Arizona Gov. Katie Hobbs responds to death of 10-year-old girl known to DCS

PHOENIX — Gov. Katie Hobbs answered questions Wednesday about a 10-year-old Arizona girl who allegedly was killed by her father and his girlfriend despite multiple reports of abuse submitted to the Arizona Department of Child Safety (DCS).

Rebekah Baptiste was found severely beaten and unconscious on July 27 in Holbrook. She died three days later at Phoenix Children’s Hospital.

“First, let me say this is a very tragic situation,” Hobbs told reporters after an unrelated media event. “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.”

Hobbs said she had spoken with leaders at DCS and that the agency would be internally investigating.

“If there was something that we did not do right, we will do everything we can to correct that. That is our job. It is our responsibility to ensure Arizonans are safe and we’ll fix what went wrong if that’s the case,” the Democratic governor said.

Rebekah’s father, Richard Baptiste, and his girlfriend, Anicia Wood, are facing first-degree murder and child abuse charges.

Empower College Prep, Rebekah’s former school, told ABC15 that staff had contacted DCS on 12 separate occasions to report suspected abuse.

DCS disputed the number of calls it received from the school, saying there were five, with only one meeting 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,” the department said in a statement.

What else did DCS say about death of 10-year-old Arizona girl?

DCS confirmed that Rebekah was known to the department and released the following:

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. We are committed to seeing the individual or individuals who murdered this child held accountable within the criminal justice system.

Additionally, 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. Despite our expertise in child safety, we cannot predict the future and must operate within the boundaries of our legal authority.

On Wednesday, state lawmakers announced that the Joint Legislative Oversight Committee on the Department of Child Safety will hold a stakeholder meeting, which is closed to the public, on Sept. 3 to review the deaths of three Arizona children who all had prior contact with DCS.

“The deaths of Emily Pike, Zariah Dodd and Rebekah Baptiste should be a wake-up call for us all,” Republican Sen. Carine Werner said in a press release. “These tragedies make it painfully clear that when our child protection systems — both state and tribal — fail, the consequences can be horrific. We cannot allow these failures to repeat. Every agency, every leader and every community involved in a child’s care must be fully accountable for keeping them safe. We must explore opportunities for system improvement. That is the work ahead of us, and we will not stop until no child in Arizona falls through the cracks.”

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