New Attorney For Jorge Barahona; July Trial Postponed
MIAMI (CBS4) -- Jorge Barahona, the South Florida man charged with torturing and murdering his 10-year-old adopted daughter, was appointed new defense lawyers Friday.
A Miami-Dade judge appointed David Peckins and Stuart Adelstein, private lawyers who will be paid by the state to defend Barahona.
Barahona's former public defender, Edith Georgie, left the case due to an unspecified conflict of interest.
During Friday morning's hearing, Peckins told the judge a trial date previously set for July would have to be postponed. Judge Sarah Zabel set a status hearing for Oct. 6.
A status hearing regarding a motion to seal evidence in the case is also scheduled for June 30.
Jorge and Carmen Barahona are charged with first-degree murder, aggravated child abuse and neglect in the death of Nubia Barahona, and the torture of her twin brother Victor.
Last month, court documents were released to the public which provided glimpses into the troubled life of the Barahonas. Nearly a thousand documents were released by the West Palm Beach State Attorney's office.
The documents reveal Jorge Barahona told authorities he believed his adopted children tried to poison him by putting baby oil in his soda in the days leading up to the grisly discovery of the trio on the side of I-95 in West Palm Beach on Valentine's Day.
According to the documents, Jorge told police Nubia died at his Miami home in February, but didn't say how. He said he gave Nubia and her twin brother medicine to sedate them in the days before the twins were discovered in his truck alongside the busy highway.
The documents are a compilation of search warrants of the Barahona home, cell phone records, statements from family members including Barahona's sister and an apparent suicide note Barahona wrote in 2006.
Prosecutors have also said the couple kept the two children bound in the bathroom of their West Miami-Dade home for months, beating and starving them.
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