Maribel Loera’s plea agreement calls for 32 years in prison in a case uncovered after firefighters found the child’s remains in 2020.
PHOENIX, Ariz. — A Phoenix woman has pleaded guilty to second-degree murder, concealing a body and multiple child abuse counts in a case that began after firefighters discovered the remains of her adopted daughter during a house fire investigation more than six years ago.
Maribel Loera entered the guilty pleas Sept. 22 in Maricopa County Superior Court. Under the agreement, she is expected to receive a total of 32 years in prison if the judge approves the terms at her formal sentencing. The agreement resolves Loera’s case without a trial and removes the possibility of a death sentence. Her sentencing is scheduled for Oct. 16.
The investigation began Jan. 20, 2020, when Phoenix police responded to a home near 59th Avenue and Camelback Road after an 11-year-old girl called 911 and reported that she had been left alone. Authorities said the girl described abuse and neglect inside the home. The Arizona Department of Child Safety took her into its care, and two other children were removed from the residence eight days later as the investigation continued.
Later on Jan. 28, firefighters were called to a fire at the same home. While working at the property, firefighters encountered human remains, leading police to open a wider investigation. Authorities identified the remains as those of Ana Loera, an adopted daughter of Maribel and Rafael Loera. Contemporary reports differed over Ana’s age because she had been dead for years before her remains were discovered. Police records indicated she had not been seen alive since 2017, and the medical examiner ultimately ruled her death a homicide.
Early court records described a disturbing history inside the home. Another child told investigators that an older sister had disappeared years earlier and that she had received conflicting explanations about where the girl had gone. According to police documents reported at the time, Rafael Loera initially said Ana had moved to Mexico. He later told investigators that she became seriously ill in 2017 and died before reaching a hospital. Authorities said her death was not reported and her remains were concealed at the property.
Police initially arrested Maribel and Rafael Loera on charges arising from the child abuse investigation and the discovery of the remains. In 2021, Phoenix police announced that investigators had developed probable cause to add first-degree murder charges against both of them. Maribel Loera’s September 2026 agreement resolves the charges against her through guilty pleas to second-degree murder, abandonment or concealment of a dead body and nine child abuse counts.
The agreement calls for Loera to serve 22 years for second-degree murder and another 10 years connected to several child abuse counts, for a total of 32 years. She is expected to receive credit for time already spent in custody. The agreement also calls for supervised probation on remaining child abuse counts after her prison term. The prison term remains subject to formal imposition by the court at sentencing.
Two surviving children addressed the court during the Sept. 22 proceeding and described the lasting effects of the abuse they experienced, according to reporting from the hearing. Their accounts brought renewed attention to the circumstances that first led authorities to investigate the household in 2020. The surviving children’s reports to investigators were central to the inquiry that eventually exposed Ana’s disappearance and the concealment of her remains.
Rafael Loera’s criminal case remains separate. He has not resolved his case through the same plea agreement, and the charges against him remain allegations unless proven in court or admitted through a guilty plea. Court reporting indicates his trial is scheduled for March 2027.
Maribel Loera is scheduled to return to Maricopa County Superior Court on Oct. 16 for formal sentencing. Until the judge imposes the sentence, the 32-year term is the punishment specified by the plea agreement rather than a final sentence formally entered by the court.
Author note: Last updated September 27, 2026.