00:00But first, new details in a disturbing case out of Apache County.
00:04A 10-year-old girl murdered her father, one of two people arrested in connection to her death.
00:10He and his girlfriend appearing in court this morning.
00:13ABC 15's Ashley Holden listened in and heard from those who knew this little girl,
00:18calling her death preventable.
00:20Ashley, some of these details are just tough to hear.
00:23And that includes her former school administrators.
00:25There are the ones that are calling 10-year-old Rebecca Baptiste's death preventable.
00:30We want to warn you, some of these details in this story may be tough to hear.
00:35Over a long period of time, this child was subjected to some horrendous condition.
00:42In court, Apache County prosecutors describing the injuries of 10-year-old Rebecca Baptiste.
00:46I have marked, for the court's consideration, exhibits two, three, and four,
00:52which are excerpts from some of the hospital records regarding Rebecca, the victim who died,
00:59indicating both acute, so some very recent significant injuries that she sustains.
01:06Subdural hematomas, bruising up and down her entire body, missing toenails,
01:12and then also long-term care issues.
01:16While we still don't know her cause of death, a newly obtained police report says on July 27th,
01:21it was Rebecca's dad, Richard Baptiste, and his girlfriend, Anicia Woods, who called 911,
01:27saying Rebecca was not breathing, telling police she had run away and had been found by a neighbor.
01:32But both Richard and Woods were arrested.
01:34The little girl was taken to Phoenix Children's, where she died three days later.
01:38An actual medical diagnosis said that the above findings are highly concerning for child physical abuse,
01:45child sexual abuse, and torture.
01:47Prosecutors allege two other children in the home also had injuries.
01:50A new complaint says Rebecca's dad and Woods are now charged with first-degree murder and child abuse.
01:56Rebecca was an absolutely beautiful human.
02:01She was one of our best students.
02:03The Empower College Prep community left grieving.
02:06ABC 15 was told Rebecca and two of her siblings were students there
02:10until family says they recently moved out of the valley.
02:14Administrators say staff reported suspected abuse or neglect
02:17to the Arizona Department of Child Safety 12 times in the last year.
02:22In terms of what you guys did see, what kind of prompted you to report?
02:28On more than one occasion, and more than one of the Baptiste scholars shared that they felt unsafe
02:35or that they did not want to return home, they would make allegations and have markings on them
02:41that were evident, that aligned with the allegations that they made.
02:45Administrators say DCS told them the case had been assigned to an investigator at least four times,
02:51but now they want answers.
02:53Do you feel like the state let these kids down?
02:57Absolutely, we believe that the lack of absolute follow-through or investigation
03:04to support these kids and keep them safe both physically, psychologically, mentally, emotionally was not done.
03:13Richard Baptiste and Anicia Woods were granted a $1 million bond.
03:17They are set to be back in court for a preliminary hearing in early September.
03:22Back to you.
03:23Ashley, thanks.
03:23Our team coverage on this big story continues with ABC 15's Senior Investigator Melissa Blazius
03:28pressing the Department of Child Safety for answers.
03:31Melissa?
03:32Faye, there are so many questions tonight about who could have intervened
03:36and what more could have been done to prevent the horrible end to Rebecca Baptiste's life.
03:41Tonight, the Arizona Department of Child Safety is acknowledging
03:45that their workers did know the murdered 10-year-old and her family.
03:48We asked specifically about how many times they got complaints of abuse involving this little girl
03:53and the outcome of those investigations, but DCS is not yet giving us details of the extent of its involvement.
04:01However, DCS is promising a thorough review, issuing a statement saying,
04:05the goal is to identify and understand any systemic barriers that may have influenced the outcome
04:12and to implement data-driven systemic changes to prevent such tragedies in the future.
04:17Despite our expertise in child safety, DCS says we cannot predict the future
04:22and must operate within the boundaries of our legal authority.
04:27DCS also saying the department is collaborating with law enforcement on a joint investigation
04:32to ensure the people responsible for this heinous act are brought to justice.
04:36The Child Protection Agency is also saying,
04:39tragically, those who intend to harm children can sometimes evade even the most robust systems designed to protect them.
04:48And as Ashley Holden mentioned in her report just a few minutes ago,
04:51this family had been living in Phoenix for years,
04:53and then they abruptly moved to rural Apache County within the last few months.
04:58I'm Senior Investigator Melissa Balazius, ABC 15, Arizona.
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