Courtroom Chaos: Three charged in death of 12-year-old girl in New Britain face judge
Investigators believe Jacqueline Torres has been dead since fall of 2024 and suffered physical abuse and malnourishment.
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Tempers flared inside Litchfield County Superior Court in Torrington Tuesday, as three people were arraigned in connection with the murder of 11-year-old Jacqueline Torres-Garcia.
Her decomposed body was found inside a storage bin at a vacant New Britain house last week.
"As a mother," New Britain Mayor Erin Stewart said, "this makes me sick to my stomach."
Torres' mother, 29-year-old Karla Garcia, and her boyfriend, 30-year-old Jonatan Nanita, are both charged with murder and conspiracy to commit murder.
Torres' aunt, Jackelyn Garcia, who recently got out of prison on a risk of injury to a child conviction, is also charged with cruelty to persons under 19 years old.
Investigators believe the 11-year-old died last fall and that the family kept her body in the basement of their Farmington home and then moved it when they relocated in March of this year.
"This case is a deeply heartbreaking and disturbing case," said Chief Paul Melanson, of the Farmington Police Dept. "No child should ever have to endure such suffering."
After Torres was pulled out of the school system before starting sixth grade, Mayor Stewart says the 11-year-old was being homeschooled.
The Connecticut Department of Children and Families says it has begun a review of its history with the family.
"Our hearts remain with all those impacted by Jacqueline's tragic and shocking death," Interim Commissioner Susan I. Hamilton said in a statement. "We can confirm Jacqueline's siblings are safe and have been placed together in state custody."
Gov. Ned Lamont says the state can't allow children being homeschooled to fall through the cracks.
“Sometimes we lose contact with kids if they’re not going to school every day," Gov. Lamont says. "We’re trying to find better ways to keep track of those kids and make sure tragedies like this can be avoided."
Karla Garcia, Jonatan Nanita and Jackelyn Garcia are due back in court on Nov. 14.
