TAMPA, Fla. (Court TV) — A teenager charged with killing her newborn infant is asking a judge to change the conditions of her release so she can get out of jail.
Brianna Moore is facing multiple charges after she allegedly killed her newborn baby shortly after delivery. (Hillsborough County Sheriff’s Office)
Brianna Moore, 21, has pleaded not guilty to aggravated manslaughter of a child, child neglect, unlawfully moving a dead body and failure to report a death after an infant was found in her dorm room’s trash can.
Moore has been behind bars at the Hillsborough County jail since Oct. 30, 2024, according to her attorney, and is seeking a change in the conditions of her release so she can get out. According to jail records, Moore is being held on a $262,500 cash bond for all the charges.
Moore’s attorney, Jonah Dickstein, filed a motion requesting that Judge Thomas Palermo release her to allow the defendant to live with her grandmother in Mississippi. Dickstein argues in the motion that even though a previous judge denied a request from the prosecution to hold Moore without bail, she remains in custody. The motion says Moore has “extensive ties” in the Mississippi area where she wants to live, while she has no ties to Hillsborough County as “a former University of Tampa college student.” Dickstein also notes that his client cannot afford to live in Florida, which the current conditions of the bond would require her to do. In support of his motion, Dickstein says his client has attended all hearings and has “conducted herself in an attentive, respectful, and appropriate manner.”
Prosecutors say Moore initially denied she was pregnant after the remains of her infant were found and told officers that visible blood in the bathroom was from her menstruation.
While prosecutors had hoped to use text messages they said showed Moore’s plan to kill the child as part of their case, Palermo previously ruled that evidence would not be admissible because he said there was no indication she knew she was pregnant at the time and the messages did not include any specific plan of action or intent.
Moore’s trial is scheduled to run approximately two weeks, beginning Nov. 2, 2026. The motion is expected to be discussed at a motions hearing scheduled for July 16.
