The family of an 18-year-old North Carolina woman who died by suicide after she was allegedly brutally raped by her own father is planning a desperate courthouse rally Tuesday — as they fear the criminal case against him could collapse simply because she is no longer alive to testify.
Makayla Rene Settles moved to Moorpark, California, in July 2025, eager for college and a fresh start with her biological father, Stephen Vincent Chavez, 41. Her mother, Carolina Sandoval, said Chavez had promised her a car and a college savings fund. Instead, within two days, Settles fled the home barefoot, barely able to walk and with blood on her legs — clutching her cat, passport, ID and a handful of graduation cash.
“She’s barely walking,” Sandoval told FOX LA. “My brother picks her up and hugs her.”
A rape kit completed at Simi Valley Hospital allegedly determined that seminal fluid recovered during the forensic exam tested positive for Chavez’s DNA, according to multiple news reports. Chavez was arrested that same night on charges of incest, taking advantage of a position of trust, and providing alcohol to a minor — but not forcible rape, despite being initially arrested on that suspicion.
“I was screaming, I was crying,” her cousin, Crystal Sandoval, told FOX LA. “I just kept thinking, why would he do that to her? This is something she could not come back from.”
On December 28, 2025, five months after the alleged assault, Settles died by suicide.
“If I’m being honest, it feels like I handed my daughter to the devil,” Carolina Sandoval told FOX LA.
The Alleged Attack: A Dream Turned Nightmare
Makayla Settles had graduated from high school in Raleigh, North Carolina, and moved to California with high hopes. She planned to attend Moorpark College and build a new life with her biological father, whom she had only recently reconnected with.
But on July 21, 2025 — two days after her arrival — Settles called her mother in terror.
“It was just the fear in her voice, her crying,” Sandoval said. “I didn’t need details. I knew something was wrong, and I said, ‘I’m on the way.’”
According to family members, Settles reported that her father had sexually assaulted her while he was intoxicated. She was taken to Simi Valley Hospital, where a forensic exam was conducted. The rape kit allegedly returned positive for Chavez’s DNA, according to family members and multiple news reports.
“Tía, why? ¿Por qué? ¿Por qué me hizo esto?” Settles’ aunt, Isela Sandoval, recalled her niece asking. “Yo lo único que hice fue abrazarla y decirle: ‘no es tu culpa’.”
Chavez was arrested that same day. Police records indicate he was initially arrested on suspicion of forcible rape, though that allegation was not included among the formal charges filed, according to the Camarillo Acorn. He has pleaded not guilty to felony incest and related charges.
The Father’s Text: ‘I Don’t Want That Blackout to Happen Again’
As Settles lay in the hospital, Chavez allegedly sent her a text message.
“I’m never drinking liquor again. I don’t want that blackout to happen again,” the message read, according to family members.
The message has been cited by the family as a potential admission — an acknowledgment that something happened, even as Chavez denies criminal wrongdoing.
Chavez, an electrician who owns his own business, was initially held on $250,000 bail. The Ventura County District Attorney’s Office successfully moved to increase bail to $250,000 at the time of filing. Chavez later posted bail and was released.
The Suicide: A Family’s Unbearable Loss
In the months following the alleged assault, Settles struggled with severe depression and other mental health issues. She returned to Raleigh but was never the same.
“She was so confident that over there everything was just going to be a dream, California living, like what you see on TV, and all of that was taken away from her,” her mother told The Post.
According to the Camarillo Acorn, Settles completed training in nail technology in December 2025 and was preparing to start work. On December 22, just days after completing her training, she attempted to take her own life. Emergency responders revived her and transported her to a hospital, where she was placed in a medically induced coma. Six days later, on December 28, she was declared brain dead.
“It was like he took her sunshine away and just kind of broke her soul,” Crystal Sandoval said.
The Legal Nightmare: Can the Case Proceed Without Her?
The family’s worst fear is now coming into focus: without Settles alive to testify, the criminal case against Chavez may not survive.
“The DA was essentially saying, ‘We don’t know if we have a case because she’s no longer here,’” Crystal Sandoval said. “When she told me that, I immediately said, ‘No, we’re not going to let that slide.’”
The Ventura County District Attorney’s Office has publicly pushed back, insisting the case is still being prosecuted.
“Our Sexual Assault Unit continues to prosecute the defendant for this extremely serious crime,” the office said in a statement. “This case has been filed since July 2025, when the evidence supported the filing of felony charges.”
The office added that the April 21 hearing is an “early disposition conference — a standard pretrial proceeding where the court and parties address the status of the case and set future dates as appropriate.”
But the family remains unconvinced. They have been told not to expect a trial, and they fear that without Settles’ testimony, the case could be dismissed — despite the DNA evidence and her prior statements to investigators.
“I had a feeling it wouldn’t go well since Makayla isn’t here,” Deputy DA Tessa McCarty reportedly told the family, according to Sandoval.
