In July 2025, 18-year-old Makayla Rene Settles moved from North Carolina to Moorpark, California, to live with her biological father, Stephen Vincent Chavez, who had promised to help with her college tuition. Just two days after her arrival, Makayla reported that Chavez had gotten her drunk and brutally sexually assaulted her for four hours. She was reportedly found covered in blood and unable to walk, requiring her uncle to carry her to the hospital, where a rape kit was performed. Forensic results reportedly returned a positive match for Chavez’s DNA, and he was arrested that same night on charges including forcible rape and incest.
Following the assault, Makayla returned to North Carolina, where she struggled with severe psychological trauma and documented her betrayal in various notes. Tragically, on December 22, 2025—five months after the incident—she died by suicide. Her family maintains that she left explicit notes linking her death to the inability to cope with the assault. Chavez, who has pleaded not guilty and claimed he was too intoxicated to remember the night, was released from custody after posting $250,000 bond.
The case has recently gained national attention due to concerns from Makayla’s family that the Ventura County District Attorney’s Office might drop the charges because she is no longer alive to testify. While prosecutors allegedly labeled the case as “weak” or a “he-said/she-said” situation without her live testimony, the District Attorney’s Office recently issued a statement clarifying that the Sexual Assault Unit is still actively prosecuting the case. Advocates and family members continue to push for the case to go to trial, arguing that her recorded statements and the forensic DNA evidence should be sufficient for a conviction.
As of April 2026, an early disposition conference is scheduled for April 21, 2026, at 8:30 a.m. in Courtroom 14 of the Ventura County Courthouse. This standard pretrial proceeding will address the current status of the case and may determine if it proceeds to trial or if a future hearing date is set. Supporters of the #JusticeForMakayla movement have called for the public to attend the hearing to pressure authorities to maintain the charges against Chavez.