How Could You? Hall of Shame-Serenity Gandara case-child death UPDATED
This will be an archive of heinous actions by those involved in child welfare, foster care and adoption. We forewarn you that these are deeply disturbing stories that may involve sex abuse, murder, kidnapping and other horrendous actions.
From Bakersfield, California, foster parents Carla and Alberto Garcia, both 28, on the lam after fleeing to Mexico following the 2010 death of their 3-year-old foster child/niece, have been taken into custody by the FBI. When they fled, they left Serenity’s body with her 4-year-old brother Isaiah, who was asleep in another room. The Garcia’s were preparing to adopt them both.
“Serenity Julia Gandara was found dead of blunt-force trauma on her living room floor in July 2010. Her 4-year-old brother Isaiah, who was also a foster child, was asleep in another room.
The foster mother, Carla Garcia, called her sister to tell her about the death, and Garcia’s sister called police. By the time police showed up, Carla Garcia and her husband Alberto were gone, suspected of fleeing south of the border.
The death of her granddaughter left a deep emotional impact on her family said the child’s grandmother. And while she says she no longer holds anger toward Alberto and Carla Garcia, the grandmother said she does want an explanation of what happened that day.
“I hope that they will be honest enough, not cowardly to tell me what happened to my grandchild,” said Maese.
Thursday, the FBI confirmed that the Garcias have been taken into custody for the toddler’s murder. It is working with Bakersfield police to extradite the couple to the United States.
The FBI couldn’t say if the Garcias had their other children with them when they were taken into custody. In the summer of 2010, police believed the couple had taken their 5- and 4-year-old children with them, in addition to Carla Garcia’s son from a previous marriage.”
Foster parents arrested in Mexico for Bakersfield toddler’s death
[Bakersfield Now 3/8/12]
PoundPup Legacy has 2010 articles on this case here.
“Bakersfield Police Sgt. Mary DeGeare said arrest warrants were issued, charging the couple with murder and felony child abandonment. They also face federal charges for unlawful flight.
DeGeare said the two children exhibted [sic] signs of abuse.
“Both of these children had injuries, old and new,” she said. “They had scars and marks in various stages of healing, including recent injuries.”
“Police said Serenity had trauma to her head and torso, and that both she and her brother had injuries that were still healing.”
Boy Left Behind With Body of Dead Sister; Family Flees
[ABC News 7/20/10 by Ray Sanchez]
REFORM Puzzle Piece
“I’m ecstatic. I’m happy. Life right now is so like, I’m overwhelmed. They got them. They got them.
It’s been a whole year and I’ve been praying, I’ve been hoping this would come to an end where we can get peace for Serenity and we got it. We got it. I never gave up hope and I just thank the man upstairs for bringing them back.,” said Renee Maese, Gandara’s Grandmother.
In July of 2010, Gandara was laid to rest inside a tiny coffin adorned with pink and white flowers. Photos of the smiling toddler showed a happy child. Her family called her princess.
The coroner said the girl died from blunt force injuries. Maese told 17 News she reported her suspicions of abuse to Child Protective Services, but case workers did nothing.”
Carla reportedly told people she had tied Serenity to a chair and to her bed so the girl couldn’t wake her up at night, the reports said. One relative said Carla fed 3-year-old Serenity extremely small portions of food and that Carla told her more than once that she disliked the girl.
After Serenity died, doctors observed that she and her 4-year-old brother Isaiah Gandara bore numerous scars and bruises consistent with ongoing abuse. The boy told investigators that “mommy” hit him and Serenity with a belt and a stick.
The reports, reviewed this week by The Californian, add grim new details to a 2010 homicide case that disturbed Bakersfield and spread to Mexico. The documents reveal more about the abuse and the Garcias’ flight to the south.
The Garcias were arrested Feb. 9 in the Pacific coastal state of Colima by the Mexican Agencia Federal de Investigación and are still in Mexico, FBI spokeswoman Gina Swankie said. After the Garcias’ arrest was announced, Swankie said the three children were not in custody and that she did not know their status. On Friday, Swankie said she had no new information about the childrens’ whereabouts.
The hunt for Carla and her husband Alberto Garcia, the brother of the children’s biological mother, began after the couple fled their Bakersfield home on July, 18 2010. Serenity was found dead in the living room and her brother asleep in bed.
The police reports noted that the couple seemed to have fled in a hurry, leaving with cabinets and drawers open. The Garcias took off in their white Ford Expedition headed for Mexico, taking their two biological children and Carla’s son from a previous marriage with them.
