A San Diego County judge says the child abuse charges facing a Spring Valley woman and her mother are so rare, heinous and callous the women are a danger to the public and must remain locked up. It marks the first time some of the details surrounding the death of their 11-year-old adoptive daughter and granddaughter in August have been made public.
A shared media camera inside the courtroom picked up the sounds of audible gasps from court staff as the prosecutor detailed the alleged abuse suffered by 11-year-old Aarabella McCormack and her two surviving younger sisters in their Spring Valley home. But the prosecutor said just as shocking as the allegations is who is charged with committing them. Shocking, because of their ties to a local megachurch and the San Diego Police Department.
Past NBC 7 Coverage of the Death of Aarabella McCormack
“We can imagine no scenario where individuals like this, are facing charges such as this, against outrageous evil actions such as this, where they are not a danger to the public,” said Deputy District Attorney Meredith Pro.
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Leticia McCormack and her mother Adella Tom physically abused McCormack's three adopted girls with paddles and sticks, deprived them of food and water, isolated them in their rooms, denied them access to bathrooms and forced them to participate in rigorous exercises, according to Pro. The actions of the defendants led to the death of 11-year-old Aarabella, who weighed just 48 pounds at the time of her death, less than her weight at age 5, Pro said. Aarabella was covered in bruises and had at least 15 separate bone fractures, according to Pro. Her two younger sisters survived but were hospitalized for three weeks.
“They have expressed that they are happy that these two individuals are in custody and that they hope they remain there because it makes them feel safe,” said Pro.
Leticia McCormack faces three counts each of child abuse and torture, and one count of murder. Her lawyer argued that because the charges relate to the girls and because they are no longer in her custody, she poses no threat.
“Ms. McCormack has no prior arrests,” argued her defense attorney, Gregory Garrison. “No prior convictions, and there is no evidence – let me say it again, there is no evidence to support an argument that she poses a danger to the public.”
Aarabella’s adoptive grandmother, Adella Tom, also faces child abuse and torture charges but not murder.
“She, I think more so, does not represent a danger to the community,” said Tom’s public defender, Randy Wagner. “She's 70 years old. She's frail. She hasn’t driven a car in three years.”
The defendants pleaded not guilty and their attorneys pointed to their clients’ status in the community. Leticia McCormack was a former elder and administrator for the Rock Church. Her mother and father have both served as volunteers with San Diego Police Department since 2015. But it’s precisely that community leadership that the prosecutor said makes this all the more troubling.
“She held herself out to be a pillar of the community yet secretly at her home she’s starving and abusing her children and encouraging it,” said Pro.
In the end, Judge Kathleen Lewis sided with the People and denied bail.
Aarabella’s adoptive grandfather, Stanley Tom, is also facing murder, child abuse and torture charges. But his public defender didn’t ask the court to grant his client bail so he also will remain behind bars.
One person who won’t face charges is Aarabella’s adoptive father Brian McCormack, who served as a Border Patrol agent. Brian McCormack killed himself in front of deputies after doctors declared Aarabella dead. Prosecutors said if he was alive today, he’d also be facing charges.
Something NBC 7 Investigates has been trying to understand is what, if anything, Child Welfare Services knew about the abuse. The county has repeatedly denied our request for records tied to the case, including Aarabella’s cause of death.
When we asked Pro outside the courtroom how it's possible the child abuse was allowed to continue for so long, she replied, “your guess is as good as mine.”
A Rock Church spokeswoman told NBC 7 it has severed ties with Leticia McCormack and the Toms. The San Diego Police Department confirmed Adella and Stanley Tom served as volunteers, but did not offer a statement.
All three suspects will be back in court in January for a preliminary readiness hearing. That will determine when a trial date will be set.
