Inset: Arabella McCormack (San Diego County Sheriff's Department). Background: News footage of Leticia McCormack in court (KFMB).
A California mother who allegedly starved and tortured her daughter to death will face the ultimate penalty when she goes to trial next year.
Leticia McCormack, 53, has been awaiting trial in connection with the alleged murder of her adopted daughter, 11-year-old Arabella McCormack, who was found unresponsive in 2022 and later died. As Law&Crime previously reported, prosecutors said the girl was "severely emaciated. Her bones protruded from her skin. She had visible bruising, lacerations to her body." Arabella allegedly weighed 48 pounds at the time of her death, less than what she weighed at 5 years old.
McCormack, a former elder with the Rock Church megachurch, was charged with first-degree murder, three counts of torture, and three counts of willful cruelty to a child. Her parents, 74-year-old Adella Tom and 79-year-old Stanley Tom, also face charges in connection with Arabella's death. All three have pleaded not guilty to the charges against them.
On Tuesday, the San Diego County District Attorney's Office said it would pursue the death penalty as a possible punishment for McCormack at her trial scheduled for August 2027. According to reporting by The Los Angeles Times, the decision reflects the severity of the crimes allegedly committed by McCormack. California Gov. Gavin Newsom declared a moratorium on carrying out death sentences in 2019.
McCormack and her parents are also accused of torturing Arabella's two younger sisters, who have since been placed in foster care.
On Aug. 30, 2022, first responders arrived at McCormack's home around 2 a.m. after receiving a call about a child in distress. The child, Arabella, was "pale, unresponsive, and had no pulse," prosecutors said. She was brought to the hospital and died shortly after she arrived. San Diego County Deputy District Attorney Meredith Pro said during an early court hearing, "After further investigation, it was learned that [Arabella] had 15 healing bone fractures to her body."
Prosecutors stated that McCormack and the Toms tortured all three of their daughters in various ways including hitting them with "paddles and sticks" and denying them food and water while forcing them to do strenuous exercises.
McCormack's husband, Brian McCormack, shot himself in the head when police questioned him about Arabella's death the night they responded to the home. Local CBS affiliate KFMB reported that according to Pro, Brian McCormack told his wife in the days before Arabella's death that the girl "was starving to death and he believed she was going to die."
In December 2025, the two surviving sisters received a $31.5 million settlement after they accused several organizations, including the Rock Church megachurch, of failing to act or intervene to stop the abuse. In a statement following the settlement, Rock Church clarified McCormack's role at the church, writing that she "was previously a volunteer" and "was not a part of our paid staff, was not a pastor and did not serve in any official pastoral role for the church."
Rock Church wrote, "Her ordination as an elder was completed at another church and transferred to the Rock in January 2022. She is no longer affiliated with the church and her ordination was suspended at the beginning of the investigation and has now been officially revoked."
KFMB reported that Rock Church paid the surviving girls $3 million for their part of the settlement.