Select by gender or name

Alleged Crime

On April 27th, 2024, students in a dorm at the University of Tampa heard a baby crying and saw blood in their bathroom.

They contacted authorities. Police and medical personnel arrived, and, according to reports, the medical personnel made contact with 19-year-old Brianna Moore.

She told them it was blood from her menstrual cycle and denied being pregnant.

The following day, Moore’s roommates saw a bloody towel in the trash and called the police back to the dorm. Authorities found a dead baby girl in the trash.

Moore talked to investigators and allegedly told them she held “the baby tightly to her body until she stopped crying.”

She also said she thought the baby was dead, so she put it in the trash.

An autopsy revealed the newborn died from a compressed torso. Her death was ruled a homicide.

Moore was arrested and charged with aggravated manslaughter of a child, which carries a maximum sentence of 30 years.

She was also charged with child neglect with great bodily harm, which carries a sentence of up to 15 years.

Text messages ruled out

According to CourtTV, More had exchanged text with a man named qasim on Spetember 13th, 2023.

Qasim wrote:

plan A was condoms
plan b was the pill
Plan c was to kill thr [sic] kid

Moore replied: plan c is my favorite

Prosecutors planned to use this against her at trial, but a judge ruled the text inadmissible.

Release on bond

Tampa Bay Times reported that Moore was released on a $262,500 bond just before 9 pm on July 15th, 2026. This was just hours after a defense motion to lower her bond and to modify the conditions of her release was denied.

The judge said the motion to modify her bond condition would only be heard after she was released.

Moore returned to court the day after her release. She was wearing an ankle monitor. Her defense team asked the judge to allow her to reside in Mississippi with her family until trial. They claimed that forcing Moore to reside in Hillsborough County would cost her family an additional $3,000 a month. They also argued she wasn’t a flight risk as her driver’s license was expired and she didn’t have a passport.

The judge denied the defense’s request, forcing Moore to find a permanent place in Tampa and stay in town until her trial, which starts in November 2026.

September 2026 Defense Motions

CourtTV reported on September 15, 2026, that Moore’s lawyers want the judge to bar prosecutors from talking about Moore’s alleged sexual activity and making allegations that she is promiscuous. They feel like it would be a waste of time to sit in court and prove such allegations are false.

The defense also asked the court to disallow statements Moore allegedly made to investigators that there were two guys who could have been the father of her child. Her lawyers believe that jurors would focus on her lifestyle when deliberating, rather than focusing on the evidence.

Lastly, her defense wants to judge to prevent prosecutors from “arguing, stating, suggesting or implying” that her lack of prenatal care, not calling 911, or using a rideshare to go to the hospital after birth proves criminal action. It’s unclear when the judge will rule on the motions.