Murder of Nubia Barahona
Encyclopedia
Nubia Docter Barahona was a ten-year-old girl who was abused and murdered on February 11, 2011. Her body was found February 14, 2011, wrapped in a plastic garbage bag in the bed of her adoptive father's pickup truck on the side of I-95 in West Palm Beach, Florida
. Her body had partially decomposed from being covered in chemicals, possibly pesticide
s. Her twin brother, Victor Docter Barahona, was in the cab of the truck with his father, suffering seizure
s from chemical burn
s and inhalation of toxic gas.
Her adoptive parents Jorge and Carmen Barahona were indicted on charges of first-degree murder, aggravated child abuse
and child neglect
on March 23, 2011. They face the death penalty if convicted.
The case has sparked outrage from Florida citizens and officials regarding the Florida Department of Children and Families
' handling of previous allegations of abuse by the Barahonas.
Nubia Docter Barahona (May 26, 2000 – February 11, 2011) was a ten-year-old girl who was abused and murdered on February 11, 2011. Her body was found February 14, 2011, wrapped in a plastic garbage bag in the bed of her adoptive father's pickup truck on the side of I-95 in West Palm Beach, Florida
. Her body had partially decomposed from being covered in chemicals, possibly pesticide
s. Her twin brother, Victor Docter Barahona, was in the cab of the truck with his father, suffering seizure
s from chemical burn
s and inhalation of toxic gas.
Her adoptive parents Jorge and Carmen Barahona were indicted on charges of first-degree murder, aggravated child abuse
and child neglect
on March 23, 2011. They face the death penalty if convicted.
The case has sparked outrage from Florida citizens and officials regarding the Florida Department of Children and Families
' handling of previous allegations of abuse by the Barahonas.
Nubia Docter Barahona (May 26, 2000 – February 11, 2011) was a ten-year-old girl who was abused and murdered on February 11, 2011. Her body was found February 14, 2011, wrapped in a plastic garbage bag in the bed of her adoptive father's pickup truck on the side of I-95 in West Palm Beach, Florida
. Her body had partially decomposed from being covered in chemicals, possibly pesticide
s. Her twin brother, Victor Docter Barahona, was in the cab of the truck with his father, suffering seizure
s from chemical burn
s and inhalation of toxic gas.
Her adoptive parents Jorge and Carmen Barahona were indicted on charges of first-degree murder, aggravated child abuse
and child neglect
on March 23, 2011. They face the death penalty if convicted.
The case has sparked outrage from Florida citizens and officials regarding the Florida Department of Children and Families
' handling of previous allegations of abuse by the Barahonas.
The twins were removed from their mother's care in 2003 and placed with their father, but they did not stay with him long. In 2004 he was charged with sexual battery of a child not in his care. The twins were placed in foster care, and eventually ended up in the home of Jorge and Carmen Barahona in Miami, Florida. The couple had already adopted a boy with autism
.pest control
business; Carmen worked as a nurse.
In 2005, Nubia reportedly told someone at her school that her father was molesting her. Unclear on whether she had meant her birth father or her foster father, DCF investigated. They determined that she had meant her birth father and the case was closed. Then, in 2006, school staff called DCF to report a large bruise on Nubia's face that they suspected was child abuse. The Barahonas were ordered to bring her to an appointment with the Department of Health's Child Protection Team in Miami, but did not show up until a week later. By then, most of the bruising had disappeared and state doctors agreed with the Barahona's assertion that the bruise was from a fall.
Further complaints were filed in 2007: School authorities reported that Nubia was extremely thin, always hungry, and had an unpleasant odor. DCF investigated the claims, but were met with insistence from the Barahonas that Nubia's condition was not from hygiene
problems or neglect, but caused by her medical condition. The investigation was dropped.
The Barahonas began the adoption process of the twins in 2008, but were met with resistance from the twins' guardian ad litem, Paul Neumann. They claimed Neumann was operating "behind [their] backs", unfairly interfering with their adoption attempt. They claimed they had a "personality conflict" with Neumann and cited that as the reason he was accusing them of neglect. To override him, the Barahonas wrote letters appealing to people as high up as then-governor Charlie Crist
. Neumann was removed as the twins' guardian without explanation shortly before the adoption was finalized.
