A Palm Beach County judge has resolved one of the region's most disturbing infant death cases without sending the mother to prison. Circuit Judge Sarah Willis sentenced 23-year-old Bianca DeSouza in February to 137 days of time served, 10 years of probation, and 12 to 18 months of mandatory inpatient mental health treatment in Roswell, New Mexico, after DeSouza pleaded guilty to aggravated manslaughter of a child in the 2022 death of her newborn son.
DeSouza was 19 when she gave birth alone at her unincorporated Boca Raton home on May 2, 2022, according to police arrest affidavits, just one day before she had been scheduled to undergo a medically induced labor at a hospital, as reported by CafeMom. An emergency call reported an unresponsive infant at the home, and Palm Beach County Sheriff's Office deputies and fire rescue personnel performed CPR and administered epinephrine to the newborn before he was transported to a nearby hospital, where he was pronounced dead.
Bodycam footage from her December 2023 arrest, later uploaded to YouTube by PoliceCam Busts, captured DeSouza describing the delivery in stark terms to investigators, as detailed by The Inquisitr. She told deputies she picked the baby up by his shoulders, placed him on her leg inside her shorts, and stayed in that position for about ten minutes while the newborn cried before going silent. She said she probably went on her phone during that time, telling investigators, “I just didn't care anymore.”
Medical Examiner Ruled the Death a Homicide
The Palm Beach County Medical Examiner's Office ruled the manner of death a homicide, determining the newborn died of asphyxia with chest compression noted as a contributing factor, according to a report cited by the Sun Sentinel. DeSouza was ultimately charged with aggravated manslaughter of a child and child neglect with great bodily harm, and after a long-running investigation by local authorities she was booked into the Palm Beach County Jail and told she could potentially post bond after appearing before a judge the following morning.
DeSouza pleaded guilty to aggravated manslaughter and child neglect in December 2025. Under Florida Statutes § 827.03 and § 782.07, aggravated manslaughter of a child is a first-degree felony carrying penalties of up to 30 years in state prison and a fine of up to $10,000, per Leppard Law. She had reportedly faced up to 45 years under her initial plea agreement before the court instead granted a downward departure from standard sentencing guidelines.
Defense Cited Childhood Trauma and Dissociation
During sentencing, DeSouza's defense presented psychological evaluations showing that childhood trauma caused her to experience severe dissociation during the unassisted delivery, a factor the court accepted in explaining why she failed to seek medical care during labor. DeSouza also told investigators she had never been consistent with taking her medications. The evaluations helped persuade Judge Willis to order intensive, long-term mental health treatment rather than incarceration.
Under the strict terms of her 10-year probation, DeSouza must submit to random drug testing, maintain medication management, perform community service once she completes inpatient treatment, and either work part-time or submit ten job applications per month, according to the sentencing terms reported by Atlántikas Noticias. The outcome mirrors another recent West Boca Raton case: in a separate sentencing this past February, 26-year-old Delaila Pino Lasalle received 627 days and five years' probation after pleading guilty to aggravated manslaughter in the 2022 malnutrition death of her one-month-old twin daughter, part of a broader pattern of Palm Beach County infant neglect cases resolved through plea deals combining probation with mandatory treatment.
Florida's Safe Haven Law Has Since Expanded
DeSouza's case predates significant changes to Florida's legal safety net for parents in crisis. Effective July 2024, Florida House Bill 775 expanded the state's Safe Haven Law, extending the window during which an unharmed newborn can be anonymously surrendered at a fire station or hospital without criminal liability from seven days up to 30 days of age. The 2024 expansion also added a provision letting parents call 911 to have emergency medical services meet them at a designated location for confidential infant relinquishment.
Since Florida's Safe Haven framework began in 2000, 441 infants have been safely surrendered at designated fire stations, EMS stations, and hospitals statewide, according to the advocacy group A Safe Haven for Newborns. Hoodline first reported on DeSouza's arrest in December 2023, when she was charged by the Palm Beach County Sheriff's Office more than a year after the newborn's death; this month's sentencing marks the case's judicial conclusion.
