Former San Diego megachurch elder Leticia McCormack will face the death penalty over the alleged torture and murder of her 11-year-old adopted daughter, Arabella McCormack.
Prosecutors confirmed on Tuesday that they intend to seek capital punishment when the trial begins in August 2027, bringing a new level of severity to a case that has horrified the California community.
Arabella was found unresponsive at the family’s Spring Valley home in the early hours of 30 August 2022 and died shortly after arriving at the hospital.
The San Diego County District Attorney’s Office has charged the 53-year-old with first-degree murder, three counts of torture, and three counts of wilful cruelty to a child. Leticia’s parents, Adella and Stanley Tom, also face charges in connection with the child’s death; all three defendants maintain pleas of not guilty.
First responders were called to McCormack’s home at about 2am after reports of a child in distress. According to prosecutors, Arabella was ‘pale, unresponsive, and had no pulse’ when emergency personnel arrived.
The girl was taken to the hospital but died shortly afterwards. During an early court hearing, San Diego County Deputy District Attorney Meredith Pro said the subsequent investigation found that Arabella had suffered 15 healing bone fractures.
Prosecutors have alleged that Arabella was severely malnourished when she died. They said her bones were visible through her skin and that she had bruising and lacerations across her body. According to reports, she weighed 48 pounds at the time of her death, less than her weight when she was five.
Those details are at the heart of a case that remains allegations rather than established findings. A jury will ultimately decide whether prosecutors can prove them beyond reasonable doubt. Still, the account set out in court is brutal stuff, even by the standards of an already grim criminal case.
McCormack, the Toms and other adults in the household are accused of abusing Arabella and her two younger sisters through beatings with paddles and sticks, deprivation of food and water, and forced physical exercise. The two surviving girls have since been placed in foster care.