Carla, whom court records identify as Carla Mariela Garcia Torres, is charged with first degree murder and three counts of willful cruelty to a child, and Alberto Garcia is charged with first degree murder and two counts of willful cruelty to a child, according to court records.
Police were called to the Garcia’s southwest Bakersfield house by Sandra Garcia, Carla’s sister. Sandra said her sister called her on a Sunday and said “(Serenity) is dead,” instructing her to go to the home. Sandra went to the house and found the front door closed but unlocked. Inside, Serenity was laying on the living room floor, covered by a green towel with what looked like blood beside her. Sandra called 911.
Another one of Carla’s sisters, Elsa Torres said Carla called her that morning and told her the Garcias left because Serenity fell out of bed and Carla thought she hit her head. Carla reportedly said she heard the girl whining at 2 a.m. and she and Alberto found she wasn’t breathing. Scared to call 911, they fled, Carla told her sister.
Images from an ATM showed Alberto withdrawing cash at 12:20 a.m. July 18, the report said. Police “pinged” Carla’s cellphone and traced it to downtown Los Angeles just before 2:40 a.m., the reports said. At 10 a.m., Carla’s phone’s signal was received by a tower in the San Diego area.
According to police reports, Torres’ step brother, Juan Carlos Torres, who lived in Mexico, told Elsa that Carla called him asking for money and help. Juan said the Garcias were in Sonora but Alberto didn’t have the documents to cross from one Mexican state to another. Juan suggested they find someone to sneak them across the state line.
On July 21, Sandra said a relative told her that she spoke to Carla, who was at her godmother’s home in Mexico. The house was searched but the godmother didn’t appear to live there, according to the police report.
While investigators tried to track down the Garcias, family and people who knew them came forward with stories of abuse. Elsa Torres said her sister stopped bring the two children over to her home as often. Torres said every time she saw Serenity and Isaiah, the children had new bruises or injuries. Carla told her they fell a lot.
Torres told police that Carla treated the two children differently, yelling at them for little things like drinking juice too fast and children were afraid of Carla. Torres and other family members told Carla to give the children to the foster care system.
The children’s grandmothers said Carla cut off their visits with Serenity and Isaiah about a year earlier. Maria Garcia, the children’s maternal grandmother, said she told social workers to check on Serenity and Isaiah.
After the killing, authorities found that both children had been the victims of severe trauma.
Serenity’s cause of death was determined to be blunt force trauma to her abdomen. Her liver and bowel were lacerated and a doctor said her pancreas was torn in half. She had a skull fracture on the left back side of her head and multiple contusions, bruises and abrasions, the report said. Her head had numerous injuries in various stages of healing that a doctor said were consistent with having been repeatedly hit on the head with something, the reports said.
Officers noticed Isaiah had large bruises under each eye and what looked like healed scars over the whole left side of his face the day his foster parents disappeared, the police report said. The boy told police, “Mommy whipped (Serenity’s) ass” in her bed and that the girl cried. He told police Carla hit him on the head many times.
Reports said the children were placed with the Garcias in June 2008 and the couple was in the process of adopting them. Paul Bryan, who was monitoring the adoption, said his last visit with the Garcias was a scheduled one in April 2010. The kids were playing in the yard and face painting. In retrospect, the paint could have masked injuries, according to the police report, Bryan said.”
[Bakersfield Californian 4/7/12 by Rachel Cook]
Update 3:“The Sacramento Division of the U.S. Department of Justice made the announcement in a news release Sunday.
Alberto and Carla Garcia had been in the custody of Mexican authorities since February 2012 awaiting extradition.
Serenity Julia Gandara, 3, was found dead inside the Garcia’s southwest Bakersfield home in 2010. Investigators said Carla Garcia called her sister to tell her about the death, and the aunt called police. Serenity’s 4-year-old brother was found asleep in a bed room.
The sheriff’s in-custody web page shows the Garcias are jailed without bail and scheduled to appear in court Tuesday.”
Fugitive pair returned to Kern to faces charges in foster child’s death[Bakerfield Now 10/26/14 by Tammy Brown]
Update 4:”The family of 3-year-old Serenity Julia Gandara wondered if her foster parents — her alleged killers — would ever see trial, but the couple finally made their first Kern County court appearance Tuesday.
Alberto Garcia, 31, and Carla Garcia, 30, are accused of killing Serenity and abandoning her 4-year-old brother Isaiah Gandara in their southwest Bakersfield home in July 2010.
The Garcias then fled to Mexico, taking their two biological children and Carla Garcia’s son from a previous relationship with them. The couple was apprehended in February 2012, and after exhausting extradition appeals, booked Friday into the Kern County Jail.
