The adoptive father confessed that the girl became seriously unwell but they waited many days before going to the hospital. She passed away on the way to the hospital.
Trigger warning: Contains details about child abuse that may be distressing to readers.
There are thousands of people who can't have a child biologically and crave to adopt one. However, there are also some monsters who abuse the opportunity given to them instead of being grateful. When the intentions of the adoptive parents aren't good, then the child taken in by them can often suffer at their hands. Unfortunately, the system isn't able to protect them either.
One couple from Arizona has been recently charged for the death of their adopted daughter, who was last seen in 2016, as per witnesses. The Phoenix Police Department said on April 3, 2021, that "homicide detectives worked tirelessly in reviewing evidence and have developed probable cause to now arrest, 51-year-old Maribel Loera and 57-year-old Rafael Loera." They were charged for the homicide of Ana Loera, 13.
"The charges are 1st degree Murder, several counts of child abuse, concealment of a dead body, and arson of an occupied structure. Both Maribel and Rafael have been in custody on child abuse charges since this investigation began on January 28, 2020," the police added in their statement.
They were taken into custody when officers conducted a welfare check on an 11-year-old girl, as per People. The girl had called police claiming that she had been left home alone while the family was out of town for two days. She said she was hungry and that she had an older sister who vanished in 2017, according to Arizona Republic. She was removed from the house the same night.
Eight days later, "on January 28, 2020, at about 2:00 p.m., the Department of Child Safety returned to the residence at 5800 West Wolf Street to remove two additional children, a 4-year-old male and 9-year-old female from the custody of Maribel and Rafael Loera," the police said in their statement. The same night there was a 911 call for a house fire at the home. The police believe Rafael was trying to kill himself through arson but a neighbor reported the fire.
"Phoenix Fire personnel responded and extinguished the fire and while inside of the residence they located human remains. Police were called and investigators determined the remains were of a juvenile. During the investigation, the remains were positively identified as 13-year-old Ana Loera. The exact date of death is unknown however according to witnesses she was last seen alive in 2016. The Office of the Medical Examiner ruled her death as a homicide," the police said.
Rafael told investigators that the bones belonged to Ana. She reportedly became unwell in July 2017 but they waited for days before taking her to Phoenix Children's Hospital, the Arizona Republic reported. The girl was reportedly vomiting and convulsing and she died on the way to the hospital, court documents say.
They were afraid of losing custody of their other children, so they wrapped the child's body in a sheet and hid it in the attic where it remained for two years before the house fire. The adoptive father further added that he knew his wife was physically abusing the child but never contacted the police to help her. He left the girl with his wife while he was working two jobs. They adopted a female infant months after the death of Ana.
Now, they have lost custody of all their children and are in jail waiting to be punished for Ana's death. Unable to care for even one child, the couple shouldn't have been able to adopt more kids. It is also unfortunate that nobody came looking for Ana even when she was missing for several years.
References:
https://people.com/crime/arizona-parents-charged-murder-house-fire-missing-girl-body/
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