The twins were formally adopted in May 2009. In 2010, complaints similar to the ones in 2007 were again raised by school authorities, this time adding that Nubia was losing her hair. DCF was met with the same reasoning from the Barahonas—that it was cause by her endocrine condition and medication she was taking for it—and the investigation was dropped again.
noticed a red Toyota pickup truck on the shoulder of northbound I-95 between Palm Beach Lakes Boulevard and 45th Street in West Palm Beach. When the truck was still there two and a half hours later, he called police.
Palm Beach County Fire-Rescue
responded to the call and found 53-year-old Jorge Barahona on the ground and 10-year-old Victor Barahona in the cab of the truck. Both were conscious by the time rescuers arrived, but Victor was convulsing with seizure
s. One fireman was overcome by a strong smell when approaching the truck, and decontamination procedures were started. The bed of the truck was full of plastic containers of chemicals; some unlabeled. The truck was branded with the name of Jorge's pest extermination business, CJ Pest Control, causing investigators to believe the chemicals were pesticides. One unlabeled container held some form of acid
, causing firefighters to wonder why an exterminator would have such a chemical. State Troopers were sent to the address of CJ Pest Control, but were unable to contact anyone.
Further investigation revealed that Victor was covered in acid, and there was so much of it in the car that it soaked the carpet and seats, making the air around the truck poisonous. Victor and Jorge were taken to separate hospitals for their injuries. A city hazmat
team and the state Department of Environmental Protection
arrived by the afternoon to decontaminate the area. At about 3:45 pm, a DEP contractor sorting through tubs of chemicals in the bed of the truck found a black garbage bag. Inside were human remains.
FBI investigators joined the effort to decontaminate the site to clear the way for county forensics investigators to examine the body. At about 8:30 pm Tuesday the body was taken to the medical examiner's office for an autopsy
. The identity of the body was withheld from the public for two days after its discovery, then revealed to be that of Nubia Barahona, Victor's twin sister. Her body was badly decomposed and difficult to identify, as it had been covered with acid and other hazardous chemicals.
s over large portions of his body. Doctors also found several previous injuries to the boy, including a broken collarbone, broken arm, scars on his buttocks and lower abdomen, and rope marks on both wrists. Victor was finally released on March 2, 2011, and placed in a therapeutic foster home.
Jorge was arrested on child abuse charges against Victor and moved from Colombia Hospital to the Palm Beach County jail on February 16. While in custody, he confessed to police that he had been upset by the death of his daughter and had driven to Palm Beach County with the plan to commit suicide by setting himself on fire
. He said the shoulder of I-95 was chosen so that he would be "easily found". He claimed he gave Victor a handful of sleeping pills, then, with the boy's head in his lap, poured gasoline over his own head. He then attempted to ignite a lighter, but could not do it, as he did not want to take Victor with him. Investigators found a red gasoline container in the truck filled with acid. When asked by police why he did not have as many obvious burns as Victor, Jorge said that some of the gas must have splashed the boy. The police concluded that Jorge's version of events was inconsistent with the boy's injuries.
Autopsy results concluded that Nubia was beaten to death on February 11; the day a DCF official came to investigate a call to their abuse hotline. According to the police report, Jorge allegedly "repeatedly punched and beat Nubia" who "screamed and cried until she was dead".
Carmen Barahona, Jorge's wife, told investigators when questioned that she and her husband had been separated for six months, when in fact they had never been apart. The couple's other two children were taken from the home and placed with Carmen's parents, then placed in foster care.
The couple's 11-year-old autistic son, Jorge, also tried to tell a DCF investigator visiting the home shortly before Nubia's death about a "secret", but the investigator claimed Carmen dismissed him as "low-functioning" and told him to watch TV in another room.
After the discovery of Nubia's body, Alessandra was removed from the care of her mother, Jennifer Perez, and placed with her father, Yovani Perez. In addition, a judge ordered that neither the girl's mother nor any member of her family have any contact with the girl. A DCF official stated that Alessandra should no longer be with her mother because "the mother, Jennifer Perez, not only psychologically abused the child by exposing her to the torture of the twins, but also by threatening the child over and over to keep quiet and encourage [sic] her to be complicit in the deception, that is including a calculated effort by the mother to keep the child from disclosing it to DCF officials."
has been heavily criticized for their handling of the Barahona case. Judge Cindy Lederman expressed outrage at the actions of Andrea Fleary, a DCF worker assigned to the case. On Thursday, February 10, Fleary visited the Barahona home to investigate an abuse hotline call, but despite not making contact with the children, she reported they were safe. When Fleary told the judge about 11-year-old Jorge's attempts to alert her to abuse on Friday, she said the conversations had taken place late in the evening. Judge Lederman responded "So we don't do investigations on weekends? Is that what you are telling me?" Fleary responded that she had stopped her investigation at 9 pm because "we don't do investigations on weekends."
