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Miami couple denies abuse, murder of girl

MIAMI, March 28 (UPI) -- A Miami couple pleaded not guilty Monday to torturing and murdering their adopted daughter, as prosecutors said they would ask for the death penalty.

The arraignment was Jorge and Carmen Barahona's first joint appearance in court, The Miami Herald reported.

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The Barahonas were indicted last week on first-degree murder and multiple child abuse and neglect charges.

The decaying corpse of 10-year-old Nubia was found Feb. 14 in a trash bag in the back of Jorge Barahona's pickup along Interstate 95. Barahona was unconscious, and Nubia's twin, Victor, was in the truck with grave chemical burns.

Police say the Barahonas abuses the adopted twins for years, binding their hands and feet, keeping them in a bathtub, beating, starving and torturing them.

The Florida Department of Children and Families, which approved the adoption, is under fire.

Neither parent showed emotion as prosecutor Gail Levine announced the state would seek the death penalty.

Assistant Public Defender Edith Georgi said Jorge Barahona is "too emotionally unstable to make any rational decisions."

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