Overview
- Over two days of testimony, a 22-year-old witness said she posed as 11-year-old Jacqueline “Mimi” Torres-Garcia during a January 2025 DCF video call at Karla Garcia’s request, believing the child was alive and staying with an aunt.
- Prosecutors presented evidence that Jonatan Nanita’s right palm print was on the storage tote that held Mimi’s remains and that he admitted dumping the bin knowing her body was inside.
- The medical examiner ruled the death a homicide from fatal child abuse with starvation, noting the child weighed about 27 pounds, had a single blueberry in her stomach, and had amphetamines and an antihistamine in her system.
- Mimi’s remains were found Oct. 8, 2025, in New Britain; police believe she died around September 2024, and warrants state the remains were kept in a Farmington condo before being moved.
- Karla Garcia and Nanita are charged with murder with special circumstances, and Garcia’s sister faces related charges, as DCF says the social worker on the video call was not disciplined and advocates press for reforms and more funding.