Authorities have unveiled grim details concerning the case of a 10-year-old girl who was found unresponsive on a highway last month. Her father and his partner now face murder charges.
Rebekah Baptise passed away on July 30, three days after being discovered unresponsive at a highway intersection in Holbrook, Arizona.
According to AZ Family, officers found Rebekah in a state of dehydration and malnourishment, and prosecutors noted she was missing her toenails.
Her father, Richard Baptiste, aged 32, and his girlfriend, Anicia Woods, aged 29, have been detained in relation to her death.
The Apache County Sheriff’s Office has charged the couple from Arizona with first-degree murder and child abuse, according to court documents reviewed by People.
On Monday, August 4, prosecutors claimed the child had been subjected to ‘torture,’ alleging evidence of physical and sexual abuse.
Rebekah’s uncle, Damon Hawkins, spoke with AZ Family following her death, reporting that his niece was “black and blue from her head to toe” and had two black eyes when found on July 27.
“She had two black eyes, and they’re thinking the cause of death was because of a hemorrhage,” Hawkins stated.
Empower College Prep, where Rebekah studied alongside her sibling, contacted the Department of Child Safety on her behalf 12 times between November 2023 and January 2025, as reported by ABC15.
The department informed People that they had received five calls from the school over the past year.
“The other four times the Department was not able to investigate the allegations because they did not meet the statutory threshold for abuse or neglect,” they explained to the outlet.
“We do not have any records that a relative called the Hotline after 2019 to allege abuse or neglect of Rebekah or her siblings.”
DCS Arizona informed AZ Family they are “actively collaborating with law enforcement in a joint investigation to ensure that the people responsible for this heinous act are brought to justice.”
Court records currently do not indicate whether Baptiste and Woods have entered a plea, and attorney details for them are not accessible at this time.
If you are affected by these issues or wish to discuss the welfare of a child confidentially, the Childhelp USA National Child Abuse Hotline (1-800-4-A-CHILD (1-800-422-4453) operates around the clock and accepts calls from the United States, Canada, US Virgin Islands, Guam, and Puerto Rico.