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Thread: Death Penalty Trial Set for Rafael and Maribel Loera in 2016 AZ Slaying of their Adopted Daughter Ana Loera

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    Administrator Helen's Avatar
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    Death Penalty Trial Set for Rafael and Maribel Loera in 2016 AZ Slaying of their Adopted Daughter Ana Loera






    Rafael and Maribel Loera


    April 21, 2021

    Adopted girl in Phoenix case died of abuse, neglect, medical report says

    By Kevin Stone
    KTAR News

    PHOENIX – The adopted girl whose skeletal remains were discovered by firefighters at a west Phoenix home last year died of physical abuse and neglect, according to a report released Friday by the Maricopa County Medical Examiner’s Office.

    The report lists Anna Loera’s cause of death as “child abuse, including acute and chronic skeletal injuries and neglect” and the manner of death as “homicide.” (Note: Her name has been spelled Ana in police press releases; authorities didn’t respond to KTAR News 92.3 FM‘s request for clarification.)

    Her adoptive parents, 57-year-old Rafael Loera and 51-year-old Maribel Loera, were indicted last month for first-degree murder in the case.

    A grand jury also indicted the couple for abandonment or concealment of a dead body and two counts each of child abuse. Rafael faces an additional count of arson of an occupied structure.

    The Loeras were initially arrested on Jan. 28, 2020, after firefighters found remains after responding to a 911 call about a house fire near 59th Avenue and Camelback Road.

    Anna, who would have been 13 at the time her bones were discovered, was the oldest of the Loeras’ four adopted children. The Medical Examiner’s Office report estimated her age at the time she died as 10-12.

    Her bones had multiple fractures at various stages of healing, according to the report, which is dated May 28, 2020. The examination was conducted in the days after her remains were found.

    The Arizona Department of Child Safety first responded to the home a week before the fire after an 11-year-old girl called 911 and said she’d been left there alone for two days.

    The officers found evidence of child abuse and took the girl, the only child at the residence that day, into custody.

    During a follow-up visit less than an hour before the fire, DCS removed the other two kids, a 9-year-old boy and a 4-year-old girl.

    Rafael initially told investigators Anna had moved to Mexico, but he later said the girl died in July 2017 after becoming ill, according to police. Court records, however, list the date of all the crimes except arson as May 1, 2016.

    Prosecutors said Rafael confessed to setting the fire in an effort to end his life and burn the house down.

    https://ktar.com/story/4345946/adopt...l-report-says/
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    Prosecutors to seek death penalty against Phoenix adoptive parents charged with murder

    By Perry Vandell
    Arizona Republic

    The Maricopa County Attorney's office plans to seek the death penalty against two parents accused of abusing and neglecting their adoptive children and hiding the body of a girl who died after falling ill rather than take her to a hospital.

    Police arrested Rafael and Maribel Loera in January 2020 after police and firefighters discovered a child's skeletal remains in the attic of their Phoenix home, as well as numerous signs of abuse on their other children.

    Court documents say Rafael told investigators that he waited several days after his adoptive daughter, who had been renamed Ana Loera, had become very sick before taking her to Phoenix Children's Hospital.

    But Ana began to vomit and convulse in the car and died before they reached the hospital. Court documents say she was 11 years old. Fearing he would lose custody of the other children, Rafael drove back home and hid Ana's body in the attic where it remained for years, documents say.

    The Department of Child Safety removed three other children — two of whom were siblings of Ana Loera.

    Both Rafael and Maribel Loera were initially arrested on several counts of child abuse but prosecutors later refiled the case charging both parents with first-degree murder among additional charges.

    Prosecutors submitted intent to seek the death penalty against Rafael and Maribel Loera on Wednesday — nearly two years after their initial arrest — if they are found guilty of first-degree murder.

    MCAO provided The Arizona Republic copies of the filings on Thursday afternoon, which state the Loera's crimes were especially heinous, cruel and depraved while also violating their special relationship as caregivers.

    Priscilla Marques, Ana's biological mother who had originally named her Charisma, told The Republic on Thursday that she wanted both parents to serve life in prison without an execution, potentially cutting more time they could have spent reflecting on their actions. Later, she said she was happy with the state's decision to pursue capital punishment.

    Rafael and Maribel Loera are scheduled to go to trial on March 1, though it's unclear whether the new filings will delay it further.

    https://www.azcentral.com/story/news...er/9247646002/
    "I realize this may sound harsh, but as a father and former lawman, I really don't care if it's by lethal injection, by the electric chair, firing squad, hanging, the guillotine or being fed to the lions."
    - Oklahoma Rep. Mike Christian

    "There are some people who just do not deserve to live,"
    - Rev. Richard Hawke

    “There are lots of extremely smug and self-satisfied people in what would be deemed lower down in society, who also deserve to be pulled up. In a proper free society, you should be allowed to make jokes about absolutely anything.”
    - Rowan Atkinson

  3. #3
    Senior Member CnCP Legend Mastro Titta's Avatar
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    Rafael and Maribel Loera jury trial will start on December 5th, 2023. The State of Arizona is seeking the death penalty in this case.

    https://apps.supremecourt.az.gov/pub...aselookup.aspx

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