Couple arrested after remains of a teen girl they fostered were found

PHOENIX- A couple has been arrested after the remains of a teenager were found inside of their attic.

According to The new York Post, the remains were discovered on Jan. 28 when firefighters saw smoke coming from the home of Rafael Loera, 56, and Maribel Loera, 50. The skeletal remains were discovered in the couple’s attic. It was later determined that those remains belonged to a teenage girl they were fostering.

Just a few hours BEFORE the fire, the Arizona Dept of Child Safety removed a 4-year-old girl and a 9-year-old boy from the same home after they were allegedly being abused by the couple.

Investigators then questioned the couple about an 11-year-old girl that hadn’t been seen or heard from since 2017 that they were fostering.

Rafael Loera first told investigators that the girl had moved to Mexico, but that was a lie. He eventually confessed that the girl allegedly became sick back in July of 2017 and both him and his wife didn’t take her to the Hospital. She allegedly died several days later.

Loera said the the young girls body was wrapped in a sheet and put in their attic. He told police that him and his wife didn’t report her death because an autopsy would have revealed that she was being physically abused.

Rafael told investigators that he witnessed his wife hitting told investigators that he witnessed his wife beating children with cords and brooms, but was “scared” of her, so he didn’t report it.

The girls body was taken to the couples backyard by the husband, where he poured gasoline over her body and set her on fire.

The couple have been charged with child abuse, arson of an occupied structure and concealment of a dead body.