Testimony continues in case of babysitter accused of abusing girl in Miami-Dade
MIAMI-DADE COUNTY, Fla. — A 7-year-old girl had a buildup of blood on the surface of the brain, a black eye, a bruised shoulder, and swelling on the right side of her face, according to Miami-Dade Sheriff’s Office deputies.
Her mother took her to the emergency room on July 29, 2023, and “on her way to surgery,” the girl “confided in a nurse that her babysitter had been hitting her on an ongoing basis with a metal spoon and at times with a remote control or phone,” according to deputies’ report.
Deputies arrested Leonor Garcia, then 62, shortly after 2:20 a.m. on July 31, 2023, at her home near Cutler Bay. Prosecutors filed two felony child abuse charges, and for the third day, on Thursday, Garcia, now 65, arrived at Miami-Dade County Circuit Judge Carmen Cabarga’s courtroom for trial.
Court records show the girl underwent several diagnostic scans on July 29-30, 2023. Dr. Sabiha Karakas-Rother, a board-certified pediatric neuroradiologist with over 20 years of experience, testified on Thursday morning.
Court records show that during a deposition before the trial, Karakas-Rother said the treating team reached no definitive “abuse diagnosis.”
On Wednesday, the girl, now 10 years old, testified against Garcia in Spanish, her first language. She said Garcia used corporal punishment to correct her when she made mistakes during English lessons.
“If I cried, she would tell me she was going to hit me … She threatened me with a plier … that if I told my mother anything, she was going to pull my eye out,” the girl said in Spanish, according to the court’s translator.
During the deputies’ investigation, the mother said Garcia first attributed the injuries to “cartwheels,” according to a deputy’s report on the case.
Copyright 2026 by WPLG Local10.com – All rights reserved.
