A battered and brave little girl from Arizona tried to save her own life by jumping out a second story window, only to be sent back to her abusers where the torture continued until her death. Rebekah Baptiste fled into the street, and begged strangers for help. Instead of being rescued, Arizona authorities sent her back to the very home she was trying to escape. Months later, she was dead.
New details Rebekah Baptiste released by Arizona prosecutors paint a horrifying picture of the child abuse and possible sexual abuse crime that was occurring inside of the little girl’s home. what Rebekah endured — and how many warning signs were missed. Doctors later said the child showed signs consistent with sexual abuse, had chunks of hair missing from her scalp, and suffered severe bruising across her body. They also documented injuries believed to be possible cigarette burns on her back. Investigators say the abuse was prolonged and escalating.
A newly released video shows the moments leading to the arrest of Richard Baptiste and his girlfriend, Anicia Woods, who have been charged with murder and child abuse in the death of 10-year-old Rebekah Baptiste. ABC15 obtained the police body camera video through a public… pic.twitter.com/kmmBRQAmUX
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Rebekah’ Baptiste’s final attempt to escape should have stopped all of the abuse she had endured. Arizona prosecutors say the braze little girl jumped from the window and ran toward a nearby well, both to get water and to seek help from anyone who might protect her.
The stepmother of Rebekah Baptiste later acknowledged the escape in chillingly casual terms, telling police that the then 9-year-old had kicked out a screen and leapt from a two-story window just a week earlier. “She jumped out of a good two-story window,” the Arizona woman told local police officers, treating the act not as a desperate plea for safety, but as an inconvenience.
In body-camera footage from the night officers later found Rebekah Baptiste unresponsive, the stepmother again referenced the escape: “She just ran away before we came up here,” she said. “That one was super scary.” Prosecutors allege the Arizona girl was tortured to death inside the same home she tried to flee. Her father and stepmother now face murder charges. Court records show both admitted to hitting the children. Prosecutors say the father acknowledged striking Rebekah with a belt roughly ten times, describing the pain level as a seven out of ten and conceding he had used excessive force.
Teachers at Empower College Prep in Phoenix, where Rebekah Baptiste and her two younger brothers were enrolled until May, told investigators the children often invented stories to shield their parents when questioned. According to Arizona court documents, the children appeared conditioned to protect the adults hurting them — a classic sign of sustained abuse.
Rebekah Baptiste and her siblings had been removed from the home at least once in the past. Despite the red flags, custody was later returned. Not long after, the Arizona family moved from <a
🚨BREAKING: (8/5/25)Rebekah Baptiste was found unresponsive and severely injured in her Holbrook, Arizona home Her father, Richard Baptiste, and his girlfriend, Anicia Woods, were charged with first-degree m*rder this week
A judge set bond at $1 million each for the two suspects pic.twitter.com/jnkjNs0jDn
— Steven Latham (@wienerdogwifi) August 5, 2025
href=”https://www.inquisitr.com/profile/phoenix”>Phoenix to a remote area of Apache County, roughly 300 miles north — a relocation prosecutors say further isolated the children from teachers, neighbors, and mandatory reporters who might have intervened.
The uncle of Rebekah Baptist, Damon Hawkins, says the warning signs were unmistakable — and repeatedly reported. He said his niece was “black and blue from her head to toe” when she died and had two black eyes. Hawkins said he and his wife contacted Arizona Child Services multiple times, including with allegations of sexual abuse, but their concerns went nowhere. “I made it clear to the investigator and DCS that the system failed her,” he said. “We have logs and logs of the times over the past years where they’ve been contacted, of the worry that we had.” He added, “We got word of sexual abuse about a year and a half ago, and they turned a blind eye to it.”
After the death of Rebekah Baptiste, the Arizona agency acknowledged she was “a child who was known to the department,” adding in a statement that any time a child is harmed it affects the community and that those who intend to harm children can evade even robust systems.
The Arizona couple is due back in court in January, with trial set for June. For Rebekah’s family, the timeline is a grim countdown to justice — one that cannot undo a fatal decision made when a terrified child ran for help and was sent back.
Rebekah Baptiste did everything a child could do. She ran. She begged. She tried to survive. The system sent her back — and that decision cost her life.