“I didn’t think they would find (them),” Serenity’s paternal grandmother Renee Maese said outside of court Tuesday. “I thank God every day they found them.”
During the brief appearance, the Garcias wore jail uniforms and were handcuffed.
Kern County Superior Court Judge H.A. “Skip” Staley agreed to postpone their court appearance until 3 p.m. Monday.
Public defenders will be appointed until they hire a private attorney, which both defendants said they plan to do.
They are being held without bail. Alberto Garcia is charged on suspicion of one count of first-degree murder and two counts of willful cruelty to a child.
Carla Garcia is charged on suspicion of one count of first-degree murder and three counts of willful cruelty to a child.
Isaiah and Serenity are the biological children of Alberto Garcia’s sister. Isaiah has since been adopted by another family member.
Serenity died from massive blunt force trauma to her abdomen, according to court records. Investigators said Serenity had a severe skull fracture and signs of trauma sustained over a prolonged period of time. Isaiah also had injuries consistant with prolonged physical abuse.
“There was no reason for her life to be taken,” said Maese. “We can’t see her grow up now.””
Hearing for foster parents of dead girl, 3, pushed to Monday[The Bakersfield Californian 10/28/14 by Rut Brown]
Update 5:”A piece of wood has been identified as the possible murder weapon in the death of 3-year-old Serenity Gandara, court filings say.
That may have been the weapon used to end her life, but reports have indicated Serenity suffered numerous injuries over a long period of time before her July 2010 death. The suspects in her killing are her foster parents, Alberto and Carla Garcia, who are expected to be arraigned Monday on charges of murder and willful cruelty to a child.
The reports filed in court say Serenity suffered severe bruising to both eyes, a deep cut under her chin, large contusions to the back of her head, a lacerated liver and bowel, and her pancreas was torn in half. She had a skull fracture and there were old scars on her back.
Cause of death was determined to be blunt force trauma to her abdomen.
Alberto and Carla, who was also Serenity’s aunt, fled for Mexico with three other children — their two biological children and Carla’s son from a previous marriage — on July 18, 2010. Carla Garcia called her sister after she left and told her Serenity was dead, the reports say.
The sister, Sandra Garcia, went to the house and found Serenity’s body covered by a green towel on the living room floor. Four-year-old Isaiah Gandara, another foster child in the southwest Bakersfield home, was also found to have numerous scars and bruises consistent with ongoing abuse.
The boy told investigators “mommy” hit him and Serenity with a belt and stick, according to previously released reports.
Images taken from an ATM showed Alberto Garcia withdrawing cash at 12:20 a.m. July 18. The reports say Carla Garcia’s cellphone signal was traced to downtown Los Angeles at 2:37 a.m., and another hit came from a tower in the San Diego area at 10 a.m.
The reports say a relative who lived in Mexico told one of Garcia’s sisters that Carla called asking for help because she was stranded in Sonora state. Alberto Garcia didn’t have the necessary documents to cross from one Mexican state to another.
The two somehow managed to leave Sonora and were arrested Feb. 9, 2012 in the Pacific coastal state of Colima. They exhausted all their extradition appeals on Oct. 9 and were transported to the U.S.
Both are currently being held without bail at Lerdo Jail.”
Piece of wood possible murder weapon in 3-year-old’s death[Bakersfield Californian 10/30/14 by Jason Kotowski]
Update 6:”Bail was denied Monday at the arraignment for the foster parents accused of killing 3-year-old Serenity Gandara in 2010 and leaving her body on the living room floor while they fled to Mexico.
Superior Court Judge Michael Lewis agreed with prosecutor Melissa Allen that Alberto and Carla Garcia posed a flight risk. Allen, the supervising deputy district attorney, pointed out “a lengthy extradition” process of more than two years was required to return the couple from Mexico where they had been jailed since February 2012.
In addition to each being charged with one count of first-degree murder, the Garcias both face multiple counts of willful cruelty to a child.
The couple pleaded not guilty to all charges through their attorneys.
Their next court appearance was scheduled for Jan. 20.
Although both Deputy Public Defender Anitra Zobeck, who represented Alberto, 31, and attorney William Slocum, who represented Carla, 30, asked Lewis to bar media coverage of the trial, the judge declined.
He did, however, forbid photographers and TV to show the Garcias’ faces from Monday proceedings forward. Lewis said he would reassess his decision before a trial begins.
Court records show Serenity’s cause of death was blunt force trauma to her abdomen, but she also suffered multiple other injuries including a lacerated liver and bowels, severe bruising and a torn pancreas.
