College student gives birth in dorm bathroom, then hides body in trash, Florida cops say
The discovery of a newborn baby in the trash at a Florida university has now led to charges against the 19-year-old mother, prosecutors said.
Brianna Moore, a former University of Tampa student, was arrested in Mississippi and charged with aggravated manslaughter of a child, child neglect with great bodily harm, failure to report a death and unlawful storage of human remains, the Tampa Police Department said in an Oct. 18 news release.
She’s expected to be extradited from the Lauderdale County jail in Mississippi to Tampa.
On April 27, Moore’s roommates at McKay Hall reported hearing a baby crying and found blood in the bathroom they shared, according to the Office of the State Attorney for the 13th Judicial Circuit of Florida.
Medical personnel were sent to check on Moore, who said she wasn’t pregnant and the blood her roommates saw was from her period, prosecutors said.
But the next day, the roommates found a bloody towel in Moore’s trash can and called the police, who then found a newborn baby wrapped in a towel in a garbage bin, according to investigators.
Moore told investigators she had given birth in the bathroom and held “the baby tightly to her body until she stopped crying,” then disposed of the body, prosecutors said.
The medical examiner determined the baby had broken ribs and died of asphyxia, and the manner of death was 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,” State Attorney Suzy Lopez said in the release.
Florida’s newly expanded Safe Haven Law allows parents to surrender their baby up to 30 days after birth without facing charges, as long as the child hasn’t been harmed.
At the time of Moore’s child’s death, the limit was seven days.
Parents can call or text the National Safe Haven Alliance crisis hotline at 888-510-BABY (2229).
This story was originally published October 18, 2024 at 5:19 PM with the headline "College student gives birth in dorm bathroom, then hides body in trash, Florida cops say."