PALM BEACH, Fla., May 26 (UPI) -- A Florida couple charged with first-degree murder and child abuse should never have been awarded custody of the a girl and her twin brother, officials said.
Jorge and Carmen Barahona are in jail, probably years away from trial in the death of Nubia, the adoptive twin sister to Victor, officials said. Her decomposing body was found in the bed of Jorge's truck on Valentine's Day, parked on the shoulder of Interstate 95 in West Palm Beach, The Miami Herald reported.
A medical examiner said the girl died of blunt force trauma.
A grand jury indictment said the couple locked the two children in a bathroom with their hands and feet bound with plastic tape. Victor said his father frequently beat him and his sister, and that one day his father took Nubia from the tub where they had been tied up.
Victor told police he heard Jorge beating Nubia for a long time, and he never saw her again.
A three-member panel appointed by the Florida Department of Children and Families, which supported the Barahona's adoption of the twins despite multiple warnings of abuse, concluded the DCF erred in not detecting abuse before Nubia was killed, the Palm Beach Post reported.
The report did not say when the Barahona's would be back in court. Victor turned 11 Thursday.
