Arizona Gov. Hobbs addresses murder of 10-year-old Rebekah Baptiste

PHOENIX — On Wednesday, Arizona Governor Katie Hobbs faced questions over the Arizona Department of Child Safety (DCS), an agency under her oversight, following the death of a 10-year-old girl in Apache County. The case has sparked outrage among educators and family members who believe the agency failed to intervene despite repeated warnings.

Rebekah Baptiste, a former student at Empower College Prep in Phoenix, died on July 30 after being found unresponsive while in her father’s care. She had suffered extensive abuse, according to prosecutors. Her father, Richard Baptiste, has been charged with murder.

Speaking to 12News on Tuesday, Governor Hobbs reaffirmed that DCS is investigating the case internally.

“First, let me say this is obviously a very tragic situation, and we are certainly looking into what happened. The information we had at the agency prior to this case and what led up to her death, we’re certainly going to be investigating, and if there was something that we did not do right, we will do everything we can to correct that,” Hobbs said. “That is our job. It is our responsibility to ensure Arizonans are safe and and we’ll, we’ll fix what went wrong. If that’s the case.”

Hobbs confirmed that she has spoken with DCS leadership regarding the case but declined to provide further details, citing the ongoing investigation.

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

Court records and audio from Apache County hearings obtained by 12News reveal the horrifying scope of Rebekah’s injuries. Prosecutors described bruising, belt marks, cigarette burns, and signs of severe dehydration and malnutrition. They believe she may have died from a subdural hematoma — a brain bleed often caused by blunt force trauma to the head. 

Educators at Empower College Prep say they reported suspected abuse on at least 12 occasions during Rebekah’s three years at the school. According to school officials, DCS informed them that follow-ups would be conducted four times.

In response, DCS issued the following statement on Wednesday on Rebekah’s case:

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. 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.

Two of Rebekah’s younger brothers also survived the alleged abuse. Both boys are now in DCS custody.

Arizona State Senator Carine Werner (R) announced Wednesday that stakeholder meetings will be held next month. The sessions will include leaders from DCS, law enforcement, and lawmakers from both parties, with the goal of addressing alleged systemic failures in child protection oversight.