APACHE COUNTY, Ariz. (Scripps News Phoenix) — A newly released police report reveals what young Rebekah Baptiste told police nine months before her death.
At the time, the 9-year-old was living at a Phoenix apartment with her dad, Richard Baptiste, and his girlfriend, Anicia Woods.
Photo of Rebekah Baptiste. (Scripps News Phoenix)
Phoenix police were called to investigate when Rebekah ran away from home and ended up at a Phoenix gas station on October 17, 2024. She told a store manager her stepmother was abusing her. She was taken to Phoenix Children’s Hospital, where Phoenix police and the Arizona Department of Child Safety got involved.
She told police that she ran away because she got into trouble after Woods thought she was pretending to be asleep.
She said Woods made her run laps as punishment and “hit her with a brush on the back of her hand.”
The police report says the officer observed “faint bruising and marks on the back of both of her hands.”
“She also stated she was hit with a brush and a belt on her feet, and pointed out bruising and red marks on both of her feet,” the report says. She told police, “It has happened a lot,” according to the report.
Woods, in a later interview with police, denied hurting Rebekah and said the young girl was harming herself.
The police report noted that the Arizona Department of Child Safety had “multiple previous incidents” involving the children. The DCS investigator told police they had multiple reports of Rebekah self-harming and accusing Anicia Woods of abuse.
Police concluded that the October 2024 incident did not rise to the level of criminal prosecution because the young girl provided “various iterations” of the story, and Woods told police she found Rebekah “self-harming with a brush” the night before she ran away. The police report notes there were no witnesses to any physical discipline, and Woods denied causing harm.
The October 2024 incident was the fifth incident investigated by the Arizona Department of Child Safety since 2023. A report from DCS said there was insufficient evidence to support the allegations, and the case was closed about a month later.
Scripps News Phoenix reached out to DCS Tuesday evening with follow-up questions, but did not immediately hear back.
At the beginning of July, the family moved from Phoenix to a yurt in a remote area of Apache County.
The young girl was found in Holbrook, bruised, not breathing, and appearing malnourished. She died on July 30 after being transported to Phoenix Children’s Hospital.
Richard Baptiste, along with Woods, were arrested in connection with the girl’s death and are facing first-degree murder and child abuse charges. Both have pleaded not guilty.
Anicia Woods and Richard Baptiste are charged in the death of Baptiste’s 10-year-old daughter, Rebekah. (Apache Co. Sheriff’s Office via Scripps News Phoenix)
In court, prosecutors allege Rebekah was subject to “horrendous conditions” and had bruising up and down her body. In court earlier this year, prosecutors said they had more than 100 pages of medical reports and provided details from a doctor regarding Rebekah. They said she was malnourished and said one doctor used the word “torture” to describe what the little girl allegedly went through.
The couple is due back in court in January and are scheduled for trial in June.
This story was originally published by Scripps News Phoenix, an E.W. Scripps Company.
