A former Florida college student is facing several charges in the death of her newborn infant, whose body was found wrapped in a towel in a trash can.
Brianna Moore, 19, has been charged with aggravated manslaughter of a child, child neglect with great bodily harm and two other counts including failure to report a death.
State Attorney Suzy Lopez said Moore was arrested in her home state of Mississippi in the town of Quitman and will be extradited to Florida.
An autopsy revealed how the baby girl was found with multiple fractured ribs along her spine and hemorrhaging in her lungs.
The Medical Examiner the cause of death to be homicide.
‘It breaks my heart to know that this baby girl could still be alive today if this woman had alerted authorities that she needed help. Instead, she took actions that directly lead to the death of her newborn baby,’ Lopez said.
‘This is a difficult and nuanced case to prosecute, and our community must continue to educate women about the many resources available to them in situations like this one. This baby’s death was avoidable,’ she went on.
‘I’ve been a prosecutor for more than 20 years in my own hometown… this is a case that I struggled with,’ Lopez said through tears. ‘This involved a newborn baby that wasn’t even given a chance to live.’
Lopez has vowed to make sure Moore will be held accountable for her actions.
‘For crying out loud, there’s a fire station across the street from the University of Tampa,’ Lopez explained. ‘Tampa General Hospital is a mere two to three minutes away by car.’
Prosecutors say Moore’s roommates heard a baby crying in their University of Tampa residence hall the night of April 27 and found blood in their shared bathroom.
Campus security was summoned and Moore told them the blood was from menstruation, Lopez said.
Moore’s roommates then called police again the next day after finding a bloody towel in a trash can. Officers discovered the newborn’s body wrapped in the towel.
Police quickly identified Moore as the baby’s mother.
Following her arrest Moore is currently held at Lauderdale County Jail in MIssissippi but will be move to Tampa shortly.
Florida’s Safe Haven law allows parents to anonymously surrender unwanted infants up to 30 days after birth with no questions asked.
A parent who has just given birth can surrender a child to medical staff at a hospital or any fire station.
