Two teenage girls have been charged with the “vicious” murder of a missing 13-year-old girl after they allegedly beat, stabbed and burned her to death.
Ka’Niyah Baker was found dead by authorities after a fire at 114 Cardamon Court — a vacant residence in Capital Heights, South Carolina at around 10:30 p.m. on Jan. 15, the Columbia Police Department said in a news conference on Saturday, Jan. 18.
“The fire department arrived to find smoke coming from inside the residence. They made entry and soon located a deceased person on the floor inside,” Columbia Police Chief “Skip” Holbrook said.
Baker, 13, who was reported missing at the time, “suffered traumatic injuries to her face and body and had been severely burned,” he described, adding that her injuries were “heinous.”
According to police, there was no identification or evidence found inside the home that allowed them to immediately identify the victim.
Ka’nia Baker.
Columbia Police Department
“In our meeting with the sheriff’s department we learned that they had recently taken up an investigation of a missing juvenile,” said Holbrook. “We worked with the Richland County Sheriff’s Department, DNA lab and the corner’s office to ultimately determine that our victim was their missing juvenile.”
Originally from Sumter, S.C., Baker was reported missing on Jan. 12. She had recently entered foster care in Columbia and had a “history of running away,” per police.
Her cause of death was blunt force trauma, Richland County Coroner Naida Rutherford confirmed at the conference. “This is a horrible homicide,” she said. “Ka’Niyah was bludgeoned, stabbed and burned.”
Two female suspects aged 15 and 16 have been arrested in connection with Baker’s death, per police.
The 16-year-old suspect was reported missing by her mother on Jan. 12. She is wanted by the Department of Juvenile Justice after “cutting off her ankle monitor” and has “a history of disorderly conduct,” said Holbrook. She last attended high school in January 2024 and is “a frequent runaway.”
The 15-year-old suspect was last enrolled in high school in December 2024 and is also “a frequent runaway.” The last known addresses of both suspects were in Columbia, S.C., according to police.
Crime scene tape.
Getty
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A missing person’s flyer sent out for Baker mentions that she was last seen on Jan. 13 on Auburnleaf Drive in Hopkins and that she “is believed to be in danger,” WBTV reported.
The Richland County Sheriff’s Department missing person’s report stated that Baker ran away from Auburnleaf Drive between midnight at 6:00 p.m. and that she had recently purchased a phone, per the outlet.
The Columbia Police Department did not immediately respond when PEOPLE requested an update.
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