Attorney Weekly Reporting
A Bronx woman has been charged with second-degree Manslaughter and Criminally Negligent Homicide. According to the Bronx District Attorney Darcel D. Clark, a newborn died of asphyxiation within minutes after being born. This death allegedly caused by the callous disregard of the child’s life by her mother.
District Attorney Clark revealed that Lasasha Browne-Gouldbourne, age of 31, resident in the Allerton area of Bronx, was charged before Bronx Supreme Court Justice, Steven Hornstein, on second-degree Manslaughter and Criminally Negligent Homicide. The defendant is currently being held on $200,000 band and $100,000 cash. She is expected back in court by April 11, 2024.
Highlights of the Investigation
The investigation revealed that at about 3:00 am on September 1, 2023, the defendant gave birth to a girl in the bathroom at an apartment on Bronx Park East, Bronx, NY. According to the investigation, the defendant was seen holding an infant as the infant cried. The apartment tried to call 911, but before they arrived, the defendant left.
The witness mentioned not to have seen the baby with the defendant but mentioned that she had a tote bag with her. From the surveillance video, it was observed that the defendant carried a bag and no infant. She was later seen in her mother’s home not far from the apartment, and when quizzed by her mother if she wanted any laundry done, the defendant gave her mother the tote bag and left.
When the mother opened the bag, all she saw was a lifeless infant girl wrapped in the clothing. According to the Medical Examiner, the cause of death of the newborn was asphyxia by suffocation. The defendant was later arrested on White Plains and transported to a hospital where she birthed a boy, the twin of the deceased newborn.
The prosecutors for the case are Major Case Assistant District Attorney in the Child Abuse/Sex Crimes Bureau, Victoria Nunez, Trial Counsel in the Child Abuse/Sex Crimes Bureau, Astrid Borgstedt, under the supervision of the Chief of the Child Abuse/Sex Crimes Bureau, Mimi Mairs. The overall supervision of the case is being handled by the Deputy Chief of the Special Victims Division, Adrienne Giunta, and the Chief of the Special Victim Division, Joseph Muroff.
District Attorney Clark applauded Chief of the Community Justice Bureau, Joh Vallely, Trial Preparation Assistant, Jaquelin Rodriguez Dominguez, and Assistant District Attorney of the Community Justice Bureau, Julia Chariott, for their collaboration. He also appreciated NYPD Detective, Frankie Soler, of Bronx Homicide and NYPD Detective, Kyle Keiser, of the 49th Precinct Detective Squad.
