2 teens accused of 'brutal, heinous, vicious' beating and stabbing of missing 13-year-old

COLUMBIA, S.C. (TCN) -- Police announced the arrests of two juveniles they allege fatally beat and stabbed a missing 13-year-old, then set an unoccupied residence on fire.

According to Columbia Police Chief Skip Holbrook, on Wednesday, Jan. 15, the Columbia Fire Department responded to a structure fire on Cardamom Court. Thirty residences in the area are occupied while 72 are vacant, and the fire had been set in one of the unoccupied units. Firefighters made entrance and found a deceased female inside.

Columbia Police arrived at the scene and determined the victim "suffered traumatic injuries to her face and body, and had been severely burned." The victim, however, did not have any identification on her. Investigators met with officials from the Richland County Sheriff’s Office and learned Ka’Niyah Baker’s mother reported her missing on Jan. 12. Holbrook said Baker was "similar in size and age to our victim," and they ultimately positively identified the victim as Baker.

Richland County Coroner Naida Rutherford explained that due to the trauma on Baker’s body, the teen’s missing person description "did not match up at all with what we had in front of us." The sheriff’s office ran DNA from dental records and some of Baker’s clothing found at her foster home, which ultimately led them to positively identify Baker.

Rutherford said Baker had been "bludgeoned, stabbed, and burned." Her listed her manner of death as "a horrible homicide."

Holbrook called Baker’s killing "brutal, heinous, vicious, gruesome, monstrous, and disturbing."

Police arrested two juveniles they allege played a role in Baker’s death. The first suspect is a 16-year-old runaway female with a history of disorderly conduct, malicious injury, throwing bodily fluids, and other charges. She was reported missing Jan. 12 and was wanted by the Department of Juvenile Justice for cutting her ankle monitor off on Jan. 12. She was last enrolled in high school in January 2024 but dropped out.

According to Holbrook, the second suspect, 15, also dropped out of high school and is known as a frequent runaway.

Like the two suspects, Baker "has a history of running away." She was originally from Sumter, South Carolina, but had recently been in foster care in Columbia.

Fifth Judicial Circuit Solicitor Byron Gipson said his office expects to petition the family court in order to prosecute the two suspects as adults.

Holbrook shared, "We’ve got some work to do with our system. We’ve got some work to do with our young people. There’s too much despair, and we’ve got to change that."

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