Inset: Maribel Loera (Maricopa County Sheriff’s Office). Background: The Phoenix, Arizona, home where Ana Loera’s skeletal remains were found in the attic (Google Maps).
An Arizona woman is facing decades in prison after admitting that she killed her 9-year-old adopted daughter, concealed the child’s body in the family’s attic for years and later helped set the home on fire.
Maribel Loera, 57, pleaded guilty on Sept. 22 to second-degree murder, concealing a body and several counts of child abuse in connection with Ana Loera’s death.
Early reports described Ana as 13 when her remains were found in January 2020, based on initial estimates. Later forensic assessments placed her age at approximately 9 years old at the time of her death.
Under the terms of her negotiated plea agreement, the defendant will serve up to 32 years in state prison — including 22 years of so-called “flat time” that cannot be lessened by any kind of credit or parole — and remain on lifetime supervision upon her release, according to a courtroom report by Phoenix-based Fox affiliate KSAZ.
The investigation began Jan. 20, 2020, after police were asked to check on an 11-year-old girl who had been left by herself at the Loera residence, Law&Crime previously reported. The girl told officers she had endured neglect and abuse, prompting the Department of Child Safety to remove her from the home.
According to the Arizona Republic, the child called 911 and said she had gone days without food and had been abandoned. She also told police that Loera had beaten her with knotted electrical cords and repeatedly slammed her head against walls, among other alleged abuse, the Associated Press reported.
Authorities soon removed two more children from the residence as the allegations against the family continued to unfold.
The home caught fire on Jan. 28, 2020. While searching the burned property the following day, firefighters discovered what remained of Ana’s body: skeletal remains concealed in the attic.
Investigators said Maribel Loera’s husband, Rafael Loera, 62, provided information about Ana’s death and the alleged attempt to hide it.
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A state fatality report said the Maricopa County Superior Court found on Aug. 3, 2020, that Rafael Loera acknowledged knowing Ana was being abused by Maribel. He reportedly said the girl died while he was taking her to a hospital, after which he returned home and hid her remains in the attic.
Court records obtained by Phoenix NBC affiliate KPNX state that Rafael Loera admitted taking gasoline from his vehicle and using it to ignite the house. He also allegedly told investigators that he wrapped Ana’s body in a blanket and placed it in the attic.
Rafael Loera (Maricopa County Sheriff’s Office).
According to authorities, Rafael said Ana became ill during the summer of 2017, but he waited several days before seeking medical help. He allegedly told police that she began vomiting and convulsing on the way to a doctor and died before they arrived at a hospital.
Rafael allegedly said he concealed the death because he feared his other children would be placed in state custody. Two of those children were Ana’s siblings. Although he claimed Ana died in July 2017, investigators said the last known sightings of her alive dated to 2016.
During court proceedings this week, Ana’s siblings described the abuse they said they experienced inside the Loera home, KSAZ reported.
One sibling told the judge that Maribel Loera once tried to kill them with a knife, leaving scars that remain visible. “I have to deal with all of that every day,” the sibling said, adding that it was unfair for Loera to eventually be released while they could not have their sister back.
Loera is scheduled to receive her formal sentence on Oct. 19.
The criminal case against Rafael Loera remains pending.
This story about a woman pleading guilty after her adopted daughter’s death, the concealment of the child’s remains in an attic and the burning of the family home first appeared on Law & Crime.
