Fla. girl dead in toxic truck; brother burned (focus of at least 3 abuse allegations in the past)

[Omaha Steve]

Source: AP

By KELLI KENNEDY

FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. (AP) - A state worker made the alarming discovery: a 10-year-old boy in the front seat of an exterminator's red pickup alongside a busy interstate, convulsing from seizures, dripping in chemicals so toxic they sickened rescue workers who helped him. Nearby, the boy's father lay on the ground, unresponsive and doused in gasoline in what he later told police was a futile attempt to kill himself.

The most horrifying find would come hours later because the truck was too toxic to search - the deteriorating body of the boy's twin sister, wrapped in plastic bags, wedged between chemical containers in the enclosed pickup bed.

The boy was in critical condition Wednesday, his burns getting worse and doctors unsure of what chemical was used. His father, Jorge Barahona, was also in the hospital. He faces aggravated child abuse charges, but more charges were expected.

Meanwhile, an angry judge grilled state child welfare officials over missed opportunities to help the twins, Victor and Nubia, after an anonymous abuse allegation was called into a hotline Feb. 10 - four days before the children were found by the highway assistance worker along Interstate 95 in West Palm Beach.


Read more: http://apnews.excite.com/article/20110216/D9LE5K3O0.html

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FULL story at link.

[xfundy]

1. The nation is going mad. nt

[Sadie5]

2. This is so sad

Can't think of anything else to say...

[ellenfl]

3. i-95 has been shut down for days here. i am anxiously waiting to hear

what chemical was used. those poor kids. florida's department of children and families has sucked for too long.

ellen fl

[DragonSlave]

4. Its sad that stories like this are used as excuses to cut social services

[DesertDiamond]

5. ... when being already too shorthanded is a main reson this kind of thing happens.

[Dappleganger]

6. And Scott is cutting DCF way back.

[RandySF]

7. This...is Florida

I've lost track of the number of kids who have died under Florida's "care".

[reggie the dog]

8. some people are really fucked up

was this guy on some of those wonderful anti anxiety pills or anti depressants that cut off basically all feelings????

[LeftishBrit]

9. Horrifying

The stuff of nightmares.

If the 'father' did this....unbelievable cruelty.

[Kurmudgeon]

10. "Father" didn't do this, kids were adopted.

[theHandpuppet]

11. The entire extended family needs to be investigated

After reading this, the whole damn family needs to held responsible for the torture of those poor kids:

The Department of Children and Families began investigating the family last week after the Barahona's 7-year-old granddaughter told an adult the twins were kept locked in the bathroom, their hands and feet bound. The child said Nubia was sometimes kept in the tub all day.
A doctor who interviewed the little girl who reported the alleged abuse, said she did so even though her grandmother told her they were "family secrets" and warned her to stay quiet.