"This is a horrible homicide. She was bludgeoned, stabbed and burned."
Officials from the city of Columbia, South Carolina held a press conference on Saturday (January 18, 2025) to announce the arrest of two juveniles in connection with the shockingly graphic murder of 13-year-old Ka'Niyah Baker.
Baker - who was in foster care at the time of her disappearance - was reported missing on Sunday, January 12, 2025. She was last seen on Aubernleaf Drive in Hopkins, S.C. the following day. Her body was discovered two days later - shortly before 10:30 a.m. EDT - inside an unoccupied home in the 100 block of Cardamon Drive in Columbia by firefighters responding to a small structure fire.
According to Richland County coroner Naida Rutherford, identification of Baker was difficult due to the severe trauma inflicted upon her. Rutherford said the remains were ultimately identified utilizing DNA.
"Even the pictures that they sent of her did not seem to match up due to severe trauma to her head, face and body, visual identification just was not possible, and so we had to turn to science," Rutherford said.
Baker's cause of death was officially listed as blunt force trauma, and according to Rutherford the manner of death was "not an accident and (was) not a suicide."
"This is a horrible homicide," Rutherford said. "She was bludgeoned, stabbed and burned."
Addressing rumors regarding Baker, Rutherford clarified that the initial visual examination concluded the teenager was not pregnant, but testing had been ordered in an effort to confirm.
At the press conference, Columbia police chief Skip Holbrook announced the arrest of two females from Columbia, S.C. - aged 16 and 15 - for the murder, which he described as "brutal, heinous, vicious, gruesome, monstrous and disturbing." According to Holbrook, the 16-year-old suspect was reported missing by her mother on January 12, 2025 and has a "history of disorderly conduct, malicious injury, throwing bodily fluids."
Holbrook added the 16-year-old suspect was wanted by the Department of Juvenile Justice (SCDJJ) for cutting off her ankle monitor on the same day she was reported missing.
S.C. fifth circuit solicitor Byron Gibson said both suspects had been charged with murder. Not only that, he announced plans to petition the family court to charge the juveniles as adults.
Holbrook noted the impact the case has had on those involved, saying "I have been moved by how they've maintained throughout this investigation."
The murder investigation was led by the Columbia Police Department (CPD) with assistance from the Richland County Sheriff Department (RCSD), South Carolina Law Enforcement Division (SLED) and the Columbia Fire Department (CFD).
Count on FITSNews for pertinent updates as they become available...
Jenn Wood is FITSNews' incomparable research director. She's also the producer of the FITSFiles and Cheer Incorporated podcasts and leading expert on all things Murdaugh/ South Carolina justice. A former private investigator with a criminal justice degree, evildoers beware, Jenn Wood is far from your average journalist! A deep dive researcher with a passion for truth and a heart for victims, this mom of two is pretty much a superhero in FITSNews country. Did we mention she's married to a rocket scientist? (Lucky guy!) Got a story idea or a tip for Jenn? Email her at jenn@fitsnews.com.