Overview
- On October 17, 2024, the 9-year-old fled to a Phoenix gas station and reported that her father’s girlfriend hit her with a brush and a belt and forced her to run laps, according to the police report.
- Officers noted a bloody lip and faint bruising on her hands and feet, and she was examined at Phoenix Children’s Hospital as Phoenix police and DCS opened an investigation.
- Authorities later closed the October 2024 case citing inconsistent accounts, no witnesses, and caregiver claims of self-harm, with records showing multiple prior DCS investigations since 2023.
- In early July 2025 the family moved to a remote yurt in Apache County; on July 27 she was found in Holbrook not breathing and appearing malnourished, and she died on July 30 at Phoenix Children’s Hospital.
- Richard Baptiste and Anicia Woods have pleaded not guilty to first-degree murder and child abuse, prosecutors cite extensive medical evidence including a doctor’s use of the word “torture,” and DCS says it completed a review in December as lawmakers formed a bipartisan task force.