Jorge Barahona, adoptive father of slain Fla. girl, Nubia Barahona, claims she tried to poison him
(CBS/WFOR/AP) MIAMI - Jorge Barahona, a father charged with killing his 10-year-old adopted daughter whose body was found in his truck covered in chemicals, told police the girl tried to poison him by putting baby oil in his soda, according to court documents released late Wednesday.
Barahona told police that his daughter Nubia died in the morning at his home in Miami, but "he did not admit to killing her or elaborate as to how she expired," according to court documents, reports CBS station WFOR.
He said he gave Nubia and her twin brother Victor, allergy and sleeping medicine to sedate them in the days before Feb. 14, when the children the couple had adopted were discovered in his truck alongside a busy South Florida highway.
Nubia's naked body was in the fetal position, drenched in a toxic chemical and hidden in black garbage bags. Her brother Victor was also soaked with chemicals and is recovering from severe burns.
The twins had ligature marks and other injuries indicating abuse and that they had been restrained, according to the documents.
After Nubia's body was found, her 11-year-old brother told investigators that Jorge Barahona beat Nubia with a shoe and Carmen Barahona, Jorge's wife, bound her hands and feet and locked her in the tub for days.
The court documents say investigators focused on the couple's Miami home in the days after Nubia's murder. Investigators took DNA samples from the walls of a bedroom and dining room, towels and mop head, a couple of bloodstained items, clothes, blankets and rolls of tape, reports WFOR.
After the discovery in West Palm Beach, a search warrant outlines that Jorge Barahona told investigators he was so distraught after his daughter's death that he placed her body in a plastic bag, drove north and planned to commit suicide by setting himself on fire.
Jorge and Carmen Barahona have pleaded not guilty to first-degree murder and several abuse and neglect charges. Their lawyers tried to seal the evidence before trial, saying it would taint the jury pool. But the state attorney's office in West Palm Beach, where Jorge Barahona's truck was found, released the documents.
More on Crimesider
Feb. 21, 2011 - Fla. Dad Pleads Not Guilty to Trying to Kill Son, 10
Feb. 17, 2011 - Fla. Girl, 10, Found Dead, Twin Brother Burned, in Father's Pesticide Truck