Baki Dewees was born on April 14, 2024, to parents with extensive prior child abuse allegations. Two days after his birth, his mother Roselani Gaoa was arrested in Utah on child abuse charges related to a sibling, and all four children were released to his father Yusef Ibn Dewees' custody. The family moved to the grandmother's home in Palmdale, California. Investigators believe Baki was seriously injured as early as May 2 while in his father's sole custody but was never taken to a hospital. The father was last seen with the baby on May 3 and the criminal complaint indicates Baki was probably dead by that time. Dewees subsequently provided multiple contradictory false statements about the baby's whereabouts, including claims the child was in Florida, adopted by a California woman, or abandoned at a hospital. The father was charged with murder and child abuse. Despite a search of the Antelope Valley Landfill, Baki's remains were never recovered.
Contexts/Conditions
Is there any mention of child drug ingestion or overdose?
Is there any mention of a drowning incident (either intentional or accidental)?
Is there any mention of a firearm incident?
Is there any mention of inappropriate supervision (e.g., child wandered off and drowned)?
Is there any mention of inflicted injury? (e.g. slapped, punched, kicked, choked)
The LA Times article states that "detectives believe Baki may have been seriously injured as early as May 2 while in his father's custody, but he was never taken to a hospital." Additionally, the father Yusef Ibn Dewees was "charged Wednesday with murder and child abuse." While the specific mechanism of injury to Baki is not described, the charge of murder and the description of serious injury while in the father's custody strongly implies inflicted injury. For the siblings, the text explicitly describes inflicted injuries: Gaoa was "caught on video repeatedly punching her 5-year-old daughter in the face and striking her with a hairbrush" and Dewees allegedly "punched his oldest daughter in the face."
Is there any mention of malnutrition, starvation, or dehydration?
Is there any mention of medical neglect?
The LA Times article states: "detectives believe Baki may have been seriously injured as early as May 2 while in his father's custody, but he was never taken to a hospital." This directly describes a failure to seek medical care for a seriously injured child, constituting medical neglect.
Is there any mention of a motor vehicle crash or incident?
Is there any mention of a murder-suicide incident?
Is there any mention of outdoor elements (including hot car deaths)?
Is there any mention of prenatal substance exposure (including fetal alcohol syndrome or neonatal abstinence syndrome)?
Is there any mention of sexual abuse?
Is there any specific mention of shaken baby or abusive head trauma?
Is there any mention of prolonged abuse or torture (including restraints, captivity)?
Is there any mention of an unsafe sleeping environment?
Individuals Involved
Was an adoptive parent or guardian involved in the death?
Was a biological father involved in the death?
The LA Times article states: "His father, Yusef Ibn Dewees, was charged Wednesday with murder and child abuse." The criminal complaint "indicated that Baki was probably dead by that time" (May 3), and "detectives believe Baki may have been seriously injured as early as May 2 while in his father's custody." Dewees was the last person seen with the baby.
Was a biological mother involved in the death?
Was a day care worker, babysitter, or nanny involved in the death?
Was a female paramour or friend involved in the death (e.g., girlfriend, stepmother)?
Was a foster parent involved in the death?
Was a male paramour or friend involved in the death (e.g., boyfriend, stepfather)?
Was another adult relative involved in the death? (e.g., grandfather, aunt)
Was a sibling involved in the death?
Child Characteristics
Was the child adopted?
Was the child homeschooled (including "cyberschooling") or taken out of school?
Was the child in foster care at the time of the incident?
Was the child living with relatives at the time of the incident (but not parents)?
Is there any mention of a neurological developmental child disability? (e.g., autism, intellectual disability, nonverbal)
Is there any mention of a physical child disability? (e.g., feeding tube)
Is there any mention of prematurity or low birthweight?
Is there a history of child protection reports prior to death (for this child or siblings)?
