Jorge Barahona found incompetent to stand trial for adopted daughter Nubia's murder
MIAMI - A South Florida man accused of killing his adopted 10-year-old daughter has been found incompetent to stand trial.
Jorge and Carmen Barahona are accused of torturing Nubia and her twin brother Victor for months before her death.
Nubia Barahona's body was found partially decomposed in the back of her father's truck along I-95 in Palm Beach County on Valentine's Day 2011. In the front seat, Victor was found suffering seizures from chemical burns.
His wife, Carmen, pleaded guilty to first-degree murder and aggravated child abuse charges in 2020 and was expected to testify against Barahona. She would have received a life sentence it she had testified. He would have faced the death penalty if convicted at trial.
Nubia and Victor were adopted by the Barahonas in 2009 after living in their home since 2004. The kids, authorities discovered, had endured starvation, beatings, medical neglect and they had been tied and forced to stay in a bathtub.
The state's Department of Children and Families came under fire during the course of the police investigation into Nubia's death for failing to piece together warning signs from medical professionals and school officials that something was wrong in the Barahona home. The agency blamed it on a system-wide failure, including poor judgment by child protective investigators, overwhelming caseloads, and missed opportunities at every turn.