Law&Crime Sidebar - Student in Dorm Baby Death Wins Big in Court Bombshell

Episode Date: March 17, 2026

Florida college student Brianna Moore is facing aggravated manslaughter charges after her newborn baby was found dead in her University of Tampa dorm bathroom. In a major court ruling, a judge has blocked prosecutors from using crude text messages about killing babies at trial. Law&Crime’s Jesse Weber breaks down why the texts were kept out, and what other potentially damning evidence will be presented to the jury.PLEASE SUPPORT THE SHOW: Grow your own audience today – go to https://www.opus.pro/sidebar for 1 week free plus 50% off the first 3 months of Opus Pro. HOST:Jesse Weber: https://twitter.com/jessecordweberLAW&CRIME SIDEBAR PRODUCTION:YouTube Management - Bobby SzokeVideo Editing - Michael Deininger, Christina O'Shea, Alex Ciccarone, & Jay CruzScript Writing & Producing - Savannah Williamson & Juliana BattagliaGuest Booking - Alyssa Fisher & Diane KayeSocial Media Management - Vanessa BeinSTAY UP-TO-DATE WITH THE LAW&CRIME NETWORK:Watch Law&Crime Network on YouTubeTV: https://bit.ly/3td2e3yWhere To Watch Law&Crime Network: https://bit.ly/3akxLK5Sign Up For Law&Crime's Daily Newsletter: https://bit.ly/LawandCrimeNewsletterRead Fascinating Articles From Law&Crime Network: https://bit.ly/3td2IqoLAW&CRIME NETWORK SOCIAL MEDIA:Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/lawandcrimeTwitter: https://twitter.com/LawCrimeNetworkFacebook: https://www.facebook.com/lawandcrimeTwitch: https://www.twitch.tv/lawandcrimenetworkTikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@lawandcrimeSee Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

The crude text messages that could have been a key piece of evidence for the prosecution in a case of a Florida college student accused of killing her newborn in a college bathroom will not make it in front of the jury. This is a major win for Brianna Moore as she faces aggravated manslaughter and child neglect charges. So we're going to dig into the judge's decision as well as other potentially damning evidence that will be part of her upcoming trial. but we're also going to let you know what the defense may be doing. Welcome to Sidebar. Presented by Law and Crime, I'm Jesse Weber. Okay, real quick, if you're putting things out on social media, if you're into content creation, I'm going to give you a secret on how we share so many

clips on all of these stories so quickly. We use something called Opus Clip. Okay, this is an all-in-one AI editor that makes it so easy to cut, create, and upload videos across any platform. You see, through AI, Opus Clip generates B-roll, it reframes footage. and it even cleans up audio. It's so easy. Just visit opus.stop pro slash sidebar. You sign up, you upload, and in minutes, you will have perfectly edited clips ready to go.

For TikTok, shorts, reels, opus clip is your one-stop shopping. Having a tool like Opus clip means that our producers can get you viral courtroom updates instantly. This is the most powerful tool there is to share ideas and edit like a pro. So go to Opus.combeau slash sidebar to get a free week and then 50% off. Okay, before I even get into this significant legal development, How it happened, why it happened, why the court decided this. I have to set the stage here, okay? 2024.

As Brianna Moore was wrapping up her freshman year at the University of Tampa, the then 19-year-old's life changed forever. She gave birth to a baby girl in the bathroom of her dorm suite, but she has long contended that she didn't have any idea that she was pregnant. Now, before you stop right here and say, how is that even possible? There is science to this, okay? There is potentially a defense year, but not long after being born, this baby, which more later named Amara, was dead. How long the child lived, how she died, that is central to a criminal case that Hillsborough County prosecutors brought against Moore. Today my office has charged Brianna Moore with aggravated manslaughter of a child after authorities found her newborn baby girl in a trash can outside of her dorm at the University of Tampa at the end of April of this year.

