Couple charged with hiding a child's body in Phoenix home plead not guilty

URIEL J. GARCIA   | The Republic | azcentral.com

A couple charged with child abuse and hiding the skeletal remains of their adopted daughter in their west Phoenix house entered not-guilty pleas on Thursday.

Rafael, 56, and Maribel Loera, 50, entered their pleas during an arrangement in Maricopa County Superior Court.

The couple is charged with child abuse and concealing a dead body, according to an indictment. Rafael Loera faces an additional charge of arson.

Phoenix police arrested the couple after firefighters noticed human remains hidden within drywall after they extinguished a fire on Jan. 28 at their home near 59th Avenue and Camelback Road. 

During a police interview, Rafael told investigators that the bones belonged to an 11-year-old girl the couple had adopted. Rafael said the girl became ill in July 2017 and that he waited days before attempting to take her to Phoenix Children's Hospital, documents say.

Fearing they would lose custody of their other adopted children, the couple decided to wrap the child's body in a sheet and hide it in the attic where it remained for two years, Rafael told police, according to court documents.

Investigators first learned about the potential child abuse when a different 11-year-old girl called police on Jan. 20 and told police she had been left alone at home for two days and was hungry.

Responding officers found the home had human feces on the floor throughout the home, according to court documents. The Arizona Department of Child Safety removed the girl that day.

A DCS caseworker contacted Rafael at his front door on Jan. 28, and he signed documents giving DCS temporary custody of a 9-year old boy and 4-year-old girl, court records show. 

DCS found that the 11-year-old girl and 9-year-old boy had numerous scrapes, scars, burns and other injuries all over their bodies  – the boy's injuries were listed as "too numerous to count," according to court documents. 

Court documents say Rafael set fire to his home moments after the children were removed, siphoning gasoline from his car and pouring it on the floor near the fireplace before setting it alight with the goal of killing himself, but a neighbor reported the fire before it grew too large.

The couple remains in a Maricopa County jail.

Breaking news reporter Perry Vandell contributed to this report.