DCF Secretary David Wilkins defended Fleary, claiming she was rattled during the hearing and that "[w]e do investigations 24/7 [...] We have employees who work weekends. We have employees who work nights." Fleary was first placed on paid administrative leave, then fired. When asked how they could have ignored signs of Nubia's abuse, such as her hair loss and constant hunger, Wilkins stated that "[t]he medical conditions of the children complicated the decision-making of our investigators". Wilkins also reminded critics that "these people have been deceiving the system for quite a long time".
In response to the Docter twins being adopted despite objections from their guardian ad litem Paul Neumann, head of Miami-Dade County's guardian ad litem program Sonia Ferrer said the program did everything it could at the time despite admitting Neumann had concerns. She said that the judge overseeing the adoption had heard other evidence and decided to place them with the Barahonas.
Wilkins called upon David Lawrence Jr.
, former publisher of The Miami Herald
and current president of the Children's Movement of Florida, Coral Gables attorney Bobby Martinez, a former U.S. Attorney in South Florida, and James Sewell, former assistant commissioner of the Florida Department of Law Enforcement
and chair of the task force that investigated the 2009 death of Broward County foster child Gabriel Myers, to look into the handling of the Barahona case. The panel subsequently called DCF's handling of the case "inept" and a "failure of common sense and listening".
Wilkins, who had only been DCF secretary for a few months at the time of Nubia's death, has also criticized the organization's abuse hotline, comparing it to a "low-cost call center". Regarding a call reporting the Barahonas, Wilkins said "[t]hey have a low-cost call center mentality ... You don't want to get off the phone in this situation [...] you could tell the operator wanted to get off the phone because he's measured by how long his call is." Employees are rated by how quickly they handle calls because in the past they had been criticized for taking too long to answer calls, causing callers to hang up. Wilkins also claims the technology is outdated, making it difficult to piece together different parts of a case from separate calls. He has said he plans to remedy these situations.
on a felony child abuse charge, Jorge Barahona tried twice to injure himself. He first jumped backward off of a sink in his cell, landing on his head. He was examined and declared competent
to stand before a judge, but refused to cooperate with deputies and did not show up for the hearing. At the hearing, his bail was set for $1 million. He later attempted again to injure himself and was taken to a hospital for a CT scan, then returned to jail and placed in the mental health unit.
Carmen Barahona filed for divorce from Jorge in late February, but was arrested and charged with first-degree murder on March 5. She is being held without bond.
Jorge and Carmen Barahona together have been indicted on eighteen charges: one count of first-degree murder, eight counts of child abuse
resulting in great bodily harm, one count of child neglect
resulting in great harm, six counts of child neglect (no great harm), one count of child neglect (no great bodily harm), and one count of mutilating
a dead body. They face the death penalty
if convicted.
The Barahonas have pleaded not guilty on all counts. Their trial is set for July 18, 2011.
West Palm Beach, Florida
West Palm Beach, is a city located on the Atlantic coast in southeastern Florida and is the most populous city in and county seat of Palm Beach County, the third most populous county in Florida with a 2010 population of 1,320,134. The city is also the oldest incorporated municipality in South Florida...
. Her body had partially decomposed from being covered in chemicals, possibly pesticide
Pesticide
Pesticides are substances or mixture of substances intended for preventing, destroying, repelling or mitigating any pest.A pesticide may be a chemical unicycle, biological agent , antimicrobial, disinfectant or device used against any pest...
s. Her twin brother, Victor Docter Barahona, was in the cab of the truck with his father, suffering seizure
Seizure
An epileptic seizure, occasionally referred to as a fit, is defined as a transient symptom of "abnormal excessive or synchronous neuronal activity in the brain". The outward effect can be as dramatic as a wild thrashing movement or as mild as a brief loss of awareness...
s from chemical burn
Chemical burn
A chemical burn occurs when living tissue is exposed to a corrosive substance such as a strong acid or base. Chemical burns follow standard burn classification and may cause extensive tissue damage. The main types of irritant and/or corrosive products are: acids, bases, oxidizers, solvents,...
s and inhalation of toxic gas.
