- Bella Rae Seachrist was born to Nicole Seachrist, a woman who’d been having an affair with Bella’s father
- Born to a drug-addicted mother, Bella was placed in foster care before being reunited with her father, stepmum, and their three sons.
- Sadly festering jealousy behind closed doors saw little Bella became the target of abuse at the hands of those meant to care for her
- A horrifying investigation into the Bella Rae Seachrist child abuse case uncovered the full extent of her suffering – and exposed a shocking truth
Bella Rae Seachrist was born in August 2016, and, in what sadly would become a theme throughout her short life, love had nothing to do with it.
Her mother Nicole Seachrist had been having an affair with Bella’s father, Jose Salazar-Ortiz.
He was in a long-term relationship with Laura Ramirez, with whom he had three sons.
Nicole Seachrist was also a drug addict and on May 31, 2017, authorities took Bella away from her mother and put her into foster care.
The next day, a caseworker contacted Jose regarding Bella, and he agreed to supervised visits with his daughter.
On June 28, 2017, child protective services deemed Jose’s household “proper and suitable for a child” and by July 9, Bella had moved in with her father, her brothers and
Read more: She caught her killer on camera
Jose had no criminal record, was raising three seemingly well-adjusted boys, had a steady job and, according to his sister, wanted Bella.
So, one month later, a judge granted Jose sole custody and closed the case.
After about a year of caring for Bella, around the summer of 2018, Jose sent her to stay with his family for a year.
Jose’s family adored her and described her as a happy little girl who loved to dance, eat chips and go on the swings.
Bella was apparently thriving before her father brought her back to live with him in September 2019.
Around that time, photographs show a well-nourished child without any apparent injuries.
Neighbours of the couple said, despite seeing the couple’s three boys playing out on the street all the time, they had no idea a little girl lived there.
Sadly, there was a sinister reason for that.
A year later, in June 2020, Jose and Laura went away for the weekend to celebrate their 15th wedding anniversary, leaving the boys and Bella with their aunt and Laura’s sister, Alexis Herrera, who lived with them at the time.
When the couple returned home on Monday evening, June 8, Alexis told them Bella, three, was ill.
Laura told police later she’d given Bella some medicine and wrapped her in blankets, turned on a space heater and everyone went to bed around 8pm.
The next morning, Jose left early for work, and when Alexis and Laura realised Bella still appeared really sick, they picked up an electrolyte drink and gave it to her, along with some orange juice, and then put her in her cot in the hallway where she slept.
The women cleaned the house until 12:30pm and then ordered Chinese food for lunch.
They went to pick up the meal, leaving Bella in the cot, wrapped in the blankets, and the space heater running.
When they returned home with the food, Laura checked on Bella and saw “brown-reddish stuff on her face” which she believed was vomit.
When Laura rinsed Bella’s face off, she noticed she wasn’t breathing.
She called Jose, who told her to call an ambulance.
Alexis put Bella in the bath, under a cold shower and then dialled emergency services.
When officers and paramedics arrived, they found Bella unresponsive, badly bruised and so malnourished you could see the bones through her skin. Her hair was also patchy and falling out.
A paediatrician described her as looking like a child out of a concentration camp.
Officers and medics performed life-saving measures and took the child to a hospital where she was pronounced dead.
She weighed less than 13kg when she died.
As police officers began to investigate, a truly heartbreaking story started to unravel.
Jealous of Jose’s affair with Bella’s mother, Laura had begun a cruel campaign of terror against the tot.
She was made to sleep in a hallway, while her brothers all had their own rooms, and was often tied to a staircase, gagged, stuffed in dark closets or made to stand facing a wall, with her hands in the air.
She was made to sit on her potty so long that her feet became purple and swollen and she was beaten with belts and spoons until her body could take no more.
The medical examiner at the hospital reported that Bella died from malnutrition, failure to thrive due to chronic illness and hypoglycaemia, plus abuse and neglect.
Jose and Laura were arrested and charged.
Jose claimed that, although he knew Laura beat Bella, he didn’t know the extent and that Laura had claimed Bella had inflicted the injuries on herself.
Yet prosecutors found texts between Laura and Jose calling Bella “ugly” and an “animal”.
In July 2023, Laura Ramirez, 31, was found guilty of first-degree murder, aggravated assault, unlawful restraint, child endangerment and conspiracy to commit homicide.
She was jailed for life, with no chance of parole.
Judge Bruce R. Beemer said during the sentencing of Ramirez: “I don’t know that I’ve ever really seen a level of malice not only indeed done here.
“There was no other possible result, based on what occurred day after day, week after week, month after month, but for her to die in one of the most horrific ways possible.
“The pain, the hunger – I cannot envision a worse fate for that child than the one she suffered at your hands in that house.”
Jose Eduardo Salazar-Ortiz Sr, 32, was found guilty of third-degree murder, aggravated assault, endangering the welfare of children and conspiracy.
He was jailed for 33 to 66 years.
In May 2024, Laura’s sister, Alexis Herrera, 24, also pleaded guilty to a general count of criminal homicide after investigators found images, videos and text messages between the sisters that show and describe the abuse.
In some, Bella is seen bound and gagged with a blindfold over her eyes.
Herrera’s currently awaiting to be sentenced for the part she played in the harrowing Bella Rae Seachrist child abuse case.
A girl who was never loved.
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