An Arizona couple has been arrested for physically harming and killing a child. A 10-year-old girl was found on a highway brutally beaten with signs of sexual trauma. Richard Baptiste and his partner, Anicia Woods, have been arrested for the crime.
The daughter, Rebekah Baptiste, was found at the intersection of two highways. She received medical care for her injuries. After four days of battle, she passed away on July 30. Her dad and his girlfriend have been charged with child abuse and murder.
According to the Apache County and court documents, the ten-year-old was tortured, with signs of physical and sexual abuse. She was also malnourished and dehydrated. She was covered in blue and black marks from head to toe. Shockingly, she was also missing toenails. The cause of her death was hemorrhage, as reported by People.
“On more than one occasion, and more than one of the Baptiste scholars shared that they felt unsafe.”
Rebekah Baptiste’s former school says they reported suspected abuse and neglect 12 times in the last year. Now the 10-year-old is dead and her father is one of two charged in… pic.twitter.com/tMc3z7SM9a
— Ashley Holden (@ashleyvholden) August 5, 2025
Father’s girlfriend accepted that she had hit her on multiple occasions. Earlier, Rebekah’s school filed a complaint with the Department of Child Safety a dozen times, but no particular action was taken against the father. So far, several people are concerned about DHS not taking action.
Her life could have been saved with a timely intervention had they responded to the 12 different calls from the school. Currently, DCS Arizona is working towards an investigation to get justice for the ten-year-old.
⚠️ WARNING: This post contains graphic descriptions of alleged child torture & murder.
Rebekah Baptiste, 10, died alone in a hospital three days after being found unresponsive & “brutally tortured” by her father & his girlfriend, according to police. Rebekah was found severely… pic.twitter.com/aGam3ZrHmH
— True Crime Updates (@TrueCrimeUpdat) August 6, 2025
Rebekah suffered till her last breath. After her discovery, she spent 3 days alone at the hospital in pain and died. Her uncle Damon Hawkins has lost faith in the broken system. He blames the system for her murder. he stated DCS did not inform him while she was alone at the hospital.
Hawkins painfully stated that he could not imagine what she had gone through. The accused couple has also been charged with child abuse over the treatment of Rebekah’s two younger brothers.
Rebekah and her two brothers used to go to school till May. The 32-year-old dad and his girlfriend are held for a $1 million bond, and they appeared in court on Aug 4. The two may get a death sentence or life imprisonment as per the state laws. They are due back in court in September.
