The murder of Rebekah Baptiste has left many grieving and concerned.
The 10-year-old girl, according to records, was found by police in Holbrook bruised, not breathing, and appearing malnourished. She died on July 30 after being transported to Phoenix Children's hospital.
Governor Katie Hobbs took questions on the case and the Arizona Department of Child Safety's response on Wednesday.
"Yes, obviously this case is very tragic and had a horrible outcome," said Gov. Hobbs. "DCS is investigating internally what happened, and if there is anything that we need to do differently, we will implement that."
Rebekah's dad, Richard Baptiste, and his girlfriend, Anicia Woods, are in custody and charged with first-degree murder and child abuse.
ABC15 took questions to the Hobbs after hearing from Rebekah's former school, Empower College Prep. Administrators at the Valley school said they notified DCS 12 times in the past year regarding concerns of abuse and neglect in the home.
They said administrators were told the case was assigned to an investigator at least four times.
ABC15 was also told that a School Resource Officer was involved in a home visit with a school administrator, and the SRO alerted DCS at least once on his own.
Still, administrators were told the family was moving out of the area at the end of the school year. The news, ABC15 was told, left staff concerned.
Our team asked Hobbs if she felt the state and DCS were doing enough to keep kids safe.
"We're going to make sure going forward that we are," said Hobbs.
Hours later, Senator Carine Werner's office sent a release announcing a stakeholder meeting on September 3.
The release states this is the next step in a probe that was started following the death of Emily Pike in February.
Since then, both Rebekah and 16-year-old Zariah Dodd were killed. All three children were known to DCS.
On Wednesday, DCS sent a new statement regarding Rebekah's case.
According to their records, DCS was called five times by Empower College Prep in the last year. They said only one of those times the allegations met the "statutory threshold for abuse and neglect".
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"Something needs to be done," said Rebekah's grandma, Sondra Hawkins. "Something has to be done."
Sondra and her daughter, Sandi Hawkins, Rebekah's mom, spoke for the first time with ABC15 on Wednesday.
The Hawkins family said Baptiste had custody of Rebekah and her two siblings. Sondra and Sandi said they had been visiting the kids, until Baptiste and his girlfriend stopped allowing them to.
The pair, still in shock and grieving, is now trying to figure out what's next.
"She loved pink," said Sondra. "She loved balloons. She loved her brothers. She loved her family."
The initial police report said Baptiste and Woods told officers Rebekah had been running away. The day she was taken to the hospital, officers were told she ran away and was found by neighbors.
Sondra wants the little girl to be remembered as a hero.
"Yes, it is a tragedy, but no one is talking about how that little girl ran and she ran her heart and soul off to get help," said Sondra.
Empower College Prep is planning a celebration of life at the school on Thursday, August 14.
Below is the full statement from DCS regarding Baptiste:
It is with a heavy heart that we acknowledge the death of Rebekah Baptiste, a child who was known to the Department. Anytime a child in our community is harmed, it deeply affects us all, especially when we know the family. 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.
In response to this incident, the Department is actively collaborating with law enforcement in a joint investigation to ensure that the people responsible for this heinous act are brought to justice.
The Department would like to correct some information made public by other sources related to the death of Rebekah Baptiste. According to Department records, Empower School called the Hotline 5 times in the past year, and one time the allegations met statutory report criteria. 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. We do not have any records that a relative called the Hotline after 2019 to allege abuse or neglect of Rebekah or her siblings.
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. 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. Her loss is a sorrow we carry deeply, a reminder of the work we must never stop doing. We know this loss is felt most deeply by her school community that saw Rebekah most often. In honoring her memory, the department will strive to educate our schools to better understand what meets report criteria so that when they do make a call to the Hotline, we can take appropriate action.
Here are the basic criteria:
A communication meets Report criteria when the reporting source alleges the following:
- victim is currently under the age of 18;
- victim has been physically, emotionally, or sexually abused, neglected, abandoned, or exploited by a parent, guardian, custodian, or adult member of the victim's household;
- victim is a resident of or present in Arizona, and
- the identity or current location of the child victim, the child victim's family, or the person suspected of abuse or neglect is known or can be reasonably ascertained.
In Arizona, report criteria is established by ARS 8-455 [azleg.gov]. The allegation must also state that the parent’s conduct has either harmed the child or puts the child at substantial risk of harm. This language was changed by the legislature from unreasonable risk of harm to substantial risk of harm in 2022. General allegations of bad parenting do not rise to the level of meeting report criteria. If a call does not meet the criteria, it is placed into a separate category where a unit/supervisor reviews it for a second time to ensure that nothing was missed.
When a report is investigated, certain criteria must be met in order to take custody of the children. State law requires that the Department use a safety assessment model. This model cannot be changed without legislative approval. Under the safety assessment model, the children must be in present or impending danger, and there must be no other way to remedy the safety concern other than removal from the home. The model requires the Department to interview the alleged victims and perpetrators and other members of the household. However, the Department cannot compel participation in the investigation. Law enforcement also cannot compel participation in the investigation. Without the ability to compel participation, the Department may not always be able to gather the information necessary to convince a court that removal from the home is necessary.
The Department’s Safety Analysis Review Team will be conducting a thorough review of this case. The goal is to identify and understand any systemic barriers that may have influenced the outcome, and to implement data-driven systemic changes to prevent such tragedies in the future. The Department will continue to be transparent and release information related to this case and our involvement with the family as we are legally permitted to do so.
