Lawsuit: Connecticut DCF and a Snapshot of Connecticut’s Broken CPS System-Child Death

Jacqueline “Mimi” Torres-Garcia,12, died in the “fall of 2024.”

She was starved. She weighed 26-27 pounds when she died.😭

The week of November 10, 2025 , “the Office of the Chief Medical Examiner ruled Mimi’s cause of death as fatal child abuse with starvation and the manner of death as homicide.”

“She was never reported missing.”😭

Jacqueline “was not given food in the two weeks before she died and was often restrained with zip ties, according to arrest and search warrants that have been released in recent weeks, ”

Jacqueline’s  “body was found in a plastic bag covered with a comforter and sheets in a laundry basket inside a plastic bin that was left at an abandoned property in Oct. 2025.” 😱

“On Oct. 8, New Britain Police officers were called to an abandoned building in response to a report of suspicious behavior, New Britain Mayor Erin Stewart said at an Oct. 13 press conference.
Officers found a large container in the backyard containing what was believed to be human remains, New Britain Police Chief Matthew Marino said. The remains were identified as those of Torres-Garcia.

Investigators determined that she likely died in the fall of 2024 when her family lived in Farmington, Farmington Public Safety Director Paul Melanson said.

Her family allegedly took her remains with them when they moved from Farmington in March 2025, he said.

When authorities opened the 40-gallon bin, they found the child’s body inside a plastic bag wrapped in a comforter and sheets in a laundry basket, according to the affidavit.

As PEOPLE previously reported,on Oct. 12, Mimi’s mother, Karla Garcia, 29, was arrested and charged with a number of counts including murder with special circumstances, conspiracy to commit murder with special circumstances, improper disposal of a dead body and intentional cruelty to a child under the age of 19.

Garcia pleaded not guilty and is being held on a $5 million bond.”

Girl, 12, Allegedly Didn’t Eat for 2 Weeks Before Death. Then Family Moved — with Her Remains — to a Different Home
[People 11/17/25 by KC Baker]

Lawsuit
“The estate of Jacqueline “Mimi” Torres-García, whose body was found in New Britain in October, has filed paperwork with the state’s claim commissioner requesting permission to sue the state’s Department of Children and Families for alleged negligence in its handling of the child’s case and for allegedly failing to protect her younger sister.

The estate, represented by Torres-García’s father Victor Torres, seeks $100 million in damages — $75 million in Torres-García’s case and an additional $25 million in her sister’s case. The paperwork includes a long list of allegations of negligence on the part of DCF, including a failure to protect the girl from her mother, Karla García, and her mother’s ex-boyfriend, Jonatan Nanita, who have since been charged in her death.

Connecticut’s chief medical examiner found that the cause of the 11-year-old’s death was fatal child abuse with starvation, and a homicide.

Ken Mysogland, the bureau chief of external affairs for DCF, said in a statement that the department hasn’t yet “been formally notified of the claim and when it is received, we will assess it to determine the most appropriate course of action.”

According to paperwork filed on Thursday with Connecticut’s claims commissioner, the lawsuit will argue, in part, that DCF failed to perform adequate wellness checks on Torres-García. That allegation is made in light of information released by DCF that another child had impersonated Torres-García during a wellness check conducted via Zoom in early 2025.

At the time, DCF said that its caseworker was notified that Torres-García was visiting a relative out of state, and because the primary abuse allegation being investigated regarded her sibling, the agency allowed the wellness check of Torres-García to be made via Zoom. DCF welfare checks on children are normally conducted in person, with few exceptions, according to the agency. Lawmakers and advocates have demanded answers as to why the wellness check occurred via Zoom, and how the agency could have been fooled.

In the document, the estate also accuses DCF of negligence in its training and supervision of employees, officers, agents and/or servants of DCF who were involved in the case, and also accuses DCF of prematurely closing the case involving Torres-García and her family.

Paperwork was also filed by Connecticut’s Department of Administrative Services on Thursday that indicates that the state is investigating whether the heirs of Torres-García could owe funds to reimburse “for aid, care or services provided by the State of Connecticut.”

According to Leigh Appleby, a spokesman for DAS, such a letter is routinely sent “when DAS is in the process of investigating whether the estate or any of the estate’s beneficiaries has a debt,” to any of the agencies, like DCF, that DAS is responsible for collecting.”

Mimi Torres-García estate accuses DCF of negligence, seeks $100M
[CT Mirror 12/8/25 by Laura Tillman]

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