On October 8, 2025, police in New Britain, Connecticut, received a phone call that led to the discovery of the body of Jacqueline “Mimi” Torres-Garcia. Her body was found in a tote left behind in an abandoned home. Following the initial investigation, her mother, Karla Garcia, along with her ex-boyfriend Jonatan Nanita and her sister, Jackelyn Garcia, were arrested and charged with her murder. Weeks later, horrifying new details about the girl’s death are emerging through police warrants.
Police warrants have been unsealed, which allows further investigation into the gruesome details of how the girl died. According to the warrants, Karla Garcia and Jonatan Nanita blamed each other for the death of Mimi Torres-Garcia, NBC Connecticut reported.
The girl’s remains were found in plastic trash bags that were stuffed into a 40-gallon tote. Also found in the tote were a laundry basket, sheets, and a comforter. It seemed some sort of white powdery substance was poured onto the remains to conceal the smell.
When police first questioned Karla Garcia, she told them Mimi was fine and was visiting a friend. She later dropped the act, however, telling them she didn’t know what happened to her daughter but was scared of Nanita and that’s why she didn’t reach out to police after the girl went missing, NBC Connecticut reported. She said she hadn’t seen her daughter in eight months and that Nanita had her.
Garcia later admitted that Nanita had stopped feeding the girl weeks before she died, but she wasn’t sure exactly when she died. She then revealed that Nanita had moved the body to the basement, and when the smell got bad, they moved to a new home.
Although she first blamed Nanita for the girl’s abuse, the mother did eventually admit to tying up Mimi with zip ties at his request. She also told police Nanita killed the girl by stomping on her head and throwing her down the stairs, according to NBC Connecticut. But this wasn’t consistent with the findings of the Office of the Chief Medical Examiner. Cause of death for Mimi Torres-Garcia is still being determined, but she was severely malnourished at the time of her death, weighing approximately 25 pounds.
Karla Garcia has been charged with murder with special circumstances, conspiracy to commit murder with special circumstances, risk of injury to a minor, unlawful restraint in the first degree, intentional cruelty to a child, tampering with evidence, and disposal of a dead body, per the outlet.
When police questioned Nanita, he gave a completely different account of Mimi’s death. Initially, he told police that he had dated Garcia for seven years but that she broke up with him in August 2025 and he was homeless.
He alleged that she asked him to move the tote with Mimi’s remains, and said he didn’t know what was in there, NBC Connecticut reported. But then he nodded that he did know her body was in the tote. He denied kicking Mimi and said he only helped move the bin.
Nanita was charged with murder with special circumstances, conspiracy to commit murder with special circumstances, risk of injury to a minor and cruelty to a child.
Jackelyn Garcia faces charges of unlawful restraint, reckless endangerment, and cruelty to person, as well as four counts of risk of injury, per NBC Connecticut.
In the warrants, Mimi’s father, Victor Torres, said he had tried contacting DCF about his daughter’s welfare, but it wasn’t successful. According to Connecticut Public Radio, DCF said it didn’t have enough evidence of abuse to remove Mimi or her siblings from Garcia’s home.
The last contact the agency had with the girl was in 2022, in regards to her younger siblings. It closed the case because of “insufficient evidence to substantiate child abuse and neglect or seek removal of the children from the home.”
“She and her siblings were determined to be safe at that time and were visible to the community,” the agency shared. “The school-aged children were enrolled in school, and the children’s medical provider was contacted and did not express concerns.”
DCF spokesperson Ken Mysogland told Connecticut Public Radio that calls to the agency about Mimi Torres-Garcia did not allege malnourishment or physical abuse of a child. “We did not see anything relating to Jacqueline that indicated cruel or unusual punishment or physical abuse,” he said.
The agency was called again in January 2025 regarding the younger children. Police believe the girl was already dead by then.
Karla Garcia, Jonatan Nanita, and Jackelyn Garcia are expected to next appear in court on November 14.
If you suspect child abuse, you can call the Childhelp National Child Abuse Hotline at 1-800-422-4453 (1-800-4-A-Child) or go to Childhelp.org. The hotline is available 24/7.
