Documents Detail Short, Sad Life of Nubia Doctor, Found Dead in Father's Truck
Feb. 22, 2011— -- The little girl whose decomposing body was found in the back of her adopted father's pickup truck last week endured a hellish life punctuated by sexual abuse, hunger, bruises, hair loss and the lack of care for a rare medical condition.
The short, miserable life of Nubia Doctor, 10, was documented in bureaucratic paperwork released Monday by Florida's Department of Children and Families, which outlined at least eight occasions in which authorities made contact with the girl to investigate her health and well being.
While some reports described a clean, happy girl whose adoptive parents helped her with homework, others depict a shocking life that somehow wasn't bad enough to remove the girl from the home.
A case worker in 2007 wrote: "Nubia's hunger has been uncontrollable, she sneaks and steals food, steals money, has hair loss, is very thin, nervous and jittery. Nubia also has an unpleasant odor… In the past it is believed Nubia's adoption was halted when Nubia was coming to school dirty while in the adoptive mother's care."
Another caseworker wrote, "A couple of months ago Nubia had a scratch on her nose. It is said Nubia scratches her nose a lot and that she is always falling."
The documents released Monday redact mention of a specific medical condition, but they hint at a hormonal problem. Authorities confirmed to ABCNews.com that Nubia was intersexed, meaning she was born with both male and female genitals.
Despite her need to see doctors regularly, a caseworker wrote that her adopted parents simply put her alone on a "medical bus" and often failed to see that she made appointments.
"This child is very medically needy and should not be missing appointments because the foster parent does not want to take her," the report said.
Nubia most recently came to the attention of authorities when her adoptive father Jorge Barahona and her twin brother Victor were found at the side of a highway outside West Palm Beach, Fla., on Feb. 14. Barahona was passed out, evidently overcome with gasoline fumes, and the boy in the truck cab severely burned from a yet to be identified chemical. Victor remains in the hospital in critical condition.
