# @downinnadesert on Instagram

- **Type:** Image
- **Original URL:** https://www.instagram.com/p/DbmA-FektWI
- **Gondola URL:** https://gondola.cc/posts/68801308-downinnadesert-instagram
- **Thumbnail:** https://img.gondola.cc/tr:w-,h-,fo-auto/postThumbnails/908485fac5.jpg
- **Posted:** 2026-08-03T22:01:57.000+00:00
- **Account Owner:** Down In The Desert🌵 (@downinnadesert) — https://gondola.cc/downinnadesert

## Caption

Rebekah Baptiste passed away. She was 10. Her mother is now suing the state, and the lawsuit says there were 19 chances to get her out.

Rebekah was found unresponsive in northern Arizona on July 27, 2025 and flown to Phoenix Children’s Hospital, where she passed three days later. Her father, Richard Baptiste, and his girlfriend, Anicia Woods, are charged with first-degree murder. Neither has been convicted.

The wrongful death lawsuit was filed in Maricopa County Superior Court by her biological mother, who did not have custody at the time. It alleges the Department of Child Safety took at least 19 reports of abuse over 18 months. Teachers, school nurses, hospital staff, police officers and a gas station worker. The complaint says the agency logged them as information only or closed them as unsubstantiated and never removed her from the home.

One allegation in the complaint stands out. Rebekah ran to a QuikTrip and asked for help. Police photographed her injuries and Phoenix Children’s Hospital reported suspected abuse. The lawsuit says DCS directed that she be returned to the people she had identified as the ones hurting her. That was months before she passed.

DCS says it cannot comment on pending litigation, that her death was a tragedy, and that protecting children remains its highest priority. Her death was one of three high-profile deaths of children known to DCS in 2025, which pushed the governor and state lawmakers toward reforms at the agency.

If you suspect a child is being abused or neglected in Arizona, the DCS Child Abuse Hotline is 1-888-767-2445, 24 hours a day. If a child is in immediate danger, call 911.

A year out, what has actually changed at DCS?

Via: FOX 10 Phoenix, ABC15, KTAR

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#Arizona #AZNews #DCS #ChildSafety #DownInnaDesert

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## Tags

dcs, downinnadesert, aznews, childsafety, arizona

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