Mother accused of murdering 11-year-old girl in starvation case that shocked police

A mother will go on trial for murder after her 11-year-old daughter starved to death.

Connecticut girl Jacqueline “Mimi” Torres-Garcia was not given food in the two weeks leading up to her death in 2024 and was often restrained with zip ties, according to police.

Her remains were found in October inside a plastic bin, but authorities believe that she died at least a year earlier.

In a sickening cover-up, another child impersonated Jacqueline during a video call with child welfare services a few months after her death, court records reveal.

The chief medical examiner’s office last week issued an official determination that Jacqueline died of “fatal child abuse with starvation.”

“No child should ever have to endure such suffering,” said Paul Melanson, public safety director in Hartford suburb of Farmington. He added that Jacqueline’s death has been difficult to comprehend and has taken an emotional toll on investigators.

On Friday, Jacqueline’s mother, Karla Garcia, 29, and two others arrested in the case made brief appearances in Torrington Superior Court. Garcia’s lawyer entered not guilty pleas on her behalf to charges including murder and cruelty to a child.

Garcia’s ex-boyfriend, Jonatan Nanita, 30, did not enter pleas to similar charges, including murder.

Garcia’s sister, Jackelyn Garcia, who is not charged with murder, pleaded not guilty to cruelty to a child and other charges.

The defendants’ cases were continued to December.

Lawyers for all three defendants, who remain detained on bail, declined to respond directly to the charges against their clients after the court hearings.

“Obviously the allegations are horrific and what happened to this child is horrific,” said Ioannis Kaloidis, a lawyer for Jackelyn Garcia. “What my client’s culpability is has yet to be determined.”

The girl’s body was found October 8 in a plastic bin that had been dumped at an abandoned house in New Britain, about 12 miles (19 kilometers) southwest of Hartford.

Police believe Jacqueline died more than a year earlier, in September 2024, when she lived with her mother and siblings in nearby Farmington.

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