The little girl who blew the whistle on a tragic case of child abuse in Miami-Dade may soon be reunited with her mother, sources close to the case said Tuesday.
According to sources, Jennifer Perez, the daughter of Jorge and Carmen Barahona, has finalized a deal with the Department of Children and Families that would allow her to at least visit her daughter, 7-year-old Alessandra.
DCF would not comment on the issue Tuesday, but a hearing has been scheduled for 1:30 p.m. Wednesday in Miami-Dade family court.
An attorney for Perez could not be reached for comment.
The move would be in direct opposition to what DCF attorneys told a judge in February.
The Barahonas are both charged with murder and child abuse in connection with the death of 10-year-old Nubia Barahona and the brutal burning of her twin brother, Victor.
Both have pleaded not guilty.
The Barahonas, who were the adopted parents of the twins, also took care of Alessandra. The little girl told her therapist that she witnessed the Barahonas abuse the twins, including tying the children up and locking them in a bathroom with no food for hours.
By the time DCF went to investigate the allegations, it may have been too late. Days later, Jorge Barahona was found passed out in his truck on the side of Interstate 95 near West Palm Beach with Nubia's body in a bag in the back of the truck.
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Victor was in the passenger seat suffering from severe chemical burns.
Perez has not been charged with any crime, but attorneys had said they believed she knew what was going on inside the house and told her daughter to keep quiet about the abuse.
At the February court hearing, DCF moved to strip Perez of any parental rights and said the woman was a threat to her daughter.
A judge ruled to take Alessandra away from Perez and gave temporary sole custody to the girl's father, Yovani Perez.
His attorney's declined to comment on the potential deal but did say the father was adamant that Perez should not be allowed to see the child.
Perez hasn't seen her daughter since the hearing and claims she did not know what her parents were doing to the children.