Her adoptive parents Jorge and Carmen Barahona were indicted on charges of first-degree murder, aggravated child abuse
Child abuse
Child abuse is the physical, sexual, emotional mistreatment, or neglect of a child. In the United States, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the Department of Children And Families define child maltreatment as any act or series of acts of commission or omission by a parent or...
and child neglect
Child neglect
Child neglect is defined as:# "the failure of a person responsible for a child’s care and upbringing to safeguard the child’s emotional and physical health and general well-being"...
on March 23, 2011. They face the death penalty if convicted.
The case has sparked outrage from Florida citizens and officials regarding the Florida Department of Children and Families
Florida Department of Children and Families
The Florida Department of Children and Families is a state agency of Florida. Its headquarters are in Room 202 in Building 1 of the 1317 Winewood Boulevard complex in Tallahassee...
' handling of previous allegations of abuse by the Barahonas.
Nubia Docter Barahona (May 26, 2000 – February 11, 2011) was a ten-year-old girl who was abused and murdered on February 11, 2011. Her body was found February 14, 2011, wrapped in a plastic garbage bag in the bed of her adoptive father's pickup truck on the side of I-95 in West Palm Beach, Florida
West Palm Beach, Florida
West Palm Beach, is a city located on the Atlantic coast in southeastern Florida and is the most populous city in and county seat of Palm Beach County, the third most populous county in Florida with a 2010 population of 1,320,134. The city is also the oldest incorporated municipality in South Florida...
. Her body had partially decomposed from being covered in chemicals, possibly pesticide
Pesticide
Pesticides are substances or mixture of substances intended for preventing, destroying, repelling or mitigating any pest.A pesticide may be a chemical unicycle, biological agent , antimicrobial, disinfectant or device used against any pest...
s. Her twin brother, Victor Docter Barahona, was in the cab of the truck with his father, suffering seizure
Seizure
An epileptic seizure, occasionally referred to as a fit, is defined as a transient symptom of "abnormal excessive or synchronous neuronal activity in the brain". The outward effect can be as dramatic as a wild thrashing movement or as mild as a brief loss of awareness...
s from chemical burn
Chemical burn
A chemical burn occurs when living tissue is exposed to a corrosive substance such as a strong acid or base. Chemical burns follow standard burn classification and may cause extensive tissue damage. The main types of irritant and/or corrosive products are: acids, bases, oxidizers, solvents,...
s and inhalation of toxic gas.
Her adoptive parents Jorge and Carmen Barahona were indicted on charges of first-degree murder, aggravated child abuse
Child abuse
Child abuse is the physical, sexual, emotional mistreatment, or neglect of a child. In the United States, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the Department of Children And Families define child maltreatment as any act or series of acts of commission or omission by a parent or...
and child neglect
Child neglect
Child neglect is defined as:# "the failure of a person responsible for a child’s care and upbringing to safeguard the child’s emotional and physical health and general well-being"...
on March 23, 2011. They face the death penalty if convicted.
The case has sparked outrage from Florida citizens and officials regarding the Florida Department of Children and Families
Florida Department of Children and Families
The Florida Department of Children and Families is a state agency of Florida. Its headquarters are in Room 202 in Building 1 of the 1317 Winewood Boulevard complex in Tallahassee...
' handling of previous allegations of abuse by the Barahonas.
Nubia Docter Barahona (May 26, 2000 – February 11, 2011) was a ten-year-old girl who was abused and murdered on February 11, 2011. Her body was found February 14, 2011, wrapped in a plastic garbage bag in the bed of her adoptive father's pickup truck on the side of I-95 in West Palm Beach, Florida
West Palm Beach, Florida
West Palm Beach, is a city located on the Atlantic coast in southeastern Florida and is the most populous city in and county seat of Palm Beach County, the third most populous county in Florida with a 2010 population of 1,320,134. The city is also the oldest incorporated municipality in South Florida...
. Her body had partially decomposed from being covered in chemicals, possibly pesticide
Pesticide
Pesticides are substances or mixture of substances intended for preventing, destroying, repelling or mitigating any pest.A pesticide may be a chemical unicycle, biological agent , antimicrobial, disinfectant or device used against any pest...
s. Her twin brother, Victor Docter Barahona, was in the cab of the truck with his father, suffering seizure
Seizure
An epileptic seizure, occasionally referred to as a fit, is defined as a transient symptom of "abnormal excessive or synchronous neuronal activity in the brain". The outward effect can be as dramatic as a wild thrashing movement or as mild as a brief loss of awareness...
s from chemical burn
Chemical burn
A chemical burn occurs when living tissue is exposed to a corrosive substance such as a strong acid or base. Chemical burns follow standard burn classification and may cause extensive tissue damage. The main types of irritant and/or corrosive products are: acids, bases, oxidizers, solvents,...
s and inhalation of toxic gas.
