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Leonor Garcia (WPLG).
The severity of these alleged attacks led to the then 7-year-old requiring urgent surgery to address a brain hemorrhage. Leonor Garcia, aged 65, is facing charges of child abuse with significant bodily harm in Miami. This distressing event reportedly took place on July 29, 2023, when the girl was under Garcia’s care, according to an arrest affidavit.
On that day, Garcia contacted the girl’s mother around 8 p.m., claiming the child was hurt while performing cartwheels and needed medical attention. Upon reaching the hospital, doctors discovered a subdural hematoma and conducted surgery to relieve the pressure on her brain.
In her statement to detectives, the girl recounted being hit at least 13 times with various objects, including a metal spoon, a remote control, and a phone, whenever she erred in translating Spanish to English. Garcia allegedly instructed the child to attribute her injuries to a cartwheel accident, a claim the girl later described as false.
The girl later told detectives that Garcia beat her at least 13 times with a metal spoon, remote control or a phone when she incorrectly translated a word from Spanish to English. Garcia allegedly told the girl to blame the injuries on a fall from doing cartwheels, which she called a “lie.”
“I tried to cry, but she would tell me not to because if I cried she would tell me she was going to hit me,” the girl testified, according to a courtroom report from local ABC affiliate WPLG. “One time she threatened me with, like, pliers, and if I told my mother anything, she was going to pull my eye out.”
In addition to the brain bleed, she also suffered a black eye and bruises on her shoulder. A pediatrician testified the girl’s injuries were not consistent with suffering a fall.
“Our opinion was that it was physical abuse,” Dr. Walter Lambert reportedly told jurors.
Garcia’s trial remains ongoing as of Thursday.
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