Latest news with #RebekahBaptiste
Daily Mail
6 days ago
- Daily Mail
Arizona stepmother's chilling 911 calls after daughter was tortured to death
The stepmother accused of brutally torturing a 10-year-old girl to death called 911 three times before she died, it has emerged. Rebekah Baptiste was found unresponsive in her Holbrook, Arizona home on July 27. She was battered, malnourished, and covered in bruises. She died in hospital three days later - with no family by her bedside. Rebekah's father Richard Baptiste and his longtime girlfriend Anicia Woods have been charged with first-degree murder, kidnapping and three counts of child abuse in connection to the young girl's death. SCROLL DOWN FOR VIDEO Woods called 911 on July 27 to report that she was taking her daughter - later identified as Rebekah - to an emergency medical service station because she was not breathing. The stepmother, whose tone lacked a sense of urgency, claimed Rebekah suffered breathing problems after running away in the desert for a third time. In subsequent calls, Woods oddly claimed she was 'breathing for Rebekah' and when asked by dispatch if she knew CPR, replied: 'Yes I do, unfortunately.' Rebekah and her brothers lived with Baptiste and Woods in Phoenix until this summer when the family relocated to a yurt in Apache County, roughly 300 miles away from the capital city. Prosecutors allege Rebekah was a victim of prolonged physical and sexual abuse. Woods called emergency services on July 27 to report that her 'daughter' was found unresponsive and was struggling to breathe. The chilling 911 calls, published by KPHO, reveal how Woods seemingly dodged the question when dispatch asked what was wrong with the young girl. 'She's been running away, but when she ran away today and the neighbor found her. She's just been completely unresponsive, I'm sitting here giving her breath,' Woods said. 'We're going towards Holbrook. We're told there's an EMS station in Holbrook,' she added before the call dropped. The family's residence in the rural community of Hunt is located about 40 miles southeast of where the first 911 call was made. Woods called back 17 minutes later and was asked if Rebekah was breathing. 'I'm breathing for her,' the stepmother replied, prompting the 911 operator to ask: 'What do you mean?' 'I am putting my mouth around hers and breathing in her mouth, yes,' Woods said. Dispatch urged Woods to pull over so paramedics could get to them, but the call got disconnected again. Woods called 911 for a third time and was instructed to begin administering CPR, but was seemingly reluctant. 'Have you got her to a flat ground? Solid ground?' the 911 operator asked. 'Yeah, well, she's in the car,' Woods replied. 'I need you to put her on the ground,' the dispatcher urged. Woods replied: 'On the rocks?' 'I need her on a flat ground so you can administer CPR,' the operator elaborated. Thirty seconds passed before the dispatcher asked: 'Do you know how to do the CPR?' Woods, in a stoic tone, answered: 'Yes I do, unfortunately. I hear the EMS coming.' The operator asked if Woods was 'wanting to start CPR or wait for EMS' but the stepmother said she was 'waiting for them because I'm giving her breaths'. Rebekah died in the hospital three days later on July 30. Doctors said she was malnourished, dehydrated, and had been tortured. Damon Hawkins, the girl's uncle, said she had two black eyes and was 'black and blue from her head to toe'. Hawkins claims he made repeated reports to Arizona's Department of Child Safety (DCS), including allegations of sexual abuse. He said Baptiste and Woods blocked him from seeing the children and made excuses to keep them isolated. School officials at Empower College Prep in Phoenix - where Rebekah and her two younger brothers were enrolled until May - also claim the system failed the children. Teachers, administrators, and outside service providers had all raised urgent concerns about visible bruises, signs of hunger, and the children's fear of going home. Empower College Prep staff made a total of 13 reports to DCS expressing concern for the children's welfare. School staff claim only four reports were assigned to investigators and none led to action. 'There are so many points where an intervention could have happened,' Natalia Mariscal, the school's director of student services, told AZ Family last week. 'I made it clear to the investigator and DCS that the system failed her,' Hawkins echoed. 'We have logs and logs of the times where, over the past years, 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.' Baptiste and Woods are being held on $1million bond and are due back in court on September 4. Empower College Prep administrators are scheduled to attend every court hearing and say they are determined to see justice served. DCS issued a statement acknowledging Rebekah was 'a child who was known to the Department.' 'Any time a child in our community is harmed, it deeply affects us all,' the agency 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.' '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,' DCS added. The young girl's case has also captured the attention of Arizona Gov3 Katie Hobbs, who vowed: 'We're certainly going to be investigating and if there was something that we did not do right, we will do everything we can to correct that. 'That is our job, it is our job to make sure Arizonans are safe and we'll fix what went wrong if that's the case.'
