PHOENIX — Rebekah Baptiste's former school is speaking out once again demanding change following the release of records by the state Department of Child Safety.
Rebekah was attending Empower College Prep in Phoenix, along with her two siblings, until recently. Court documents show the family moved to rural Apache County at the beginning of July.
The 10-year-old girl was found severely injured in Holbrook, Arizona, at the end of July and died three days later.
DCS provided ABC15 with a timeline detailing the allegations of abuse involving the Baptiste family that went back to 2015.
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From 2023-2025, the allegations involved Rebekah's dad, Richard Baptiste, and his girlfriend, Anicia Woods. Both have since been arrested and charged with murder and child abuse.
DCS' timeline lays out seven reports regarding alleged abuse or neglect from November 2023 to May 2025. At times, while cases were open, more reports of concerns were received by the department.
Empower administrators said they reached out a dozen times to DCS with concerns of abuse or neglect. Some of the dates they provided to ABC15 line up with dates found in DCS's timeline.
"The question remaining before us is: what is the Department willing to change in its policies, criteria, and procedures to ensure that when multiple mandated reports are made, they are acted on with urgency, consistency, and adequate follow-through?" said Empower in a new statement sent August 21.
The school wants to know why cases were closed, despite new reports coming in.
"This raises the question of why investigations were not extended to incorporate new and corroborating information," said Empower's statement.
The school has multiple questions, especially regarding the steps taken to locate the Baptiste family following the final report in May 2025.
The allegation received by the department involved the physical abuse of Rebekah and her siblings by Woods.
A summary report from DCS said, "An investigation was initiated, and efforts were made to locate the family without success. The Department was continuing efforts to locate the family when the report of the near fatality incident was received."
Empower said DCS did attempt to observe the Baptiste children at the school on May 21.
"...however, 2 of the 3 students were absent. The students were present for the remainder of the days that week," said Empower's statement. "The Department must clarify what steps, if any, were taken to verify their presence at school before concluding that the family had relocated."
The school is now demanding change and asking for clarity on the recent search for the family, the exact dates and times the children were physically observed following each report, and the rationale for closing cases.
