Schala Alexandria Vera

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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Remembering Schala

Schala Alexandria Vera had celebrated her third birthday only six days before she died. At three years old, Schala should have been surrounded by the ordinary pieces of childhood playing, learning new words, discovering favorite things and growing a little more independent every day.

Instead, much of what remains publicly documented about Schala describes the violence she endured inside her home. But Schala was a little girl before she became the victim in a murder case. She had a name. She had a family. She had an entire personality and future that should have had years to unfold. Her name was Schala Alexandria Vera, and her life mattered long before the world learned what had been done to her.

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Schala's Story

In the months before Schala's death, she was subjected to repeated physical abuse inside her Chandler home. The Arizona Supreme Court record shows that Schala had previously spent several months living with relatives in Iowa. After returning to Arizona around late May or early June 2009, the abuse began within weeks. Dauntorian Sanders later told investigators that both he and Schala's mother, Susan Witbracht, struck Schala with belts as punishment. According to Sanders, Schala was hit with either a leather belt or a military-style belt approximately once or twice each week. The violence left marks across Schala's tiny body. By the weekend before her death, her legs were already so extensively bruised that Sanders acknowledged newer bruises could have been covering older ones. Investigators later found a black belt in the home with tape wrapped around its buckle—the belt Sanders identified as one he used to strike Schala. Then came August 31, 2009. Schala was punished again for what Sanders described as not listening. According to the evidence later presented at his trial, Sanders beat Schala repeatedly with a belt. The violence escalated far beyond what he attempted to characterize as discipline. Schala suffered injuries throughout her body.

The medical examiner documented extensive bruising on her arms, legs, torso and head. Some of the injuries bore patterns consistent with being struck by belts. Her legs were so heavily bruised that it was difficult to distinguish newer injuries from older ones. Schala tried to protect herself.

Evidence of bruising on her hands was consistent with the three-year-old raising them defensively while she  was being struck. During the fatal attack, Schala was beaten and subjected to severe blunt-force violence. Accounts preserved from the case describe her being thrown or dropped against the bathroom floor and suffering repeated trauma to her head and body. Eventually, Schala ended up in the bathroom, wedged in the small space between the toilet and vanity. Sanders left the house to go to Walgreens for cigarettes. When he returned, Schala was not breathing. He called 911.  A Chandler police officer arrived and found Schala lying on the bathroom floor. Her skin had turned pale blue, her mouth was open and her eyes had rolled back. The officer immediately noticed how heavily bruised she was, particularly across her legs and upper arms. He performed CPR until paramedics arrived. Schala was transported to Mercy Gilbert Hospital, where doctors attempted to revive her.

They could not. At approximately 4:30 p.m. on August 31, 2009, Schala Alexandria Vera was pronounced dead.  An autopsy determined that Schala died from multiple blunt-force injuries.

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The Abuse Before Schala's Death

Schala's death was not the result of a single moment in which an adult suddenly lost control.

Evidence showed a pattern of abuse. Sanders admitted that he and Susan had repeatedly struck Schala with belts after she returned to Arizona. The Arizona Supreme Court record also established that both adults beat Schala. Yet there is an important distinction in Schala's case. According to the Arizona Department of Child Safety's fatality report, CPS had no previous reports alleging that Sanders or Witbracht had abused or neglected Schala before her death. So unlike some of the children remembered here, Schala's case does not appear to involve a documented report to child protective services that was investigated and closed before her death. The warning signs existed inside the home. One adult was abusing Schala. The other adult knew that Schala was being beaten—and also participated in physically punishing her. The person who should have been Schala's strongest protection was therefore not an outside agency or stranger. It should have been her mother.

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Justice for Schala

Dauntorian Sanders and Susan Witbracht were both arrested after Schala's death. On September 3, 2009, both were indicted on one count of first-degree murder and four counts of child abuse. The cases were later separated. Sanders went to trial in 2014. The jury found him guilty of first-degree murder and two counts of child abuse. During the penalty phase, jurors found several aggravating circumstances, including that Schala was younger than 15 and that her murder had been committed in an especially cruel manner. The jury sentenced Sanders to death for murdering Schala. He also received consecutive prison sentences for the child abuse convictions. Sanders appealed his convictions and death sentence. In 2018, the Arizona Supreme Court affirmed both his convictions and sentences.

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Dauntorian Lydel Sanders
Relationship to Schala: Mother's boyfriend
Conviction: First-degree murder and two counts of child abuse

Sentence: Death, plus consecutive sentences for child abuse
Appeal: Convictions and sentences affirmed by the Arizona Supreme Court

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Schala's mother, Susan Witbracht, was also prosecuted separately in connection with her daughter's death. The public records I've verified establish that she was charged alongside Sanders and that evidence showed she had participated in beating Schala.

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Forever Remembered

Schala Alexandria Vera was three years old for six days. Her body carried evidence of violence that had begun before the final day of her life. Her arms were bruised. Her legs were bruised. Her torso and head were injured. Some bruises were so extensive that newer injuries may have concealed older ones. And during the final violence inflicted upon her, Schala tried to protect herself.

She raised her little hands. She tried to get away.  She ended up squeezed into the small space beside a toilet and vanity. Those details are painful. They belong in Schala's story because what happened to her should never be reduced to the words child abuse resulting in death. But neither should those details become everything Schala is remembered for. Her name was Schala Alexandria Vera. Six days earlier, she had had a birthday. There should have been a fourth and a fifth. There should have been kindergarten, school pictures, friendships, favorite songs, favorite foods and years for Schala to become someone whose story could be told through the things she loved rather than the violence she endured. She deserved adults who protected her. She deserved a home in which she never needed to raise her hands to shield herself from a belt. She deserved to be three years old without being afraid.

Abuse Angels remembers Schala Alexandria Vera, tells the truth about what happened to her, and preserves the name of the little girl whose childhood ended only six days after her third birthday.