Daily Mail
7 days ago
- Daily Mail
Wicked Arizona stepmother's chilling 911 calls 'after she and boyfriend tortured girl, 10, to death'
The stepmother accused of brutally torturing a 10-year-old girl to death called 911 three times before she died, it has emerged. Rebekah Baptiste was found unresponsive in her Holbrook, Arizona home on July 27. She was battered, malnourished, and covered in bruises. She died in hospital three days later - with no family by her bedside. Rebekah's father Richard Baptiste and his longtime girlfriend Anicia Woods have been charged with first-degree murder, kidnapping and three counts of child abuse in connection to the young girl's death. Woods called 911 on July 27 to report that she was taking her daughter - later identified as Rebekah - to an emergency medical service station because she was not breathing. The stepmother, whose tone lacked a sense of urgency, claimed Rebekah suffered breathing problems after running away in the desert for a third time. In subsequent calls, Woods oddly claimed she was 'breathing for Rebekah' and when asked by dispatch if she knew CPR, replied: 'Yes I do, unfortunately.' Rebekah and her brothers lived with Baptiste and Woods in Phoenix until this summer when the family relocated to a yurt in Apache County, roughly 300 miles away from the capital city. Prosecutors allege Rebekah was a victim of prolonged physical and sexual abuse. Woods called emergency services on July 27 to report that her 'daughter' was found unresponsive and was struggling to breathe. The chilling 911 calls, first published by KPHO, reveal how Woods seemingly dodged the question when dispatch asked what was wrong with the young girl. 'She's been running away, but when she ran away today and the neighbor found her. She's just been completely unresponsive, I'm sitting here giving her breath,' Woods said. 'We're going towards Holbrook. We're told there's an EMS station in Holbrook,' she added before the call dropped. The family's residence in the rural community of Hunt is located about 40 miles southeast of where the first 911 call was made. Woods called back 17 minutes later and was asked if Rebekah was breathing. 'I'm breathing for her,' the stepmother replied, prompting the 911 operator to ask: 'What do you mean?' 'I am putting my mouth around hers and breathing in her mouth, yes,' Woods said. Dispatch urged Woods to pull over so paramedics could get to them, but the call got disconnected again. Woods called 911 for a third time and was instructed to begin administering CPR, but was seemingly reluctant. 'Have you got her to a flat ground? Solid ground?' the 911 operator asked. 'Yeah, well, she's in the car,' Woods replied. 'I need you to put her on the ground,' the dispatcher urged. Woods replied: 'On the rocks?' 'I need her on a flat ground so you can administer CPR,' the operator elaborated. Thirty seconds passed before the dispatcher asked: 'Do you know how to do the CPR?' Woods, in a stoic tone, answered: 'Yes I do, unfortunately. I hear the EMS coming.' The operator asked if Woods was 'wanting to start CPR or wait for EMS' but the stepmother said she was 'waiting for them because I'm giving her breaths'. Rebekah died in the hospital three days later on July 30. Doctors said she was malnourished, dehydrated, and had been tortured. Damon Hawkins, the girl's uncle, said she had two black eyes and was 'black and blue from her head to toe'. Hawkins claims he made repeated reports to Arizona's Department of Child Safety (DCS), including allegations of sexual abuse. He said Baptiste and Woods blocked him from seeing the children and made excuses to keep them isolated. School officials at Empower College Prep in Phoenix - where Rebekah and her two younger brothers were enrolled until May - also claim the system failed the children. Teachers, administrators, and outside service providers had all raised urgent concerns about visible bruises, signs of hunger, and the children's fear of going home. Empower College Prep staff made a total of 13 reports to DCS expressing concern for the children's welfare. School staff claim only four reports were assigned to investigators and none led to action. 'There are so many points where an intervention could have happened,' Natalia Mariscal, the school's director of student services, told AZ Family last week. 'I made it clear to the investigator and DCS that the system failed her,' Hawkins echoed. 'We have logs and logs of the times where, over the past years, 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.' Baptiste and Woods are being held on $1 million bond and are due back in court on September 4. Empower College Prep administrators are scheduled to attend every court hearing and say they are determined to see justice served. DCS issued a statement acknowledging Rebekah was 'a child who was known to the Department.' 'Any time a child in our community is harmed, it deeply affects us all,' the agency 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.' '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,' DCS added. The young girl's case has also captured the attention of Arizona Gov. Katie Hobbs, who vowed: 'We're certainly going to be investigating and if there was something that we did not do right, we will do everything we can to correct that.