Her adoptive parents Jorge and Carmen Barahona were indicted on charges of first-degree murder, aggravated child abuse
Child abuse
Child abuse is the physical, sexual, emotional mistreatment, or neglect of a child. In the United States, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the Department of Children And Families define child maltreatment as any act or series of acts of commission or omission by a parent or...
and child neglect
Child neglect
Child neglect is defined as:# "the failure of a person responsible for a child’s care and upbringing to safeguard the child’s emotional and physical health and general well-being"...
on March 23, 2011. They face the death penalty if convicted.
The case has sparked outrage from Florida citizens and officials regarding the Florida Department of Children and Families
Florida Department of Children and Families
The Florida Department of Children and Families is a state agency of Florida. Its headquarters are in Room 202 in Building 1 of the 1317 Winewood Boulevard complex in Tallahassee...
' handling of previous allegations of abuse by the Barahonas.
Background
Fraternal twins Nubia and Victor Docter were born on May 26, 2000, to a mother with drug and alcohol abuse issues. Their mother had bore four children before them, all of whom had been taken from her by the Department of Children and Families (DCF). Nubia was born with an undisclosed "significant medical problem" (it has been reported she may have been intersexed) that would require "significant medication, medical procedures and an undetermined amount of surgeries". It was recommended she be placed in a medical foster home, but she was instead allowed to stay with her mother, who claimed to be sober.The twins were removed from their mother's care in 2003 and placed with their father, but they did not stay with him long. In 2004 he was charged with sexual battery of a child not in his care. The twins were placed in foster care, and eventually ended up in the home of Jorge and Carmen Barahona in Miami, Florida. The couple had already adopted a boy with autism
Autism
Autism is a disorder of neural development characterized by impaired social interaction and communication, and by restricted and repetitive behavior. These signs all begin before a child is three years old. Autism affects information processing in the brain by altering how nerve cells and their...
.pest control
Pest control
Pest control refers to the regulation or management of a species defined as a pest, usually because it is perceived to be detrimental to a person's health, the ecology or the economy.-History:...
business; Carmen worked as a nurse.
In 2005, Nubia reportedly told someone at her school that her father was molesting her. Unclear on whether she had meant her birth father or her foster father, DCF investigated. They determined that she had meant her birth father and the case was closed. Then, in 2006, school staff called DCF to report a large bruise on Nubia's face that they suspected was child abuse. The Barahonas were ordered to bring her to an appointment with the Department of Health's Child Protection Team in Miami, but did not show up until a week later. By then, most of the bruising had disappeared and state doctors agreed with the Barahona's assertion that the bruise was from a fall.
Further complaints were filed in 2007: School authorities reported that Nubia was extremely thin, always hungry, and had an unpleasant odor. DCF investigated the claims, but were met with insistence from the Barahonas that Nubia's condition was not from hygiene
Hygiene
Hygiene refers to the set of practices perceived by a community to be associated with the preservation of health and healthy living. While in modern medical sciences there is a set of standards of hygiene recommended for different situations, what is considered hygienic or not can vary between...
problems or neglect, but caused by her medical condition. The investigation was dropped.
The Barahonas began the adoption process of the twins in 2008, but were met with resistance from the twins' guardian ad litem, Paul Neumann. They claimed Neumann was operating "behind [their] backs", unfairly interfering with their adoption attempt. They claimed they had a "personality conflict" with Neumann and cited that as the reason he was accusing them of neglect. To override him, the Barahonas wrote letters appealing to people as high up as then-governor Charlie Crist
Charlie Crist
Charles Joseph "Charlie" Crist, Jr. is an American politician who was the 44th Governor of Florida. Prior to his election as governor, Crist previously served as Florida State Senator, Education Commissioner, and Attorney General...
. Neumann was removed as the twins' guardian without explanation shortly before the adoption was finalized.
The twins were formally adopted in May 2009. In 2010, complaints similar to the ones in 2007 were again raised by school authorities, this time adding that Nubia was losing her hair. DCF was met with the same reasoning from the Barahonas—that it was cause by her endocrine condition and medication she was taking for it—and the investigation was dropped again.
