Police report sheds light on Rebekah Baptiste’s life before her murder

PHOENIX — Just a few months before officials say Rebekah Baptiste was tortured and killed in Apache County by her father and her father’s girlfriend, Phoenix Police responded to her family’s home after she had not shown up to school for several days. 

RELATED: ‘They just swept it under the rug’: 10-year-old murdered after at least a dozen reports of abuse to DCS, school claims

12News reviewed a police report detailing what police saw and heard during this incident. Despite Rebekah having a black eye and school officials expressing concern that she had missed numerous days of school, no photos of her injuries were taken, and the case was closed.

Rebekah and her two brothers had been absent from their school, Empower College Prep, for several days in April.

“At day four, one of her teachers noticed, and that is not surprising, given what she was witnessing in class with Rebekah every single day. She had great concern that something was happening,” said Natalina Mariscal, Empower’s Director of Student Social Services.

On April 10, the school’s assistant principal and a Phoenix police school resource officer went to Rebekah’s home.

When they got to the house and asked questions about the absences, Rebekah’s father’s girlfriend, Anicia Woods, gave them several responses.

“Cited several different reasons, including illness, allergies, sore throat, coughing, upcoming funeral, and unexpected car radiator needing repair prior to departing for funeral,” the report said.

RELATED: 10-year-old Rebekah Baptiste was found dead in Holbrook. Her former teachers in Phoenix are outraged, and demand DCS accountability.

The officer then asked to see the children.

After a short delay, the kids came to the door.

“All three appeared to be in good spirits, smiling, and stating they were kinda sick,” the report said.

But Rebekah had a black eye, the report states.

The officer was told “she was at a birthday party [five days earlier] and was hit by a ball resulting in the injury.”

The report states they did not observe any other injuries, and that “the yellowish color of the injury matched the timeline provided.”

The officer who wrote the report said:

“While there is no indication the injury was intentional or the result of abuse, it did give pause due to her missing the past four days of school.”

The report also notes that police were aware of school staff’s general concerns for the children’s welfare–even stating that during past conversations with the family, they were “quick to give all the right answers anytime something appears out of the ordinary.”

RELATED: Phoenix PD contacted DCS 5 times after contact with Rebekah Baptiste and her siblings

The report says school employees had “made prior DCS calls reference the family for general concerns surrounding discipline techniques, including running laps around the apartment barefoot and planks.”

But despite all of that information, the report says that no pictures of Rebekah’s injury were taken that day.

Police did contact Arizona’s Department of Child Safety, where an employee stated they would consider the incident an information report.

The officer concluded the report by writing:

“There is no direct indication of abuse, and I was provided a plausible explanation for the injury.”

RELATED: Girl tried to escape before she was allegedly killed by her father and his girlfriend, records say

A supplemental report that was also viewed by 12News showed another Phoenix police employee was assigned to the case. A background check was run on Richard Baptiste and Anicia Woods.

The report shows multiple prior DCS and Phoenix police interactions with the family, where each report was “closed out.”

Before closing out the April report, the officer wrote: 

“At this time, there is insufficient evidence substantiating criminal child abuse or criminal child neglect.”

In late July, officials say Rebekah was murdered by her father and his girlfriend after she was tortured and abused.

“Trust that we do look back and look at how we did things in the past,” said Phoenix PD Chief Matt Giordano.

RELATED: Authorities release bodycam footage in Rebekah Baptiste murder case

Prior to 12News reviewing this report and during his first press conference as chief, Giordano was asked about the Baptiste case.

“We always look at ways we could have done things differently and look for any kind of mistakes we might have made. I’m not saying we did, but we always look at that,” Giordano said. “We’re very reflective, because, again, it just goes all back to our continuous improvement. We’re always looking to be better.”

12News has requested body-worn camera footage of this incident from the Phoenix Police Department and will update you when we receive it.

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