Fox News
11-08-2025
- Fox News
911 calls, police report details dark timeline to Arizona girl's tragic death
Editor's note: The following story contains graphic descriptions. Recently released police documents have shed new light on the final weeks of 10-year-old Rebekah Baptiste's life, revealing disturbing allegations of escalating abuse and multiple attempts to flee her living situation. The 36-page report from the Navajo County Sheriff's Office outlines interviews with her father, Richard Baptiste, and his girlfriend, Anicia Woods, following the discovery of the unresponsive child on July 27. Rebekah was later pronounced dead three days later at Phoenix Children's Hospital. Both adults are now facing charges of first-degree murder. Detectives say the family had been living off-grid in a rural campsite near Concho, Arizona, in a yurt without electricity or running water since relocating from Phoenix earlier in July. The family slept on thin mattresses on the yurt floor and hauled water in plastic jugs from a Concho convenience store 15 miles away. Woods initially claimed a neighbor found Rebekah unresponsive after she had run away. However, law enforcement noted this was not the first time the child had attempted to escape. Records indicate Rebekah had previously jumped out of a window in Phoenix and made several other escape attempts after the move to Concho, the final one occurring on the day she was taken to the hospital. Despite Rebekah's visible deterioration, including being too weak to drink from a straw, Woods, who claimed she had a background in nursing, told authorities she believed the child "would be fine" and chose not to seek immediate medical help. When questioned, both Woods and Baptiste initially denied knowledge of what caused the child's condition, suggesting she may have been injured in a fall. However, medical professionals found extensive signs of physical abuse, including a brain hemorrhage, burn marks, missing toenails and hair, and numerous cuts and bruises. When shown "horrendous photos" of his daughter's injuries, Baptiste "lacked in expressing any emotion," one detective wrote in the probable‑cause affidavit. "After seeing these photos, I knew there would be no way a father would not notice the extensive injuries on his daughter, it would be impossible in my mind, for a father not to see these huge marks and bruises on his child," the comment read. According to police, Baptiste later confessed to striking his daughter with a belt as punishment for running away, but denied causing the head injuries. Authorities also discovered bloody clothing in the tent the family shared, which had been changed before emergency services were contacted. Fox News Digital reviewed the three 911 calls made by Woods on July 27. In the calls, Woods referred to Rebekah as her daughter and claimed she was providing rescue breaths, though her tone lacked urgency. In one call, she told the dispatcher they were driving toward Holbrook, believing there was an EMS station there. The dispatcher instructed her to pull over, so medics could reach them. When asked if CPR was being administered, Woods said she was breathing into Rebekah's mouth but had not begun chest compressions. The dispatcher asked her to place the child on firm ground, but Woods hesitated, noting she was unsure about laying her on the rocks. Emergency crews arrived shortly afterward, but Rebekah did not survive her injuries. Both Woods and Baptiste are now facing murder and child abuse charges related not only to Rebekah's death, but also to the alleged mistreatment of her two younger siblings. During interviews with investigators, Woods stated that a possible punishment for her might be "some jail time," while Baptiste expressed remorse, saying he did not deserve to be a father. Prosecutors have alleged that Rebekah suffered ongoing physical and sexual abuse. Concerns about the family's wellbeing had been raised multiple times by staff at Empower College Prep, where the children were enrolled, 12News reported. School officials reportedly contacted Arizona's Department of Child Safety (DCS) 13 times over the past two years, including one report from a school resource officer who visited the family's home following Rebekah's unexplained absence. DCS has since launched a review into whether the agency failed to adequately protect the child. "Anytime a child in our community is harmed, it deeply affects us all, especially when we know the family," a statement from DCS to Fox News Digital read. "Our dedicated staff work tirelessly to ensure the safety of all children, but tragically, those who intend to harm children can sometimes evade even the most robust systems designed to protect them." The department added that it will "continue to be transparent and release information related to this case" as well as their involvement with the family as they are legally permitted to do so. Gov. Katie Hobbs has also acknowledged the growing public concern and pledged to fully investigate the case. "First, let me say this is obviously a very tragic situation, and we are certainly looking into what happened," Hobbs previously told 12News. "The information we had at the agency prior to this case and what led up to her death, we're certainly going to be investigating, and if there was something that we did not do right, we will do everything we can to correct that. That is our job. It is our responsibility to ensure Arizonans are safe and we'll fix what went wrong. If that's the case." Fox News Digital reached out to Hobbs' office and Empower College Prep for comment, but did not immediately receive a response. Stepheny Price is a writer for Fox News Digital and Fox Business. She covers topics including missing persons, homicides, national crime cases, illegal immigration, and more. Story tips and ideas can be sent to
Fox News
11-08-2025
- Fox News
911 calls released in death of 10-year-old Arizona girl
Police have released the 911 calls in the case of 10-year-old Rebekah Baptiste, depicting a lack of emotion from the woman calling for help.
