The Orange County Criminal Lawyer Blog
A mother from Hialeah allegedly asphyxiated her 5-month-old daughter and shared a video of the incident with the baby’s father.
19-year-old Bryunna Joyce recently gave birth to a baby girl. She also has a 1-year-old. Joyce and the newborn’s father are no longer in a romantic relationship.
On June 6, Joyce and the baby’s dad had reportedly been arguing.
They were not in the same location, and Joyce allegedly sent the man videos she purportedly recorded of herself abusing their baby. The Florida woman appeared to slap the child four times. The video also allegedly showed Joyce holding a blanket over the struggling infant’s face for nearly 40 seconds. The newborn was then reportedly thrown onto the floor. Additional footage allegedly showed Joyce hurting the baby in several other ways.
After she reportedly transferred the video of the alleged abuse, Joyce allegedly sent a series of text messages to the father claiming she had been feeding pet food to the baby. She additionally reportedly said she had killed the baby and was planning to cover it up by making it look like an accident. Joyce allegedly texted, “f*** this baby.”
The police were notified, and the Florida Department of Children and Families was given a copy of the video that the father allegedly received from Joyce.
When DCF went to the woman’s listed address, Joyce and her children were not home. Missing person reports for both children were filed with the Hialeah Police Department.
Detectives and officers spent the day conducting an emergency search for the children, and they were found in Liberty City at an apartment with Joyce.
Joyce was taken into custody and booked into jail on a $17,500 bond. She is facing charges for suspicion of making written threats to kill or do bodily harm, domestic battery by strangulation, and child abuse without great bodily harm.
Joyce will be placed on house arrest if she bonds out of jail.
Both of the children were reported as being healthy and safe.
If you or someone you love is suspected of a domestic violence offense, contact Orange County criminal defense lawyer Staycie R. Sena at (949) 477-8088 for a consultation now.