"Toxic Truck"
At 5:00 am on Monday, February 14, 2011, a Road RangerRoad Ranger
Road Ranger is an American corporation whose primary business is operating convenience stores, gas stations, and travel centers in the Midwestern states of Illinois, Missouri, Iowa, Wisconsin, Ohio, Kentucky, and Indiana...
noticed a red Toyota pickup truck on the shoulder of northbound I-95 between Palm Beach Lakes Boulevard and 45th Street in West Palm Beach. When the truck was still there two and a half hours later, he called police.
Palm Beach County Fire-Rescue
Palm Beach County Fire-Rescue
Palm Beach County Fire-Rescue is a combination career/volunteer fire department responsible for providing Fire Protection, Emergency Medical Services, ALS Transport, Hazardous Materials Mitigation, Special Operations, Aircraft Firefighting, 9-1-1 Dispatching, Public Education, Fire Inspections,...
responded to the call and found 53-year-old Jorge Barahona on the ground and 10-year-old Victor Barahona in the cab of the truck. Both were conscious by the time rescuers arrived, but Victor was convulsing with seizure
Seizure
An epileptic seizure, occasionally referred to as a fit, is defined as a transient symptom of "abnormal excessive or synchronous neuronal activity in the brain". The outward effect can be as dramatic as a wild thrashing movement or as mild as a brief loss of awareness...
s. One fireman was overcome by a strong smell when approaching the truck, and decontamination procedures were started. The bed of the truck was full of plastic containers of chemicals; some unlabeled. The truck was branded with the name of Jorge's pest extermination business, CJ Pest Control, causing investigators to believe the chemicals were pesticides. One unlabeled container held some form of acid
Acid
An acid is a substance which reacts with a base. Commonly, acids can be identified as tasting sour, reacting with metals such as calcium, and bases like sodium carbonate. Aqueous acids have a pH of less than 7, where an acid of lower pH is typically stronger, and turn blue litmus paper red...
, causing firefighters to wonder why an exterminator would have such a chemical. State Troopers were sent to the address of CJ Pest Control, but were unable to contact anyone.
Further investigation revealed that Victor was covered in acid, and there was so much of it in the car that it soaked the carpet and seats, making the air around the truck poisonous. Victor and Jorge were taken to separate hospitals for their injuries. A city hazmat
Hazmat
Hazmat, HazMat and similar terms can refer to:* Hazardous materials and items—see Dangerous goods** Hazchem—a system of hazardous chemical classification and firefighting modes** A hazmat suit is a type of protective clothing...
team and the state Department of Environmental Protection
Department of Environmental Protection
Department of Environmental Protection is a name used by several states in the United States of America for the agency charged with proposing and enforcing environmental law...
arrived by the afternoon to decontaminate the area. At about 3:45 pm, a DEP contractor sorting through tubs of chemicals in the bed of the truck found a black garbage bag. Inside were human remains.
FBI investigators joined the effort to decontaminate the site to clear the way for county forensics investigators to examine the body. At about 8:30 pm Tuesday the body was taken to the medical examiner's office for an autopsy
Autopsy
An autopsy—also known as a post-mortem examination, necropsy , autopsia cadaverum, or obduction—is a highly specialized surgical procedure that consists of a thorough examination of a corpse to determine the cause and manner of death and to evaluate any disease or injury that may be present...
. The identity of the body was withheld from the public for two days after its discovery, then revealed to be that of Nubia Barahona, Victor's twin sister. Her body was badly decomposed and difficult to identify, as it had been covered with acid and other hazardous chemicals.
Investigation
Victor was initially taken to nearby St. Mary's Medical Center, then transferred two days later to Jackson Memorial Hospital's burn center in Miami. He had suffered "severe internal reactions" to the inhalation of toxic fumes in the truck, and had chemical burnChemical burn
A chemical burn occurs when living tissue is exposed to a corrosive substance such as a strong acid or base. Chemical burns follow standard burn classification and may cause extensive tissue damage. The main types of irritant and/or corrosive products are: acids, bases, oxidizers, solvents,...
s over large portions of his body. Doctors also found several previous injuries to the boy, including a broken collarbone, broken arm, scars on his buttocks and lower abdomen, and rope marks on both wrists. Victor was finally released on March 2, 2011, and placed in a therapeutic foster home.
