An Arizona woman faces up to 32 years in prison after admitting to killing her 9-year-old adopted daughter, keeping the body in an attic for years, and setting the house on fire.
Maribel Loera, 57, pled guilty on September 22 to second-degree murder, concealment of a dead body, and child abuse in the death of Ana Loera. Under the plea agreement, she faces 22 years in jail with no possibility of early release or parole, followed by lifetime supervision.
The abuse was discovered on January 20, 2020, when an 11-year-old girl contacted 911 to report being abandoned without food. The child reported to responding officers that Loera “struck her on multiple occasions with knotted extension cords and slammed her head into walls. “Child welfare workers promptly removed the girl and two other children from their home.
Days later, on January 28, the house caught fire. Firefighters extinguished the fire and discovered Ana’s skeletal remains in the attic.
According to court records, Loera’s husband, Rafael Loera, acknowledged knowing the girl was being beaten and siphoning gas to set the house on fire. A state fatality investigation stated that “the father, Rafael Loera, admitted to knowing Anna was being abused by her mother, Maribel Loera, and that the child died while he was taking her to the hospital; however, he returned to the home and hid the child in the attic.”
In court, one of Ana’s surviving siblings recalled the abuse they faced at home.
“There’s this day that happened where she tried to murder me with a knife, and I still have the scars on me, and I have to deal with all of that every day,” the sibling told the court. “I don’t think it should be fair that she’ll [be] let out, and I can’t even have my sister.”
Loera is set for official sentencing in October. 19. The case against Rafael Loera is still ongoing.
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