TAMPA, Fla. — A former University of Tampa student has been charged with aggravated manslaughter of a child and child neglect with great bodily harm after a newborn's body was found in a trashcan in April.
Brianna Moore, 19, was arrested in Mississippi and faces extradition back to Hillsborough County to face the charges.
The case started on April 27, when police said they received a call from campus security about a 19-year-old girl, alleged to be Moore, possibly experiencing a miscarriage after students heard a baby crying in the dorm room.
The call was turned over to EMS after it was deemed medical, and EMS cleared the call when Moore allegedly told them the blood in the common bathroom was from menstruation.
Police said they received another call the next day after campus security found the baby in a bag, and the parties involved were at the scene.
According to police, students living in the dorm room claimed they saw Moore holding a bundled-up towel on the morning of April 27. They added that she brought a trash bag from the room and thought it looked suspicious because of the incident.
During an interview, Moore allegedly told police she did not know she was pregnant but "may have been in denial."
Around 7 a.m., police said she claimed she felt sick and then gave birth in the dorm room bathroom. Moore said the baby started crying for a few seconds, so she picked her up and held her to her chest, which stopped the crying.
After holding the baby for several minutes, Moore allegedly told police she set the baby down on a towel and felt the baby's chest for a heartbeat. When she couldn't feel anything, she said she thought the baby had already passed, according to police.
Police said Moore claimed she left the baby on the towel and took a shower before cleaning the baby off with water. She told police she did not feel any signs of life and wrapped the baby in a towel, admitting that the entire baby was covered.
According to police, she then went to her bed and fell asleep for around one hour, leaving the baby wrapped in the towel on the floor near her. Moore woke up around 11 a.m. and checked the baby for signs of life, saying she did not see any.
Moore then wrapped the baby back up in the towel and put her in the trashcan in the dorm room before going back to sleep, police said.
State Attorney Suzy Lopez's office said an autopsy revealed the newborn had "multiple fractured ribs along her spine and hemorrhaging in her lungs." The medical examiner said the cause of death was "asphyxia due to compression of the torso with the manner of death being homicide."
Lopez said the baby's death "was avoidable" and that "this baby girl could still be alive today if this woman had alerted authorities that she needed help."
Moore faces four charges, including:
- Aggravated manslaughter of a child
- Child neglect with great bodily harm
- Unlawful storage, preservation, or transportation of human remains
- Failure to report death to medical examiner or law enforcement
Florida has a Safe Haven Law, which "allows parents to anonymously surrender an unharmed newborn infant seven days old or younger to any Fire Station, EMS station, or hospital staffed by full-time emergency medical technicians, paramedics, or firefighters. There will be no questions asked, and no charges will be filed for surrendering a newborn under the Safe Haven Law unless the infant has signs of abuse or neglect."
If you're an expectant mother and need support, you can contact the following resources:
- The Crisis Center of Tampa Bay: Dial 211
- Florida Department of Health, Maternal & Child Health Section: 850-245-4047
- The National Safe Haven Alliance Hotline: 888-510-2229
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