedly suffered in the lead-up to her death.
The abuse became so horrific that Rebekah ran away from home several times, including once when she ‘jumped out of the second story window at their apartment in Phoenix,’ according to court documents seen by Law & Crime.
In bodycam footage of the moment police found Rebekah unresponsive on the highway, Woods is seen telling officers about the little girl’s escape attempt.
Rebekah Baptiste, 10, died after being tortured by her father and his girlfriend, police said
Richard Baptiste, pictured, and his longtime girlfriend were charged with first-degree murder
Anicia Woods allegedly admitted she hit the children and said she acted as their mother
‘She just ran away before we came up here. That one was super scary,’ Woods said.
‘She jumped, she kicked out a screen and jumped out a good two-story window a week before we moved here.’
Woods did not reveal why the little girl allegedly tried to flee.
Prosecutors said Rebekah was running to a well to try to get water and find someone who could help her.
Before Rebekah’s death, Baptiste and Woods put her and her younger siblings, aged 8 and 6, through brutal exercise as punishment including ‘laps and planks’ around their home, according to officials.
Teachers at the school Rebekah and her siblings attended until May saw the signs of abuse but the children would make up ‘stories to protect their parents’ when asked, according to court documents.
‘For instance, [the 8-year-old] said he got scratched on the neck because he did not clean up, and the following day, the 6-year-old changed his story completely, stating “his mom didn’t scratch him because he wasn’t cleaning, it was because he was playing outside, and he was falling and mom tried catching him,”‘ court documents show.
Prosecutors allege Baptiste and Woods admitted to hitting the children.
Baptiste said he hit Rebekah ‘with the belt approximately 10 times, with a pain level between 1-10 at a 7, and said he used “excessive force”‘.
The Arizona Department of Child Safety had received dozens of complaints dating back to 2015 about Baptiste and Woods and was investigating them when Rebekah died.
Rebekah and her siblings had been removed from Baptiste’s home at least once in the past but he then regained custody.
The family had moved from Phoenix to a rural area of Apache County about 200 miles north three weeks before Rebekah’s alleged murder. They were reportedly living in a Yurt without reliable electricity and no shower.
On surveillance footage of the moment police found Rebekah unresponsive on the highway, Woods tells officers Rebekah had tried to run away from home several times. Baptiste is seen on the left
The family was reportedly living in a Yurt without reliable electricity and no shower in Arizona
Richard Baptiste and Anicia Woods were also charged with child abuse over their treatment of his two younger sons
DCS said they received another complaint about the family in May but were unable to locate them after their move.
‘The Department was continuing efforts to locate the family when the report of the near fatality incident was received,’ the agency said in a statement.
The most recent report involving Rebekah said she was forced to ‘run as a form of punishment, while not allowing her bathroom or water breaks’.
As previously reported, Rebekah’s uncle Damon Hawkins said Rebekah ‘was black and blue from her head to toe’ and had two black eyes when she died.
Hawkins said he and his wife had alerted Child Services after noticing red flags but his reports were ignored.
‘I made it clear to the investigator and DCS that the system failed her. We have logs and logs of the times where, over the past years where they’ve been contacted, of the worry that we had,’ Hawkins said.
‘We got word of sexual abuse about a year and a half ago, and they [DCS] turned a blind eye to it.’
Dawkins said he repeatedly asked to see Rebekah and her siblings but was turned away by her guardians.
‘[Rebekah] was my biggest concern. The answer we always got was, “they’re kids, they’re in trouble. They’re in trouble,”‘ Hawkins said.
Rebekah ‘was black and blue from her head to toe’ and had two black eyes the last time her uncle saw her
Woods, 29, and Baptiste, 32, were charged with first-degree murder and child abuse after her death
Rebekah’s uncle Damon Hawkins said Rebekah ‘was black and blue from her head to toe’ and had two black eyes when she died
Dawkins said the last time he saw the children, he could see fear in their eyes when it was time for them to go back home.
Baptiste and Woods are expected to be tried together.
A judge set a bond of $1 million each and they remain in custody.
DCS said in a statement: ‘It is with a heavy heart that we acknowledge the death of Rebekah Baptiste, a child who was known to the Department. Any time a child in our community is harmed, it deeply affects us all. 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.
‘In response to this incident, the Department is actively collaborating with law enforcement in a joint investigation to ensure that the people responsible for this heinous act are brought to justice.
‘The Department’s Safety Analysis Review Team will also be conducting a thorough review of this case to identify and understand any systemic barriers that may have influenced the outcome, and to implement changes as necessary.’