I've been a prosecutor for more than 20 years in my own hometown. I've gone after murderers. I've prosecuted international drug traffickers. The absolute worst of the worst. And this is a case that I struggled with. This is a case that has kept me up at night. It's both difficult and nuanced, and I did not take this decision lightly. This case has kept me up so many nights, remembering back to when I went out on the scene that Sunday evening back in late April. And I saw a bag sitting outside of a dumpster outside of a dorm that I knew contained the remains of that newborn baby girl.

So this case rocked the Tampa. area. It made headlines around the country. You have these horrific details that were revealed in police reports and other investigative materials that are really kind of hard to grasp, but it is important from a legal context, okay? So let's go through it a little bit more. So according to police on Saturday, April 27, 24, Moore woke up alone in her dorm room with stomach pains. Her roommate wasn't there and she told investigators she went to the bathroom and was shocked to find that she was in labor. Now, Moore admitted to police and recorded interviews that she sat with the baby for a while in that bathroom, eventually took a shower, fell asleep for around

an hour, and she told Tampa police that she believed that her baby had died not long after it was born. She says she was shocked, that she was panicked, that she ended up putting the dead child in a trash can. She didn't go to the hospital. She didn't call 911. She didn't tell anybody. Now, thing. That bathroom was shared by two dorm rooms. And one of the girls who lived next door went into the bathroom and reportedly saw blood everywhere. And she told them that she wasn't pregnant. So police leave without discovering the baby. Here's what happens. The other roommates were all in this group chat together trying to figure out what was going on with Moore, who they told police they weren't close with. And all three said that they heard a baby cry early Saturday

morning, but I thought maybe they were dreaming or that it had come from a video. Now, police claim that it wasn't until Sunday. So the next day that Moore's roommate realized something was very wrong, according to charging documents, quote, Witness 1 was with a friend, Witness 4 inside the dorm room to gather some items for Witness 1. Well, inside the room, witness 1 and witness 4 saw a bloody towel inside the suspect's trash can. Using a styrofoam container, witness four touched the towel and felt something firm inside. Believing this was possibly a baby, Witness 4 picked up the trash bag from the can,

walked outside with Witness 1 and alerted campus safety. Witness 1 and Witness 4 were joined by Witness 2 before campus safety arrived. Campus safety opened the towel in the presence of witness 4 and found a deceased infant. And here's what the medical examiner revealed. During the autopsy, It was discovered that the infant had sustained multiple fractured ribs along the spine

in evidence of patiqual hemorrhaging in the lungs. Dr. McCormick determined that the cause of death was asphyxia due to compression of the torso with rib fractures and the manner of death as homicide. Now again, before you think that's the end of the story, we've got to talk about what's happening here. We've got to talk about the defense and we've got to talk about this ruling. So the district attorney filed four charges against more. Child neglect with great bodily harm on lawful hold.

storage of a human body in unapproved conditions, failure to report death to medical examiner or law enforcement, intend to conceal, an aggravated manslaughter of a child. Now Moore, who was originally from Mississippi, she was allowed to return home after police had questioned her, but then six months later, after this investigation, when the criminal charges were filed, she was extradited from Mississippi back to Florida. Okay, and now she's facing this. So we're going to dig into what Moore had to say in two recorded interviews with police. I think it's going to be important evidence for the prosecution, but also maybe for the defense. But I got to get into this new development, okay?

This crucial piece of potential evidence that the prosecution certainly had hoped to introduce a trial. And the ruling from the court is on whether or not the prosecution can present a crude series of text messages between Moore and an apparent friend, who it's important to note, is not the father of. the child. And this is where they seemingly appear to joke or make light about killing babies. So I'm going to read you from the ruling. Defendant is charged with inter alia, aggravated manslaughter of a child and child neglect with great bodily harm for the death of her child on April 27, 2024. The state seeks to admit into evidence the following set of text messages exchanged between defendant and another individual labeled Kasim in her phone on September 13, 2023. So this is months before the birth. Cassim, plan A was condoms. Plan B was the pill.

