An 11-year-old girl was starved for two weeks before her death and had been restrained with zip ties, police have revealed. Jacqueline 'Mimi' Torres-Garcia's remains were found inside a plastic bin in New Britain, Connecticut, last month, more than a year after she died.
The chief medical examiner ruled her death as 'fatal child abuse with starvation.' Arrest warrants detail severe abuse and an attempted cover-up, including another child impersonating Jacqueline during a video call with the state child welfare agency months after her death.
Jacqueline's mother, Karla Garcia, 29, and her ex-boyfriend, Jonatan Nanita, 30, face murder charges. Garcia's sister, Jackelyn Garcia, is charged with cruelty to a child but not murder. All three have entered not guilty pleas and remain in custody.
Police allege Karla Garcia admitted she and Nanita stopped feeding Jacqueline two weeks before her death, and that she, Nanita, and Jackelyn Garcia used zip ties to restrain her. Nanita is accused of dumping the bin containing the body at an abandoned house.
Authorities say Jacqueline was removed from school in summer 2024 by her mother, who claimed she would homeschool her. When questioned, Garcia said her daughter was staying with friends or relatives. The Department of Children and Families had deemed the children safe in 2022 but is now reviewing its dealings with the family.