Her 4-year-old brother, Isaiah Gandara, also was abandoned at the Garcias’ southwest Bakersfield home in July 2010. Investigators found he had numerous scars and bruises consistent with ongoing abuse.
He has since been adopted by another family member.”
No bail in foster child’s death [The Bakersfield Californian 11/3/14 by Steve Levin]
Update 7:“The foster mother of 3-year-old Serenity Gandara smacked the girl, called her stupid and failed to give her enough to eat, according to emotional testimony in the murder trial of the woman and her husband Friday.
Even the sister of 32-year-old Carla Torres testified that Torres disliked Serenity, and had seen her hit the girl with a sandal on several occasions.
According to prosecutors, that abuse culminated in the child’s death in July 2010.
Torres and her husband, Alberto Garcia, 32, are charged with murder in Serenity’s death. Prosecutors say the child was beaten to death and left on the living room floor of the couple’s house in southwest Bakersfield.
The girl suffered a severe skull fracture and trauma sustained over a prolonged period of time, court filings say.
The couple then fled for Mexico with their two biological children and a boy Carla had from a previous relationship, prosecutors say. They left Serenity’s 4-year-old brother, who was also in their care, behind at the house.
That boy is also alleged to have been abused. Jurors were shown photographs depicting numerous injuries to his body, and a doctor testified the assorted scrapes and bruises occurred at different times.
Serenity and her brother were born to Alberto Garcia’s sister, 22-year-old Yesenia Garcia. Yesenia’s family has said that in the past she had problems with drugs, and the children were placed with Alberto Garcia and Torres.
Torres’ sister, Anita Mendoza, repeatedly denied Friday that she told investigators she witnessed abuse at the home. She later acknowledged, after prosecutor Melissa Allen noted she signed an affidavit under penalty of perjury that what she had told investigators was true, that she had witnessed Torres call Serenity stupid and saw her “smack” the girl with a sandal.
Torres, who cried often during her testimony and claimed the affidavit was inaccurate even though she had signed it, also tried to defend her sister’s behavior.
“(Torres) yelled at everybody, but not in a rude way or a mean way,” Mendoza said.
Garcia’s mother, Maria Garcia, testified earlier Friday that Torres controlled the household. She said Torres at first let her visit the children, but later prevented her from seeing them when she asked about injuries she saw on the boy.
Torres’ attorney, Bill Slocumb, asked Garcia how Torres could have pushed her son around considering he’s about a foot taller than her.
“There are times where you don’t have to be taller to push around a person and get them to do what you want,” she said.
Maria Garcia testified she brought food when she visited because the children appeared too thin. She said that angered Torres.
In one instance, Maria Garcia testified, Torres stopped her from giving Serenity a glass of water after the child said she was thirsty. Garcia said Torres told her Serenity could have water when everyone else was thirsty, too.
The trial resumes at 9 a.m. Monday with continued testimony from Mendoza. ”
Couple on trial in death of 3-year-old foster child [The Bakersfield Californian 4/1/16 by Jason Kotowski]
“A woman charged with murder in the death of a 3-year-old foster child maintained Thursday her husband, not her, inflicted fatal injuries on the girl.
Later Thursday, the husband, also charged with murder, denied injuring the child. He also denied his wife’s allegations that he beat and raped her and threatened to have her deported if she didn’t do what he said.
Alberto Garcia testified he tried performing CPR on Serenity Gandara when she stopped breathing the morning of July 28, 2010, but he couldn’t revive her. He said he believes his wife, Carla Torres, had hit the girl the day before.
“What did you do?” Garcia said he yelled at Torres upon finding Serenity wasn’t breathing.
Garcia testified Torres prevented him from calling 911 after Serenity died. He said he didn’t want to flee the country, but Torres told him she was going to Mexico with her three biological children — including his biological son and daughter — whether he came or not.
He said he went with her so he could watch over his children.
Garcia and Torres are charged with first-degree murder and child cruelty in Serenity’s death and the abuse of her 4-year-old brother. They left the brother behind at their southwest Bakersfield home where he was found by relatives.
Prosecutors say the couple inflicted severe internal injuries that resulted in Serenity’s death. They allege both children suffered abuse over a period of time, and the brother was found to have injuries in various stages of healing.
Garcia’s sister was the children’s mother, and the children had been placed with him and Torres because of the sister’s drug issues.
Carla Torres testified Thursday morning she had believed Serenity died due to an injury to her head when she fell off a bunk bed the day before her death. It wasn’t until she was caught and extradited to the U.S. in 2014, Torres said, that she discovered Serenity died from internal injuries.
That’s when she first believed her husband killed the girl, she said.
Prosecutor Melissa Allen questioned the truthfulness of Torres’ testimony.