The LA Times article extensively documents prior child protection reports. In November 2023, the grandmother called DCFS, generating a Suspected Child Abuse Report (SCAR). In December 2023, a doctor at UCLA Harbor Medical Center noticed bruises on the 1-year-old, and both LAPD and a DCFS employee responded. In January, the LA city attorney filed misdemeanor child abuse charges against Gaoa. In April, Gaoa was caught on video abusing her 5-year-old in a Utah homeless shelter. The article states: "Between November 2023 and April 2024, allegations surfaced that Gaoa, a mother of four, had battered her 1-year-old son, ripped and cut another child's hair in Los Angeles, and beat and attempted to smother her 5-year-old daughter." Additionally, "Dewees...was also accused of child abuse last year."
Does the child have a history of foster care (but not in care at time of incident)?
Is there a history of a sibling death (separate incident from this death)?
Parent/Caregiver Factors
Was an adult charged or arrested for the child's death?
The LA Times article states: "His father, Yusef Ibn Dewees, was charged Wednesday with murder and child abuse, according to court records."
Is domestic violence by the parent/caregiver referenced?
The LA Times article quotes the November 2023 SCAR report: "Father drinks every day, he becomes violent when he is drunk." While this violence is described in a report that primarily documents child abuse, the general statement that the father "becomes violent when he is drunk" in a household with a partner and children could encompass domestic violence. However, no specific incidents of intimate partner violence are explicitly described.
Is there any mention that the death occurred in a temporary shelter or while homeless?
The family was homeless. Before Baki's birth, Gaoa was caught abusing her daughter in "a Utah homeless shelter" (LA Times). After Gaoa's arrest, the Utah agency released the children to Dewees' custody; Dewees was described as homeless. The LA Times notes that "the fact that Dewees was homeless while caring for four kids would not have been enough to revoke custody." After moving to the grandmother's house in Palmdale, Dewees left with the baby on May 3. Dewees then returned to "the homeless shelter in Ogden" on May 7. The family's overall situation was one of homelessness, even though the death itself appears to have occurred while temporarily staying with the grandmother.
Is an intellectual disability of the parent/caregiver referenced?
Is the mental health of the parent/caregiver referenced?
The LA Times article states that the grandmother called DCFS and said her daughter had "undiagnosed mental health issues" and "She refuses to seek help." The November 2023 SCAR report generated from this call references these mental health concerns about the mother.
Is a history of arrests or criminal charges for the parent/caregiver referenced?
The LA Times article states: "In January, the Los Angeles city attorney's office filed one count of misdemeanor child abuse against Gaoa." This criminal charge predates Baki's death (estimated around May 2-3, 2024). Additionally, Gaoa was arrested on April 16 in Utah on child abuse charges ("intentional child abuse, reckless child abuse and aggravated child abuse" per Newsweek) prior to Baki's death. The LA Times also notes that Dewees "was also accused of child abuse last year." These are all prior to and separate from the murder charge arising from Baki's death.
Is substance use by the parent/caregiver referenced?
The LA Times article quotes the November 2023 SCAR report: "Father drinks every day, he becomes violent when he is drunk." Additionally, the article states Dewees "was frequently drunk." This clearly references alcohol use by the father/caregiver.
Notable Details
The LA Times article documents significant systemic failures across multiple agencies that directly contributed to the circumstances of Baki's death. Despite three abuse allegations against the mother in six months, "child welfare officials took almost no action against the parents." A DCFS employee, Sarah Campos, "did not express any concern regarding removal of the child" even after the mother admitted to losing control while disciplining a 1-year-old. A former child abuse investigator called this response "extremely bizarre and unsettling" and "basically just [a] shrug." Additionally, cross-state communication failures meant Utah officials "did not know about the prior child abuse allegations against Gaoa" because "the information did not appear in searches of a national criminal database." The article notes this was "the latest in a series of Antelope Valley-based tragedies where L.A. County officials have been accused of failing to adequately respond to reports of child abuse." Baki's remains have never been recovered despite an extensive landfill search, and two of his surviving siblings are now in the custody of DCFS — the same agency the grandmother says failed them.
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