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Five years for her baby's death

Because of her remorse, the woman didn't get a more typical penalty of at least 11 years.

By CHRIS TISCH
Published October 10, 2006

LARGO - Looking at Kieu Lam, it's hard to believe the pretty and polite woman could leave her newborn baby to die, then stuff his tiny body in a filthy trash bin.

But Lam admits she did that last autumn. And for that, she will spend five years in prison.

Lam pleaded guilty Monday morning to a charge of aggravated manslaughter of a child, a crime that normally carries at least 11¹/₂ years in prison, with a maximum penalty of 30 years.

But prosecutors agreed to allow Lam, who turns 36 today, to accept a deal for substantially less prison time. Lam, who has no previous criminal record, will serve 10 years of probation after her release from prison.

"We took everything into consideration and I think it was a fair sentence," said Stephanie Bergen, who prosecuted the case. "She's not hard-core. She's not your evil criminal."

Lam will remain free, though under a curfew, until she is formally sentenced Dec. 6. Her attorney said Lam did not wish to comment Monday.

Bergen said the baby's death could have been avoided had Lam known about the state's Safe Haven Law, which allows parents of newborns to drop off an unwanted child at any fire station or hospital within three days of birth - with no questions asked.

Since the law went into effect in 2000, the parents of 53 babies have safely left their newborns at stations or hospitals statewide, including three in the Tampa Bay area.

However, in that same time period, 32 babies, including at least five in the Tampa Bay area, have been abandoned in unsafe places - including trash bins, hotel bathrooms, ditches and bodies of water.

Twenty of those babies died.

According to court records, Lam had no idea the Safe Haven Law existed. If she had, the boy - whom she named Vu - might be alive today.

"And he was perfect," Bergen said of the baby. "There was nothing wrong with him."

Lam, a Vietnamese national who has been in the United States about six years, was worried that her pregnancy, the result of a one-night stand, would cause her great shame in her family. So she kept the pregnancy a secret, even from her three other children, until she gave birth on a toilet in her St. Petersburg home Oct. 26.

Lam, who has worked as a dressmaker and cosmetic nail technician, later told police that she was exhausted after the birth and, after cutting the umbilical cord with small scissors, left the newborn in the toilet for about 20 minutes.

Lam told police she thought the boy was dead upon birth, but an autopsy later showed the child had breathed air after delivery. He likely either drowned or bled to death, Bergen said.

Lam kept the baby's body in her home for about a day before placing it in a tote bag, driving about five miles to Tyrone Square Mall and leaving the bag in a trash bin in the parking lot.

Maintenance workers later found the bag and the baby's body, wrapped in towels, inside. Police tracked the baby to Lam because she had left a plane ticket with her name on it inside.

Police arrested Lam a short time later. Her other children are now in foster care.

Bergen said Lam has taken responsibility for her actions and is remorseful, which helped persuade prosecutors to approve the five-year sentence.

Lam, who does not speak much English, appeared in court Monday with an interpreter. She answered questions from Judge Linda Allan by nodding her head. She made a point of thanking the judge for her time.

And afterward, she approached Bergen outside the courtroom and thanked her, too.

"She accepts responsibility for her actions," Bergen said. "She knows what she did and that she needs to be punished."

Chris Tisch can be reached at 727 892-2359 or tisch@sptimes.com.

SAFE HAVEN LAW

Florida is one of 47 states with a "safe haven" law allowing a parent to leave an unwanted newborn 3 days old or younger at a hospital, fire station, doctor's office or ambulance station without being charged with a crime.

Some recent cases where the state Safe Haven Law wasn't used - with tragic results:

* In September, a woman in Largo gave birth, then hid the baby boy in a dresser. The baby was born alive, then died. The woman was charged with aggravated manslaughter of a child.

* Also in September, a woman gave birth in a Target bathroom and left the newborn girl dead in the trash. She has been charged with second-degree murder.

* In May, a Tampa woman gave birth in an alley and left the baby girl to die. She was charged with aggravated manslaughter of a child.

[Last modified October 10, 2006, 05:48:58]