A 22-year-old woman testified Wednesday that she was asked to impersonate an 11-year-old girl during a Zoom call with social services — months after the child had already died — in what prosecutors say was a desperate attempt by the girl’s mother to conceal her death.
The woman, Jacklyn Goulet, told a Connecticut courtroom that she posed as Jacqueline “Mimi” Torres-Garcia during a January 2025 video call with the Connecticut Department of Children and Families. Goulet said the request came from Mimi’s mother, Karla Garcia, who feared losing custody of her remaining children if the call did not happen, according to testimony reported by the Greenwich Time.
The testimony emerged during a probable cause hearing for Garcia and her boyfriend, Jonatan Nanita, both of whom are charged with murder with special circumstances and other offenses in connection with Mimi’s death.
Mimi’s remains were discovered inside a tote bag behind an abandoned home in New Britain in October 2025, but authorities believe the child died more than a year earlier, in September 2024. Prosecutors allege Mimi endured years of abuse, was restrained with zip ties, and was systematically starved by Garcia and Nanita.
Goulet testified that she had never met Mimi or her siblings and did not know the child was dead at the time of the Zoom call. She said Garcia told her Mimi was staying with an aunt out of state. After caseworkers requested to see the child following a complaint, Garcia allegedly asked Goulet to stand in during the video call.
On the day of the call, Goulet said Garcia wrote down the names and ages of the other children so she could respond convincingly if questioned. Asked by a DCF worker whether she missed her siblings, Goulet testified that she replied, in Mimi’s voice, that she spoke to them every day and FaceTimed regularly. She also told the worker she was doing well in school and had friends.
Mimi’s aunt, Jackelyn Leeann Garcia, also faces criminal charges for allegedly participating in the abuse, though she is not charged with murder.
Tim O’Keefe, who represents Mimi’s father Victor Torres in a $100 million civil claim against DCF, called Goulet’s testimony “disturbing” and said the family is committed to holding all responsible parties accountable.
Additional testimony painted a grim picture of the alleged abuse. Detective James McKeown told the court that Mimi’s DNA was found on a mattress in a basement closet, on the linoleum beneath it, and on the subfloor below. Nanita’s palm print was recovered from the tote bag that held the child’s remains.
According to McKeown, Nanita told investigators that Garcia and Jackelyn Garcia would hit and punch Mimi and force her to kneel in a corner for so long that she would urinate and defecate on herself. Nanita claimed he avoided witnessing the abuse by leaving the house with the other children or staying in his room playing video games.
Nanita later told police that after returning home from McDonald’s with the other children one day, Garcia told him Mimi was dead upstairs. He said he did not call for help because he had no phone. Prosecutors allege Nanita helped dispose of Mimi’s body and later filed paperwork to make it appear she was still alive so the household could continue receiving food assistance.
An autopsy report obtained through probate court filings found a single blueberry in the child’s stomach. Amphetamines and antihistamines — neither prescribed — were also found in her system. While no external injuries were documented, the medical examiner described Mimi as “emaciated,” weighing just 27 pounds at the time of her death. Her cause of death was ruled fatal child abuse with starvation.
Garcia and Nanita remain charged with murder with special circumstances, with Nanita also facing counts of improper disposal of a body, fraud, and larceny. Jackelyn Garcia is charged with participating in the abuse.
Robert D’Andrea, a judge in Litchfield Superior Court, will decide whether prosecutors have presented enough evidence to move the case forward. Proceedings are set to continue Thursday.
