Rebekah Baptiste begged for help months before alleged murder, report says

Documents reveal Rebekah Baptiste begged for help at Phoenix gas station months before alleged murder

New documents revealed that 10-year-old Rebekah Baptiste begged for help at a Phoenix gas station, and was taken to Phoenix Children's with a bloody lip and bruises around her hands and feet, roughly nine months before she was allegedly killed by her father and his girlfriend.

PHOENIX - Newly released documents reveal that 10-year-old Rebekah Baptiste begged a gas station clerk for help and detailed ongoing abuse months before she was allegedly killed by her father and his girlfriend.

Rebekah Baptiste

What we know:

A Phoenix Police report describes a 911 call made from a local gas station nine months before the girl’s death. According to the Oct. 17, 2024 report, Rebekah told officers her father’s girlfriend hit her with a brush and a belt as punishment.

She also described being forced to run laps and endure other forms of physical discipline for "acting out."

At the time, Rebekah was taken to Phoenix Children’s Hospital with a bloody lip and bruising on her hands and feet. However, investigators closed the case after her father, Richard Baptiste, and his girlfriend, Anicia Woods, claimed the child’s injuries were self-inflicted.

Dig deeper:

The Arizona Department of Child Safety has since confirmed a long history of abuse and neglect allegations involving the family. Despite these reports, Rebekah remained in the home until her death in July 2025.

Richard Baptiste and Anicia Woods are currently awaiting trial on charges of first-degree murder, child abuse, and child molestation.

Prosecutors allege the girl suffered "long-term, horrendous abuse" before she was found unresponsive in a rural area on July 27, and died three days later.