Daily Record
08-08-2025
- Daily Record
Girl who was 'tortured to death' had begged her school not to let her go home
Rebekah Baptiste's father and his girlfriend have been accused of her murder. A young girl who died after allegedly being abused by her father and his partner had pleaded with her teachers not to let her go home. Rebekah Baptiste, 10, was discovered unconscious by police on a road in Holbrook, Arizona, on July 27, according to sheriff's reports. She was initially rushed to Little Colorado Medical Centre before being flown to Phoenix Children's Hospital, where she tragically died alone on July 30. A court hearing on Monday, August 4, was told she had she was severely injured, malnourished and bruised, and was missing toenails, the Mirror reports. Prosecutors added that a doctor described what she had been subjected to as "torture", and her condition showed signs of "child physical abuse, sexual abuse and torture'. Her father Richard Daniel Baptiste, 32, and his partner Anicia Woods, 29, were arrested on suspicion of murder, kidnapping and three charges of child abuse, two of which were in connection with the alleged abuse of Rebekah's younger brothers. Since her death, her uncle and an official from her school have spoken out, claiming the state could have done more to protect her. School staff had said the children begged with them not to go home. Her uncle Damon Hawkins said: 'They didn't do enough to protect her. They absolutely failed.' According to WCSC, he said: '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 haemorrhage.' The school said it contacted the state's Department of Child Safety (DCS) on 12 occasions between November 2023 and January 2025. However, this was disputed by the department, with a spokesperson telling ABC15 that Empower College Prep called them only five times in the last year, with only one of the reports meeting their criteria. On the four other occasions, they were "not able to investigate the allegations because they did not meet the statutory threshold for abuse or neglect", according to spokesperson Darren DaRonco. DaRonco continued: "We take every call to our hotline seriously, but we only have the authority to initiate an investigation if the call meets statutory report criteria. Join the Daily Record WhatsApp community! Get the latest news sent straight to your messages by joining our WhatsApp community today. You'll receive daily updates on breaking news as well as the top headlines across Scotland. No one will be able to see who is signed up and no one can send messages except the Daily Record team. All you have to do is click here if you're on mobile, select 'Join Community' and you're in! If you're on a desktop, simply scan the QR code above with your phone and click 'Join Community'. We also treat our community members to special offers, promotions, and adverts from us and our partners. If you don't like our community, you can check out any time you like. To leave our community click on the name at the top of your screen and choose 'exit group'. If you're curious, you can read our Privacy Notice. "Rebekah deserved love, safety and a chance to thrive. There are no words that will make sense of the pain she endured or her life that was tragically cut short." The school's executive director Brian Holman has since said it 'cannot explain why DCS is missing records of our calls' and that staff were not told their complaints did not meet the statutory threshold for abuse. He added at least 20 further reports were made to DCS by external agencies. The department is now due to review Rebekah's case. Mr Holman added: 'Our staff was told four times that the report was assigned to the same DCS Supervisor for further investigation. She only visited the school once to further investigate. 'We were promised a follow-up that never occurred, even though each of the 12 reports included clear and observable signs of abuse, neglect, and ongoing harm of a young girl and her two younger brothers.' Natalia Mariscal, the school's director of student services, said: 'I've had social workers concerned, students make statements that they were concerned about their classmate, as well as teachers, administration, [and] outside service providers that work with the students - all concerned that there was abuse and neglect happening at home toward all of the children.' In an online fundraiser for the youngster's funeral costs, her uncle Damon Hawkins called Rebekah a 'bright light'. He said she was "known for her infectious laughter, unwavering kindness, dedication to her family and her positive attitude'. He said: 'She touched countless lives with her generosity, wisdom, and her passion for life and will be deeply missed by all who knew and loved her.'