Jorge was arrested on child abuse charges against Victor and moved from Colombia Hospital to the Palm Beach County jail on February 16. While in custody, he confessed to police that he had been upset by the death of his daughter and had driven to Palm Beach County with the plan to commit suicide by setting himself on fire
Self-immolation
Self-immolation refers to setting oneself on fire, often as a form of protest or for the purposes of martyrdom or suicide. It has centuries-long traditions in some cultures, while in modern times it has become a type of radical political protest...
. He said the shoulder of I-95 was chosen so that he would be "easily found". He claimed he gave Victor a handful of sleeping pills, then, with the boy's head in his lap, poured gasoline over his own head. He then attempted to ignite a lighter, but could not do it, as he did not want to take Victor with him. Investigators found a red gasoline container in the truck filled with acid. When asked by police why he did not have as many obvious burns as Victor, Jorge said that some of the gas must have splashed the boy. The police concluded that Jorge's version of events was inconsistent with the boy's injuries.
Autopsy results concluded that Nubia was beaten to death on February 11; the day a DCF official came to investigate a call to their abuse hotline. According to the police report, Jorge allegedly "repeatedly punched and beat Nubia" who "screamed and cried until she was dead".
Carmen Barahona, Jorge's wife, told investigators when questioned that she and her husband had been separated for six months, when in fact they had never been apart. The couple's other two children were taken from the home and placed with Carmen's parents, then placed in foster care.
A "family secret"
On February 10, 2011, four days before Jorge Barahona's truck was found on the side of the road, the therapist of Carmen Barahona's granddaughter, Alessandra, placed a call to child welfare officials. Alessandra had alleged to her therapist that while visiting her grandmother's house, twins Nubia and Victor were bound by their hands and feet and made to stand for hours in a bathtub. Their hands were unbound only when it was time to eat, she claimed, and she also alleged that she was not permitted to speak to them when she used the bathroom. The therapist told the operator that Alessandra felt threatened by her grandmother to keep quiet. Carmen allegedly told Alessandra not to tell people about how the twins were treated because it was a "family secret".The couple's 11-year-old autistic son, Jorge, also tried to tell a DCF investigator visiting the home shortly before Nubia's death about a "secret", but the investigator claimed Carmen dismissed him as "low-functioning" and told him to watch TV in another room.
After the discovery of Nubia's body, Alessandra was removed from the care of her mother, Jennifer Perez, and placed with her father, Yovani Perez. In addition, a judge ordered that neither the girl's mother nor any member of her family have any contact with the girl. A DCF official stated that Alessandra should no longer be with her mother because "the mother, Jennifer Perez, not only psychologically abused the child by exposing her to the torture of the twins, but also by threatening the child over and over to keep quiet and encourage [sic] her to be complicit in the deception, that is including a calculated effort by the mother to keep the child from disclosing it to DCF officials."
Role of DCF
The Florida Department of Children and FamiliesFlorida Department of Children and Families
The Florida Department of Children and Families is a state agency of Florida. Its headquarters are in Room 202 in Building 1 of the 1317 Winewood Boulevard complex in Tallahassee...
has been heavily criticized for their handling of the Barahona case. Judge Cindy Lederman expressed outrage at the actions of Andrea Fleary, a DCF worker assigned to the case. On Thursday, February 10, Fleary visited the Barahona home to investigate an abuse hotline call, but despite not making contact with the children, she reported they were safe. When Fleary told the judge about 11-year-old Jorge's attempts to alert her to abuse on Friday, she said the conversations had taken place late in the evening. Judge Lederman responded "So we don't do investigations on weekends? Is that what you are telling me?" Fleary responded that she had stopped her investigation at 9 pm because "we don't do investigations on weekends."
DCF Secretary David Wilkins defended Fleary, claiming she was rattled during the hearing and that "[w]e do investigations 24/7 [...] We have employees who work weekends. We have employees who work nights." Fleary was first placed on paid administrative leave, then fired. When asked how they could have ignored signs of Nubia's abuse, such as her hair loss and constant hunger, Wilkins stated that "[t]he medical conditions of the children complicated the decision-making of our investigators". Wilkins also reminded critics that "these people have been deceiving the system for quite a long time".
In response to the Docter twins being adopted despite objections from their guardian ad litem Paul Neumann, head of Miami-Dade County's guardian ad litem program Sonia Ferrer said the program did everything it could at the time despite admitting Neumann had concerns. She said that the judge overseeing the adoption had heard other evidence and decided to place them with the Barahonas.
