NEW DETAILS REVEALED 💔Legal documents state that the agency conducted a video call in January 2025 with someone her mother believed was Jacqueline “Mimi” Torres‑Garcia (12 years old), when she had actually disappeared months earlier and the person on screen was believed to be a fake — a detail that is becoming technical evidence of evading the investigation
Two Connecticut women have been arrested after the remains of a 12-year-old girl were discovered in a container outside an abandoned home.
Police found the body of Jacqueline ‘Mimi’ Torres-Garcia on Wednesday after they received an anonymous tip, WFSB reported.
She was discovered inside a ‘plastic tote’ near an abandoned home in New Britain – about nine miles south of Hartford – in ‘an advanced state of decomposition’.
The girl’s mother, 29-year-old Karla Garcia, and the mom’s sister, 28-year-old Jackelyn Garcia were arrested in connection to her death on Sunday.
Garcia was charged with murder and child cruelty, among other charges, while Jackelyn was charged with risk of injury to a child and child cruelty.
The mother’s boyfriend, 30-year-old Jonatan Nanita, was also arrested on Monday and charged with murder and tampering with evidence.
Jacqueline’s father, Victor Torres, told the local news station that police informed him of his daughter’s death on Thursday.
He said that he had not seen or spoken to his daughter since her birthday on January 29, and Jacqueline was living with her mother, who had custody.

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The remains of Jacqueline ‘Mimi’ Torres-Garcia (pictured), 12, were discovered in a container outside an abandoned home

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She was found inside a ‘plastic tote’ near an abandoned home in New Britain (pictured)- about nine miles south of Hartford – in ‘an advanced state of decomposition’


The girl’s mother, 29-year-old Karla Garcia, and the mother’s sister, 28-year-old Jackelyn Garcia were arrested in connection to her death
Investigators believe the young girl died sometime in the fall of 2024 while she was living with her family a few towns over in Farmington.
Police suspect she suffered prolonged abuse and malnourishment and her body was likely kept in the basement of the family home until they moved to New Britain in March.
While officials do not know why her remains were placed outside the abandoned home, they noted that Jacqueline was home-schooled, which made it harder for the community to realize she was missing.
‘As a mother, this makes me sick to my stomach to be standing here today,’ New Britain Mayor Erin Stewart said.
‘I want to thank the initial caller for speaking up, for having the courage to say something. Without that initial call, no one can say for certain where we would be at this point in time.’
The Consolidated School District of New Britain said Jacqueline was a student in the district from kindergarten through fifth grade, but was withdrawn in August 2024, NBC Connecticut reported.
‘We are deeply saddened by the tragic death of Jacqueline Torres-Garcia, a former student who had been withdrawn from the Consolidated School District of New Britain in August 2024,’ the school district said.
‘Jacqueline Torres-Garcia attended kindergarten through fifth grade in New Britain. On August 26, 2024, which would have been Jacqueline’s first day of sixth grade, her mother, Karla Garcia, filed an official Notification of Withdrawal Out of New Britain School District form stating that the student’s new address would be in Farmington.

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Karla’s boyfriend, 30-year-old Jonatan Nanita (pictured), was also arrested on Monday and charged with murder and tampering with evidence

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Police suspect Torres-Garcia suffered prolonged abuse and malnourishment and died sometime in the fall of 2024
‘Jacqueline Torres-Garcia attended kindergarten through fifth grade in New Britain. On August 26, 2024, which would have been Jacqueline’s first day of sixth grade, her mother, Karla Garcia, filed an official Notification of Withdrawal Out of New Britain School District form stating that the student’s new address would be in Farmington.
Garcia and Nanita are both being held on a $5 million bond and Jackelyn is being held on a $1 million bond. All three of them are due back in court on November 14.
Torres-Garcia’s cause of death is pending while the medical examiner’s office conducts further investigations.
‘This is a heartbreaking and deeply disturbing case. Our detectives, along with our local and state partners, have worked tirelessly to uncover the truth and to bring justice for Jacqueline. No child should ever have to endure such suffering,’ New Britain Police Chief Matt Marino and Farmington Police Chief Paul Melanson said.
The Department of Children and Families (DCF) is reviewing their history with the family, and Torres-Garcia’s siblings have been placed together in state custody.
‘Our hearts remain with all those impacted by Jacqueline’s tragic and shocking death,’ DCF said.
‘The Department is invested in being as transparent as possible about the family’s prior DCF involvement without interfering with the active and evolving criminal investigation.’
Torres-Garcia’s grandfather on her father’s side, Felix Osorio, described her as a ‘happy’ young girl.

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The girl’s father, Victor Torres (left), said that he had not seen or spoken to his daughter since her birthday on January 29, and that she was living with her mother, who had custody
‘She was my love. She was everything for me,’ he said. ‘She was happy all the time. Real happy. She liked to play.’
Osorio told the local news station that Garcia would make up excuses to tell his son as to why her daughter couldn’t FaceTime with the family.
‘He was thinking all the time that Mimi just don’t want to see, and he don’t want to like push her,’ he said.