Bronx District Attorney Darcel D. Clark announced today the indictment of Lasasha Browne-Gouldbourne, a 31-year-old woman from the Allerton area of the Bronx, on charges of second-degree Manslaughter and Criminally Negligent Homicide following the asphyxiation death of her newborn daughter.
“A tragic loss occurred as a child died within minutes of birth, allegedly due to her mother’s disregard for her life,” said District Attorney Clark. Browne-Gouldbourne was arraigned before Bronx Supreme Court Justice Steven Hornstein and is currently held on $100,000 cash or $200,000 bond, with her next court appearance scheduled for April 11, 2024.
The investigation revealed that on September 1, 2023, around 3:00 a.m., Browne-Gouldbourne gave birth in a bathroom of an apartment on Bronx Park East. Despite the infant being observed crying and while an apartment resident dialed 911, Browne-Gouldbourne left the premises with a tote bag, absent the baby. Surveillance footage later showed her with the bag but without the infant. Upon arriving at her mother’s home that morning, she handed over the tote bag to her mother, who discovered the lifeless newborn girl wrapped in clothing inside. The Medical Examiner determined the cause of death as asphyxia by smothering.
Following her arrest on White Plains Road, Browne-Gouldbourne was taken to a hospital where it was discovered she had given birth to twins, with the deceased newborn being one of them.