Wilkins called upon David Lawrence Jr.
David Lawrence Jr.
David Lawrence Jr. is a nationally known newspaper editor and publisher who retired at the age of 56 and subsequently became a leading national advocate for children, especially in the area of early childhood investment. He is the former publisher of The Miami Herald and the Detroit Free Press...
, former publisher of The Miami Herald
The Miami Herald
The Miami Herald is a daily newspaper owned by The McClatchy Company headquartered on Biscayne Bay in the Omni district of Downtown Miami, Florida, United States...
and current president of the Children's Movement of Florida, Coral Gables attorney Bobby Martinez, a former U.S. Attorney in South Florida, and James Sewell, former assistant commissioner of the Florida Department of Law Enforcement
Florida Department of Law Enforcement
The Florida Department of Law Enforcement is a Florida government agency. FDLE is composed of five programs: Executive Direction and Business Support, Criminal Investigations and Forensic Science, Criminal Justice Information, Criminal Justice Professionalism, and the Florida Capitol Police...
and chair of the task force that investigated the 2009 death of Broward County foster child Gabriel Myers, to look into the handling of the Barahona case. The panel subsequently called DCF's handling of the case "inept" and a "failure of common sense and listening".
Wilkins, who had only been DCF secretary for a few months at the time of Nubia's death, has also criticized the organization's abuse hotline, comparing it to a "low-cost call center". Regarding a call reporting the Barahonas, Wilkins said "[t]hey have a low-cost call center mentality ... You don't want to get off the phone in this situation [...] you could tell the operator wanted to get off the phone because he's measured by how long his call is." Employees are rated by how quickly they handle calls because in the past they had been criticized for taking too long to answer calls, causing callers to hang up. Wilkins also claims the technology is outdated, making it difficult to piece together different parts of a case from separate calls. He has said he plans to remedy these situations.
Charges and trial
After being informed he needed to attend a hearingHearing (law)
In law, a hearing is a proceeding before a court or other decision-making body or officer, such as a government agency.A hearing is generally distinguished from a trial in that it is usually shorter and often less formal...
on a felony child abuse charge, Jorge Barahona tried twice to injure himself. He first jumped backward off of a sink in his cell, landing on his head. He was examined and declared competent
Competence (law)
In American law, competence concerns the mental capacity of an individual to participate in legal proceedings. Defendants that do not possess sufficient "competence" are usually excluded from criminal prosecution, while witnesses found not to possess requisite competence cannot testify...
to stand before a judge, but refused to cooperate with deputies and did not show up for the hearing. At the hearing, his bail was set for $1 million. He later attempted again to injure himself and was taken to a hospital for a CT scan, then returned to jail and placed in the mental health unit.
Carmen Barahona filed for divorce from Jorge in late February, but was arrested and charged with first-degree murder on March 5. She is being held without bond.
Jorge and Carmen Barahona together have been indicted on eighteen charges: one count of first-degree murder, eight counts of child abuse
Child abuse
Child abuse is the physical, sexual, emotional mistreatment, or neglect of a child. In the United States, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the Department of Children And Families define child maltreatment as any act or series of acts of commission or omission by a parent or...
resulting in great bodily harm, one count of child neglect
Child neglect
Child neglect is defined as:# "the failure of a person responsible for a child’s care and upbringing to safeguard the child’s emotional and physical health and general well-being"...
resulting in great harm, six counts of child neglect (no great harm), one count of child neglect (no great bodily harm), and one count of mutilating
Mutilation
Mutilation or maiming is an act of physical injury that degrades the appearance or function of any living body, usually without causing death.- Usage :...
a dead body. They face the death penalty
Capital punishment in Florida
Capital punishment is legal in the U.S. state of Florida. Florida was the first state to reintroduce the death penalty after the Supreme Court of the United States struck down all statutes in the country in the 1972 Furman v. Georgia decision, and the first to perform a post-Furman involuntary...
if convicted.
The Barahonas have pleaded not guilty on all counts. Their trial is set for July 18, 2011.
See also
- Murder of Nixzmary Brown
- Murder of Victoria Climbié
- Lisa Steinberg
- Jeffrey BaldwinJeffrey BaldwinJeffrey Baldwin was a Canadian child whose death from septic shock after years of mistreatment by his grandparents, Elva Bottineau and Norman Kidman, led to significant changes in policy by children's aid societies in the granting of custody of children to relatives.- Life :Baldwin was born in...