Plan C was to kill the kid. And the defendant, Moore seemingly writes back, plan C is my favorite. So meaning killing the kid was her favorite plan. You can see why that's not great for the defense. You could see why the prosecution would want that into evidence, right? Even if it was just a joke, the fact that Moore would later be accused of killing her newborn made these texts especially disturbing. But here's the thing, and this is why it's important. I've covered a number of these cases. Newborn death cases like this are notoriously difficult to prosecute. While there's a battle of medical experts and, of course, witness testimony, including from roommates, which may be different here, it can be very hard to convince a jury that a baby wasn't a stillborn, or it can be

very hard to convince a jury that a mother deliberately killed her baby, that the baby didn't just die from the circumstances surrounding being born in that environment, being born alone without medical professionals. It can be very hard to prove beyond a reasonable doubt that the mother killed the baby, particularly if you're dealing with a younger defendant, a more vulnerable defendant, although the circumstances are different. I'll encourage everybody just to look at the Brooks-Skiler-Ritchinson case. We covered that one. She was acquitted of murder, manslaughter, in connection with the death of her newborn, who she buried in the backyard. So my point is, the reason I'm saying this, text messages, very similar to Google searches,

in any kind of case, they can help prove intent. They can help prove state of mind. They can help prove knowledge, okay? So having those messages come in would have been key for the prosecution here. But you go to the judge's ruling, quote, the state contends that the text messages are relevant. because they show the defendant had an intent or plan to kill a newborn child, which she subsequently carried out. Defendant responds that the messages are inadmissible character evidence

and are not relevant to show the defendant had an intent or plan to carry a pregnancy to term and then kill her child after it was born. So then the court references a Florida case from back in the 90s called Carter v. State. Quote, in Carter, the defendant was charged with lewd and lascivious assault on a 13-year-old girl shortly before the incident, Carter and the victim's aunt were discussing sex and young girls, and he commented, if you're old enough to bleed, you're old enough to breed. The state subsequently offered this statement a trial, arguing that the testimony was relevant to show the appellant state of mind and to show that Carter was willing to commit this kind

of crime, and that's exactly what he did just a short time after he made the statement. Carter argued that the statement was improper character evidence. The trial court admitted the statement. On appeal, the first district reversed, holding that the statement was evidence presented by the prosecution of the defendant's bad character to show that he acted in conformity with that bad character at a particular time and was therefore inadmissible. Okay, I need to give you a quick tutorial on that. So under the law, evidence of a person's character or a trait of character is generally not allowed in trial. It's inadmissible to prove that someone acted in conformity with it on a particular incasial. What do I mean?

It makes sense, right? If, oh, they did this or, oh, they're a bad person or, oh, they did this bad thing, they must have committed this crime. They must be guilty here, right? Usually you wouldn't be allowed to introduce that evidence. It's not fair. Now, there are exceptions, including under Florida law. You can introduce this other stuff, similar fact evidence of other crimes.

other wrongs, other acts. It can be admissible when it is relevant to proving a material fact that's an issue, that can be proof of motive, opportunity, intent, preparation, plan, knowledge, identity, absence of mistake, absence of this being an accident, but it is generally inadmissible when the evidence is really only being put forward to prove someone's bad character or propensity to do something. So in that case, the Carter one, the statement had been allowed a trial, but then an appeals court looked at and said that was wrong. It was improper.

It shouldn't have been admitted. What about in Moore's case? So we now go to the judge's decision. It says, quote, even reading the text message exchange here in the light most favorable to the state, the prosecution, it is improper character evidence and inadmissible in the state's case in chief. The statement expresses a belief of preference that defendants, favorite plan to address a pregnancy is to kill the kid and is offered to show the defendant acted

in conformance with that state of belief. By its own terms, it is not tethered in any way to a specific pregnancy. It does not express a distinct plan or intend to take any specific action. It does not even express that defendant would consider this course of action if she ever became pregnant. Its only relevant purpose is to show the defendant is the sort of person who would kill a newborn child. Therefore, it is not admissible. It's kind of like if a defendant were to say, oh, when I get so angry, I could kill someone. And then they're accused murdering someone, not sure that statement would have the appropriate connective tissue or relevance to be admissible to that particular case. Now, there is an interesting footnote from the judge here, which says,

the state acknowledged at the hearing that they did possess or intend to offer any direct evidence to show that defendant knew she was pregnant at the time of the statement. The state instead, that they could offer circumstantial evidence to show that defendant should have known she was pregnant at the time. However, it appears that the time frame of conception was the week of August 15th to the 22nd, 2023, which the state did not dispute. At most then, defendant would have been four weeks pregnant at the time she made the statement, and there is no evidence to show that at that point, she possessed actual knowledge of her pregnancy, which, by the way, wouldn't be surprising.