The Law: California Evidence Code and Unavailable Witnesses
The legal question at the heart of the case is whether prosecutors can introduce Settles’ prior statements — including her allegations to police and her forensic exam — without her live testimony.
California law does provide pathways for admitting such evidence when a witness is unavailable, but the rules are strict.
California Evidence Code § 240 defines when a declarant is considered “unavailable” as a witness, including due to death. However, Section 240(b) also contains a critical caveat: a declarant is not unavailable if their death was “brought about by the procurement or wrongdoing of the proponent of his or her statement for the purpose of preventing the declarant from attending or testifying.”
The family is not alleging that Chavez caused Settles’ suicide to prevent her testimony. But the complexity of the law — combined with the constitutional right of a defendant to confront their accuser — makes this a challenging case for prosecutors.
California Evidence Code § 1350 provides another potential pathway. In a criminal proceeding charging a serious felony, evidence of a statement made by a declarant is not inadmissible hearsay if the declarant is unavailable as a witness and there is clear and convincing evidence that their unavailability was “knowingly caused by, aided by, or solicited by the party against whom the statement is offered.”
“This is a very difficult evidentiary hurdle,” said a Los Angeles criminal defense attorney who spoke on condition of anonymity. “DNA is powerful, but it doesn’t tell the whole story. Without the victim’s testimony, prosecutors have to prove lack of consent — and that becomes much harder when the only witness is gone.”
Sexual Assault and Suicide: The Devastating Link
Settles’ death is part of a grim national pattern. Research has consistently shown that sexual assault victims are at significantly elevated risk of suicide.
A 2024 meta-analysis published in Nature found that subsamples exposed to sexual assault reported a substantially higher prevalence of suicidality (27.25%) compared to unassaulted subsamples (9.37%). There were significantly higher rates of lifetime and past-year suicidal ideation, and lifetime suicide attempts in assaulted subsamples than in unassaulted subsamples.
A 2023 study in the Ace Community Survey found that sexual violence victims were more likely to be suicidal compared to non-victims — especially for attempted rape and suicidal consideration (odds ratio 2.10), planning (odds ratio 1.76), and attempts (odds ratio 3.15).
For young women, the risk is even higher. A Duke Population Research Institute study found that for women, the odds of attempting suicide were 3 to 4 times greater when the first reported sexual assault occurred prior to age 16 compared with age 16 or older.
“Sexual assault is associated with an increased lifetime rate of attempted suicide,” the Duke study concluded. “In women, the impact is profound and long-lasting.”
The Fight for Justice: A Rally at the Courthouse
The family has organized a rally outside the Ventura County Superior Court for Tuesday, April 21, at 8:30 a.m., ahead of Chavez’s pretrial hearing.
Relatives are flying in from North Carolina, planning to wear T-shirts reading “Justice for Makayla Renee Settles” with a purple heart and her photo on them.
“We’re not only fighting for justice for Makayla but also for all of you women out there who have lived in fear to share their story,” Crystal Sandoval said. “This fight is for women who grew up thinking it was their fault, who grew up thinking that they asked for it.”
A GoFundMe campaign created by the family to support legal efforts has raised more than $14,000 as of this week.
“This has left us feeling helpless and heartbroken, but we refuse to let her story end without a fight,” Crystal Sandoval wrote.
What Happens Next
- Tuesday, April 21, 8:30 a.m.: Chavez is scheduled to appear in Ventura County Superior Court, Room 14, for an early disposition conference. The hearing is expected to address evidentiary and other motions that could determine how — or whether — the case proceeds.
- Family rally: Supporters will gather outside the Ventura County Government Center before the hearing.
- Potential dismissal: If the court rules that Settles’ prior statements cannot be admitted without her testimony, the case could be dismissed or significantly weakened.
- Civil action: The family is considering a civil lawsuit against Chavez, regardless of the criminal outcome.
FAQ: Makayla Settles Case
Q: Who is Makayla Settles?
A: An 18-year-old woman from Raleigh, North Carolina, who moved to Moorpark, California, in July 2025 to live with her biological father and attend college.
Q: What happened to her?
A: According to family members, she was allegedly drugged and sexually assaulted by her father two days after arriving. She died by suicide on December 28, 2025.
Q: Who is Stephen Vincent Chavez?
A: Makayla’s biological father, a 41-year-old electrician in Moorpark, California. He has pleaded not guilty to incest and related charges.
Q: What evidence exists against him?
A: A rape kit allegedly tested positive for his DNA. He also sent a text message saying, “I’m never drinking liquor again. I don’t want that blackout to happen again.”
Q: Why might the case be dismissed?
A: Without Makayla alive to testify, prosecutors may struggle to prove lack of consent and introduce her prior statements. California law allows such evidence under certain conditions, but the legal hurdles are significant.
Q: How can I help?
A: The family has organized a rally at the Ventura County Courthouse on April 21 at 8:30 a.m. A GoFundMe campaign has also been established to support legal efforts.
