The two younger sisters of an 11-year-old California girl who prosecutors say was tortured and starved to death by her adoptive family have reached a $31.5 million settlement with the city and county of San Diego, along with several other institutions accused of failing to intervene before it was too late.
The civil lawsuit was brought on behalf of the sisters of Arabella McCormack, who died in August 2022. The girls were just 6 and 7 years old at the time of her death. Their adoptive mother, Leticia McCormack, and her parents, Adella and Stanley Tom, have been charged with murder, conspiracy, child abuse, and torture. All three have pleaded not guilty, and their criminal case remains ongoing.
The lawsuit alleged that Arabella’s death was not the result of a single failure, but of a systemic breakdown across multiple agencies and organizations that repeatedly missed or ignored warning signs of abuse.
Under the settlement, the city of San Diego will pay $10 million, San Diego County will pay another $10 million, Pacific Coast Academy will contribute $8.5 million, and Rock Church will pay $3 million, according to the sisters’ attorney, Craig McClellan. Pacific Coast Academy oversaw Arabella’s homeschooling, while her adoptive mother served as an ordained elder at Rock Church.
“The amount is going to be enough to take care of the girls for the rest of their lives,” McClellan said. But he stressed that no sum could undo what was lost. “It isn’t going to be enough and never could be enough to replace their sister, nor is it going to erase the memories of what they went through.”
The lawsuit paints a grim picture of missed opportunities to save Arabella. It alleges that county social workers failed to properly investigate reports of abuse and that two teachers at Pacific Coast Academy did not report the child’s deteriorating condition. It also claims that a San Diego police officer who was a friend of the adoptive mother gave the family a wooden paddle to use to hit their children.
On Aug. 30, 2022, San Diego sheriff’s deputies responded to a call reporting a child in distress at the McCormack home. They found Arabella severely malnourished and covered in bruises, authorities said. She was rushed to a hospital, where she later died.
Her two sisters, now 9 and 11, are living with a foster mother and are in good health. McClellan said they are “doing pretty well considering all things,” though the trauma of what they endured remains a defining part of their young lives.
