The parents charged with killing their adoptive daughter and abusing her twin brother made their first court appearance together Monday, where prosecutors announced they'd seek the death penalty against the couple.
Jorge and Carmen Barahona appeared in a Miami-Dade courtroom, where prosecutor Gail Levine said the state of Florida would seek the death penalty against them in the death of 10-year-old Nubia Barahona and the abuse of her twin brother Victor.
Both face first-degree murder and several child abuse charges and were ordered by a judge to appear Monday.
Jorge Barahona was crying and appeared extremely emotional as he wore a vest used for inmates on suicide watch to court.
"He's extremely emotionally unstable right now," his attorney Edith Georgie said. "He's been crying the whole time."
The body of Nubia Barahona was found wrapped in plastic inside a truck on the side of I-95 in Palm Beach County on Feb. 14. Victor was found covered in chemicals, badly burned and with broken bones in the front seat.
Jorge Barahona, who was also found near the truck, told police he was distraught over Nubia's death and had planned to kill himself. He was later arrested and faces attempted murder charges in Palm Beach County.
Authorities say the couple abused the twins for months inside their Miami home, keeping them locked in a bathroom for days at a time with their hands and feet bound.
Jorge Barahona, 54, was transferred from Palm Beach County to Miami-Dade last week. Carmen Barahona, 60, has been in custody since her arrest earlier this month.
