Race Day Live (Columbia, SC) – Two teens in South Carolina, ages 16 and 15, are charged with murder after allegedly bludgeoning, stabbing, and then burning a 13-year-old girl inside an empty house in what authorities term a “gut-wrenching” death that “shocks the conscious.”
“Brutal, heinous, vicious, gruesome, monstrous and disturbing. These are the words I’d use to describe this murder investigation,” said Columbia Police Chief William “Skip” Holbrook at a press conference Saturday.
The victim, Ka’Niyah Baker, was discovered dead in a “structure fire” at a vacant property on Cardamon Court in Columbia last Wednesday night, according to the Columbia Police Department. She had been reported missing on January 12, with the latest sighting being approximately 20 miles from where she was discovered.
“The manner of death was not an accident,” said Richland County Coroner Naida Rutherford at Saturday’s presser. “Ka’Niyah was bludgeoned, stabbed and burned.”
According to Holbrook, Baker was born and reared in Sumter and was most recently placed in foster care in Columbia. She and the two suspects have all been “runaways,” Holbrook said, with each going missing within the last two months after fleeing their homes.
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“First suspect is a 16-year-old female,” Holbrook said. “Her last known address was in Columbia. She was reported missing by her mom on Jan. 12. She has a history of disorderly conduct, malicious injury, throwing bodily fluids; she was wanted by the Department of Juvenile Justice (Georgia) for cutting off her ankle monitor around Jan. 12. She was last enrolled in a local high school in January 2024 and she’s currently listed as dropped out and she is a frequent runaway.”
The second suspect was characterized as a 15-year-old female with her last known residence in Columbia. “She also was enrolled in a local high school as of last December,” Holbrook noted. “She is currently listed as dropped out and she also is a frequent runaway.”
Holbrook described Baker, saying, “She also has a history of running away.” The cause of death was blunt force trauma.
“We expect to pursue justice in this matter,” Fifth Circuit Solicitor Byron Gipson told reporters. A motive has yet to be released.
“When you talk to people that have been involved in committing heinous crimes like this, you’re looking to seek answers and read their reactions,” Holbrook said. “But sometimes, it’s when there are no reactions is what’s most troubling.”
When Baker was first reported missing on Jan. 16, flyers were distributed indicating that she was believed to be in danger. She had already died in the fire by that point.
Holbrook told reporters that Baker’s murder “has been an extremely difficult case” for investigators to solve.
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