“Are you honestly telling us you believed you were charged with murder because you didn’t take care of (Serenity) because she fell off the bed?” Allen asked.
“Yes, ma’am,” Torres responded.
Multiple witnesses have testified Torres has a bad temper and hit the children. And Torres acknowledged she wrote a letter to her husband while in jail in Mexico telling him how badly she had beaten up another inmate who bothered her.
Torres began testifying Wednesday morning and finished just before noon Thursday. Garcia will resume testimony at 9 a.m. Friday.”
Second defendant charged with murder of foster child testifies [The Bakersfield Californian 4/7/16 by Jason Kotowski]
“Attorneys finished presenting evidence Friday in the murder trial of a husband and wife accused of beating a 3-year-old girl to death after a week in which each defendant took the witness stand and blamed the other.
Alberto Garcia testified Friday morning he witnessed his wife hit the child and her brother on more than 10 separate occasions, including once with the stick of what was either a broom or a mop.
He testified the two foster children were afraid of his wife and cried in her presence. She hit both of them, but he said the girl, Serenity Gandara, took the brunt of abuse.
Garcia said he told his wife, Carla Torres, that they should return the foster children. He believed they were in danger.
And he admitted he did nothing about it.
Instead, he took action only after Serenity died in July 2010. He fled for Mexico with Torres and her three biological children, leaving Serenity’s body covered with a towel on the tile floor of their southwest Bakersfield home.
They left behind her brother in the house, too, where he was later found by relatives and placed in protective custody.
Garcia and Torres, both 32, were captured in Mexico in 2012 and extradited to the U.S. in 2014. Their trial on charges of murder and child abuse began last month.
Under forceful cross-examination from prosecutor Melissa Allen, Garcia said Serenity had seemed ill and somewhat detached the day of her death. He said Torres awoke him in the night to tell him Serenity had been moaning.
The child soon began throwing up, and then stopped breathing, Garcia testified. He said he tried to perform CPR on her, but failed to revive her.
He said he didn’t want to leave the house, but Torres said she was leaving with her biological children — including his two children — whether he came or not.
He decided to go with her.
“Because you knew you had to get out of the states because you had just killed a 3-year-old girl, right?” Allen asked.
Garcia denied killing Serenity. Allen said he and Torres were the only adults present, so it must have been one of them.
And if it wasn’t him, Allen said, he knew about the abuse and allowed it to go on.
Torres testified earlier this week that Garcia beat and raped her. She said she would return home from work to find injuries on the children, who were home with Garcia all day.
Multiple witnesses, including her own sisters, have testified Torres struck the children and has a bad temper.
Attorneys are scheduled to present their closing arguments Tuesday.”
Husband testifies to witnessing wife’s abuse of foster child who died [The Bakersfield Californian 4/8/16 by Jason Kotowski]
Update 8:“Carla Torres and Alberto Garcia were found guilty of second degree murder Wednesday for their involvement in the death of three year old Serenity Gandara in 2010.
Torres and Garcia were Serenity’s foster parents and also her aunt and uncle.
Serenity was found dead from blunt force trauma in their southwest Bakersfield home in July 2010. Serenity’s four year old brother, Isaiah, was the only other person in the house and was injured when police arrived.
Torres and Garcia fled for Mexico with their three biological children following the death of Serenity.
Torre’s attorney says that they fled because Torres feared she would be deported.
“She took her children with her to a place where she felt she would be able to live her life with her children,” said Bill Slocumb.
“Turns out she was wrong because the United States went down there, picked her up and brought her back.”
They were discovered by authorities in Mexico in 2012 and extradited to the U.S. in 2014.
Torres and Garcia were also found guilty of two counts of willful cruelty to a child. Torres was found guilty of an additional charge, causing death to a child under the age of eight.
Both will be sentenced on May 11th.”
Foster parents found guilty of second degree murder [23 ABC 4/13/16 by Alexis Lewis]
Update 9:”Foster parents who were found guilty of second degree murder last month were sentenced today.
Carla Torres was sentenced to 25 years to life and Alberto Garcia was sentenced to 15 years to life. Both also received additional four year sentences for child cruelty that will begin once the longer sentence finishes.
Torres and Garcia were convicted of killing three year old Serenity Gandara back in 2010.
Torres and Garcia were Serenity’s foster parents and also her aunt and uncle.
Serenity was found dead from blunt force trauma in their southwest Bakersfield home in July 2010. Serenity’s four year old brother, Isaiah, was the only other person in the house and was injured when police arrived.”
Foster parents could face life in prison [Turn to 23 5/11/16 by Alexis Lewis]
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