Sometimes people don't know they're pregnant at that time. Quote, the state attempts to distinguish Carter, that case I mentioned before, by arguing that the reason for admission in this case is different. To paraphrase the state's argument, the prosecution in Carter offered the statement to show that Carter had the propensity to commit the crime at the first opportunity, i.e., that it was offered

for an improper character purpose, while in this case, the statement is offered to show defendant's intent or plan to commit infanticide. And then at the first opportunity, that she carried out that intent or plan. But the statement cannot bear the weight the state gives it. It does not express an intent to take an action or a plan to take an action. It expresses a belief or preference in general and is offered to show that defendant acted

in conformance with that belief seven months later. That is exactly what Carter and Section 90.404 Florida Statutes forbids. That section is the one that I was reading to you before or referencing before. So the judge ruled that the jury will not see that text exchange. However, however, the jury could potentially see it if a witness opens the door, meaning there's a witness that takes the stand and then they can be questioned or potentially cross-examined about it. Quote, court leaves open the possibility that defendant could open the door to such evidence

during her case in chief. So meaning if the defense decides to do something, it could be free reign. Should the state seek to question any defense witness about the? these text messages or offer them into evidence in the rebuttal case, the state must seek permission from the court prior to doing so. And outside the presence of the jury, both parties will be given the opportunity to raise any appropriate arguments or objections at that time. So it is possible that there is a chance these text messages could be heard by the jury, but as of right now, they're not going to be. And that's a blow to the prosecution. Now, let me just talk about this

real quick. So Moore's trial has been delayed several times. The court docket doesn't show a new trial date has been set. There's an article in the Tampa Bay Times that says the lawyers told the judge that they need more time to speak to experts and parse through the evidence and according to the docket, they're due back in court in May for a status review. Now, that makes sense, okay, that makes sense since this case could very well be now a battle of experts, battle of forensic experts that may dispute the cause of the injuries, right? So is it harm inflicted by the mother on this baby or were the injuries sustained by the baby from the actual childbirth, right? You have a mother giving birth on her own.

Is that how the ribs were fractured? That I think is going to be a matter of dispute amongst experts. Also talking experts, you might have mental health professionals talking about what more knew or should have known. What did she perceive? Trauma. How is it someone could not have known they were pregnant, right? Well, this is a thing called a cryptic pregnancy.

You enter kind of a disassociative state. So this is a case where the defense would argue that there were mistakes by more that were driven by psychological stress, that the death was merely an accident and not the result of neglect or willful or deliberate harm. You're already seeing this in some of the pretrial filings and arguments. The defense wants to assert these kinds of witnesses and experts and testimony. And it brings us to another question. So what evidence can the prosecution use in their case against Moore? Well, there is one critical piece of evidence that I want to talk about, and that is Moore's own apparent statements to police after the baby's body was found.

Her interviews, her interviews with law enforcement, and they were audio recorded. Can you tell me about the baby? The baby? Listen, you're very smart. I know this. You're a biology person, okay? So you know all that, and you know about DNA, you know all those things, okay? We have a very young baby right now, right outside your room.

You had quite your ordeal. It sounds like yesterday morning in the bathroom for a few hours, okay? Listen, we're not judging at all on this, okay? People can get in over their heads sometimes. They're not sure what to do, okay? Okay. But just let's be honest, okay? Basically, first of all, I did not even know that I was pregnant. Okay.

