A 12-YEAR-OLD girl has been found dead after she was allegedly tortured and starved by her own family.
Several people were arrested after the remains of Jacqueline Torres-Garcia were found inside the basement of an abandoned Connecticut home on October 8.
Investigators believe that little Jacqueline, who was called Mimi by loved ones, was murdered last fall and left at the shuttered property in New Britain, a suburb of Hartford.
Her remains were found stowed in a plastic container that was hidden in the backyard of the vacant home.
The home has plywood nailed to the windows, and a sign on the front door states it’s unfit for occupancy, NBC affiliate WVIT reported.
Cops believe her body was stored in the basement until the family left the home in March 2025.
Authorities have accused her mom Karla Garcia of abusing, starving, and neglecting the little girl before she died.
Her boyfriend Jonatan Nanita was allegedly seen carrying the plastic bin into the backyard the day the remains were discovered.
Karla, Jacqueline’s aunt Jackelyn Garcia, and the mom’s boyfriend Jonatan Nanita, have all been arrested since the horrific discovery.
Karla and Nanita have been accused of killing Jacqueline and Jackelyn has been accused of child cruelty.
All three of the suspects have criminal histories.
Family members say that Karla hid Jacqueline, who was homeschooled, from them for years before they learned of her death.
Felix Osorio, the girl’s grandfather, said that Karla would make excuses to his son, Jacqueline’s dad, about why they couldn’t FaceTime each other.
“He was thinking all the time that Mimi just don’t want to see, and he don’t want to like push her,” he told WVIT.
Osario remembered his little grandchild as a “happy” girl who always wanted to play.
“She was my love. She was everything for me,” he said at a memorial on Tuesday.
Jacqueline’s grandmother Patricia Delgado said she’s clinging to her faith as she tries to process the tragedy.
“Only God is helping me. God is helping me to pass this process,” she said in Spanish.
“I’ve been with her forever and I’m always going to be here.”
Authorities have described the case as one of the worst they’ve ever seen.
“It takes a toll mentally, physically, and it’s very difficult for us to contemplate how this can happen in a civilized society like ours,” Farmington Police Chief Paul Melanson said.
CHILD ABUSER AUNT
Jackelyn was previously convicted of risk of injury to a child after she brought her injured 11-month-old daughter to the hospital in 2023.
The baby girl had suffered from multiple bruises and fractures on various body parts and at different stages of healing, a Department of Children and Families worker told cops.
Jackelyn said that the little girl had fallen and that she had contacted a pediatrician, but there was no evidence she took her to the doctor.
The mom explained that she was suffering from postpartum depression and was taking care of two children while her husband worked long hours, the arrest warrant said.
Jackelyn was sentenced to 10 years but was suspected after 18 months and hit with five years of probation.
Karla has been hit with a slew of charges, including murder with special circumstances, conspiracy to commit murder with special circumstances, and improper disposal of a dead body.
She’s being held on a $5 million bond.
Jackelyn has been charged with intentional cruelty to a child, risk of injury to a child, and first-degree unlawful restraint.
She’s being held on a $1 million bond.
Nanita is accused of helping Karla murder Jacqueline.
