Their sister died of alleged abuse. Now two Calif. girls will get $31M.

"Two young girls have been awarded over $30 million in damages after reaching a settlement Friday in a lawsuit over the death of their 11-year-old sister. According to the lawsuit, filed in San Diego County Superior Court, Arabella McCormack endured starvation and torture at the hands of her adoptive family before her death in 2022. Although the alleged abuse lasted for years, the lawsuit says that time after time, adults did nothing to save the three sisters from their torment."

"In Aug. 2022, a 911 call was made from a home on Lakeview Drive in Spring Valley, a suburb of San Diego. When first responders arrived, they found Arabella unresponsive. At the time, the lawsuit said, the girl was 40 pounds, covered in bruises and cuts and had 13 bone fractures. Arabella was pronounced deceased at a hospital, and her two sisters, then six and seven years old, were "near death," the lawsuit said."

"The San Diego County Sheriff's Office immediately launched an investigation into Arabella's adoptive family. When detectives went to interview her adoptive father, U.S. Customs and Border Protection agent Brian McCormack, he killed himself during the interview. About a week after Arabella's death, her adoptive mother Leticia McCormack, then an ordained elder at the evangelical megachurch Rock Church, was arrested on suspicion of murder."

Two young girls received a settlement exceeding $30 million connected to the death of their 11-year-old sister, Arabella McCormack. Arabella endured starvation and torture by her adoptive family and died in 2022. First responders found her unresponsive, weighing roughly 40 pounds, with bruises, cuts and 13 bone fractures; her two younger sisters were found near death. Investigators say the adoptive father died by suicide during an interview and the adoptive mother was arrested on suspicion of murder. Allegations include long-term abuse and failures by mandated reporters and child welfare agencies; the three girls were removed from the home and Tribal reporting protocols were involved.

Read at SFGATE