A Bronx woman has been charged with manslaughter after her mother discovered her dead newborn twin that she had brought to her in a laundry bag, authorities said Wednesday.
Lasasha Gouldbourne, 31, was taken into custody on Tuesday on charges of manslaughter, assault, and intentionally causing harm to a child.
The accusations are related to what she allegedly did on September 1st, after giving birth to an early daughter in a friend’s house on Bronx Park East close to Britton St. in Allerton. Gouldbourne allegedly packed the baby’s clothing into a wash bag and transported the child to her mother’s house, which is a few streets away.
She later brought the bag to her mother, who usually washes her clothes, without telling her what was inside.
The suspect’s parent discovered a comatose newborn inside the bag. Shortly later, emergency personnel hurried the child to Montefiore Medical Center, where she later passed away.
The baby’s cause of death was ruled a homicide by the municipal medical examiner’s office, and it was established that she had asphyxia from smothering.
Minutes after the baby was found in the laundry bag, police also located Gouldbourne, a mentally unstable drug user who had previously had four children taken from her. She was transferred to Montefiore Medical Center, where she underwent an emergency Caesarean section and gave birth to a second baby, a newborn boy who is the deceased girl’s fraternal twin.
Gouldbourne spent three months in a hospital for mental treatment after giving birth. She was arrested and charged with manslaughter when she was discharged from the hospital earlier this week, according to police.