And then I just woke up not feeling good yesterday morning. So I went to the bathroom. I was puking, whatever. And then, yeah. But after like a few seconds, it was dead. How long did the baby cry for? Because I know all the roommates and sweetmates

all heard the baby crying. How long? I would say like five seconds maybe. Five seconds are crying. Something around that is. Okay. Did you take the baby back to bed for you for a short time period?

I was in the bathroom. I just stayed in the bathroom. You just stayed in the bathroom? So more seemingly admitted to the detectives that she hadn't had her period in around a year, but says she attributed that to the fact that she had stopped using a birth control patch. So you went to the bathroom and obviously had a baby?

Did you deliver the placenta as well? Yes. Okay, you're sure about that? I'm pretty sure. Something else after the baby came out? Yeah. And something, pretty good amount of something? Yeah.

Okay, it's just, it's important for your heart. help on that yeah okay I'm worried about you a little bit okay so you had the baby the baby cried for how long do you think just a few seconds not long at all so the baby cried for a short time period and you sure it wasn't any now here's the thing the medical examiner is going to be able to tell a lot of things your honesty right now is very, very important, okay? Okay, so I took a shower, well, I sat in the shower. I didn't really like wash anything.

I just sat in the shower. Shower on or off? On. Okay. And then I think I got out and I sat there for a little bit. Tried to wipe up some blood. Yeah, I just kind of sat there. What after you sat there?

What did you do then? Well, it wasn't moving, so I felt for a heartbeat and I didn't feel one. Where did you feel? Like right here. Okay, on the chest? Yeah, and then I wasn't moving and I got scared. What did you do after that? Um, I sat the flower towel on the floor in my room and went to sleep because I was tired and I hadn't.

tired and I hadn't slept. Well, obviously, I took a nap. And then when I got up, I just completely did not know what to do. Now, more later did a second interview. A few days later with detectives in a squad car where she was read her Miranda rights and agreed to speak with the officers. Do you know who the father, have you done any calculations of when you think you would have been pregnant? I've done some light ones. And I think it would have been. Well, it's, I think it would have What would be your opinion? I'm not an expert, okay? When I Google, I find 280 days.

Do you know when that would be around? That would have been in July. Yeah. So 280 days ago today would have been July 24th. Add a couple days to it. You're talking about possibly mid-late July. The baby was pretty much full term. And honestly, it wasn't a week early or 10 days early, but full term, okay?

So it certainly wasn't a month or too early. So it would have been, when did you get to Florida? So it would have to be at home. Did anybody have a goodbye? A goodbye to give a boyfriend up there that you said goodbye to or anything before coming down here? I'm trying to think I'm sorry. I feel like, is there any way I could look at my phone? for this. Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, we'll give your phone back, yeah. But it would have been July.

How scared were you in the bathroom after you delivered? I was terrified. So, I know you delivered. The baby cried, and then did you pretty much immediately grab up the baby to make sure that roommates weren't hearing what was going on? Because I know you were trying to be fairly private during all this. Well, yeah, I held it after. I'm not. I mean, it laid there for a few seconds, and then I held it. And you held it? I'm sorry, I've just been told not to answer any of these questions. By here, your dad?

Mm-hmm. Okay. When we talked the other day, you described kind of holding the baby, clutching it kind of to your breast, chest area, and your baby's face was towards you. Was the baby still trying to cry a little bit, and you're just trying to keep things a little on the quiet side? I'm not sure.

You're just not sure. I'm just, I'm sorry, I'm just not sure. I'm not sure. I don't know that not sure is going to answer some of the questions that people are going to want answered. Yeah. You're 19. I understand you're terrified. So you're in a bathroom, you birth the baby, baby cry.

How long do you think you held the baby there? Is this just going to be asking me about, like, holding the baby, like, this interview? No, we're going to go into other things as well. well. But there's a question that needs to be answered. It's a pretty important question. Can you just give me some time to like kind of go over it in my head and maybe answer those later? You're grown. You can do pretty much whatever you want, but I can tell you right now there are people that are waiting to find out your truthfulness, your honesty, and what you were thinking at that time. Yeah. Going away

and then having time to what people will view as concocting a story. Oh, yeah. Might not be the best idea. I'd say, I mean, I really have no concept of time for like how long anything

happened. But I probably held it for I think it held maybe like 10 minutes, maybe somewhere around there. Okay. And obviously at some point the baby wasn't moving anymore, correct? Mm-hmm. And then that's when you laid the baby on the towel, correct?

