Florida – In a heartbreaking incident at a university in Florida, a 19-year-old woman, identified as B. Moore, faces serious charges after the death of her newborn daughter. This case highlights a chilling neglect of available resources and the severe consequences that followed.
The unsettling series of events began to unfold on April 27, when Moore’s roommates heard the cries of a baby and noticed blood on the bathroom floor. Despite their concerns, when paramedics arrived, Moore denied being pregnant and attributed the blood to her period. The situation escalated the following day when her roommates discovered a bloody towel in Moore’s trash can. Upon further investigation, Tampa police unwrapped the towel and found the deceased newborn inside.
During the police interview, Moore shockingly admitted to giving birth in the bathroom and then holding the baby tightly against her body until she stopped crying. She confessed to placing the newborn in the trash shortly thereafter. According to an arrest report obtained, Moore believed the baby was already dead when she attempted to clean her up, laid her on the bedroom floor, and then fell asleep. When she awoke and found the baby showing no signs of life, she wrapped her in a towel and dumped the body in a trash can.
Moore has been charged with aggravated manslaughter of a child and child neglect with great bodily harm. Additionally, she faces charges of unlawful storage, preservation or transportation of human remains and failure to report death to the medical examiner or law enforcement. An autopsy revealed the baby died from asphyxia due to compression of the torso, with several fractured ribs and hemorrhaging in the lung, leading authorities to rule the death as homicide. After authorities issued an arrest warrant, Moore was apprehended in her home state of Mississippi and is currently awaiting extradition back to Florida.
The case has deeply affected the community and sparked comments from State Attorney S. Lopez. In a heartfelt statement, Lopez expressed profound sadness over the preventable nature of the tragedy, stressing that Moore could have sought help instead of taking actions that led to her newborn’s death. “This baby’s death was avoidable,” Lopez emphasized, pointing out the availability of resources such as Florida’s Safe Haven Law, which allows individuals to leave unwanted newborns at designated safe locations anonymously.
Lopez highlighted the proximity of safe options available to Moore, noting the closeness of a fire station and a major hospital to the university. “For crying out loud, there’s a fire station across the street from the university,” she remarked during a press conference, underscoring the ease with which Moore could have chosen a safer path for her child.
This tragic case serves as a harsh reminder of the critical need for awareness about resources available to those in crisis, especially concerning unwanted pregnancies. As the community reels from the impact of this incident, there is a renewed push to educate women on the support systems in place to prevent such unnecessary losses in the future.