Mm-hmm. Clean yourself up some, clean baby up some. And you ended up taking a nap and then reassessing the baby and then determining no babies. And probably were in full panic mode, is my guess, at this point. And you don't seem like a very, like, run-around crazy panic person. I'm guessing you internalize a lot of things and kind of think through them the best you can. I mean, I think, yeah, I'm, I guess, yeah, I'm not a running, a running around panicking kind of person.

I just kind of have the science mind where you try to figure out how to work the problem, so to say. Honestly, a lot of things I do when I get panic, I just kind of try and put it out of my mind, or I overthink it way too much. Okay. Were you trying to silence the crying to roommates, didn't hear it? All three roommates or sweetmates heard a baby cry. They didn't recognize it at the time because it didn't make sense to them. You know what I mean? But then, of course, as they saw everything, it started making sense to them on that.

I mean, I just kind of put its head like right hereish and it stopped. Okay. Okay. Stop crying? Mm-hmm. Okay. It's pretty remarkable. One, that you self-delivered, but two that you were.

were able to self-deliver in that amount of time. I know. That's generally somebody's had several children. Once I realized it was happening, I went to the bathroom, and I was hurting so bad. I couldn't move. And literally once I got like the courage to like order an Uber call an ambulance, it came. It was coming. Can I, can I understand that?

You were going to order an Uber upon an ambulance? Yeah. You had your phone with you in the bathroom? Yeah, I literally had. had the app pulled up and then as I was typing it in it I was like I can't I know this is going to be a can I can I ask because I know that the people are going to ask okay um so you were going to call but then it came obviously that's probably you can't dial the phone while it's happening right after it comes out and and you know after you've held or you know the baby or set it down

um why didn't you grab your phone and call then I mean I don't I think I was just scared at that point I don't know. I was just panicking. We appreciate your honesty. You know, obviously you've been very cooperative and you've been very helpful. You know what I mean? This is a very traumatic experience for you, okay? You know, I don't think that you're a bad person, you know what I mean? I don't think that you've, you know, done anything, you know, crazy.

But at the end of the day, I want you to think truly down to, you know, your actions and everything that happened. And if you feel, you know, that there's something that we don't know, you know what I mean, or something that you haven't been forthcoming about, you know what I mean? It's imperative and it's very important that you tell us that. This is going to be looked at by us. A lot of people are going to look at this. I'm guessing you saw it was into papers, correct? I...

It made the news. That a baby was found on campus. Okay. Now, they don't have the whole story. That's for sure. What about my name? Is that in? No, not right now.

It's not. Now, at some point, these things all become record. Yeah, yeah, yeah. Okay, they do become record at some point. But there's lots of people looking at this and trying to figure things out. There's going to be a lot of people that are going to have a lot of sympathy for a 19-year-old in a scary situation, okay? but a lot of those people want very truthful answers of how things happen. So again, this could be a key piece of evidence that will be battled both by the prosecution and the defense.

The lawyers are due back in court in May to give the judge an update on where their preparation stands. A lot on the line here, by the way, according to the Tampa Bay Times, the aggravated manslaughter charge carries a 30-year maximum prison sentence. The other charges, right, child neglect, unlawfully holding or removing. moving human remains, failure to report a death. That could be up to 25 years in prison. Now, it does become a question. Would they be backed one on top of the other? Right. Concurrent, all at the same time. Interesting to think about. It's all we have for you right now here on Sidebar, everybody. Thank you so much for joining us.

And as always, please subscribe on YouTube, Apple Podcast, Spotify, wherever you should get your podcast. You can also check us out on NBC's Peacock. We've got Sidebar episodes up there as well. If you want to follow me, X, Instagram, my News Nation show, Jesse Weber Live, Monday through Friday, 11 p.m. Eastern. I'll see you next time, everybody.