A female inmate in Florida, USA, gave birth to a baby girl in June while in solitary confinement after she allegedly impregnated herself. Daisy Link reportedly used semen passed by a fellow male inmate through an air conditioning vent. The new parents face murder charges.
Daisy said that she began a romantic relationship with Joan Depaz after speaking to each other through air conditioning vents in their cells.
The two inmates, at the Turner Guilford Knight Correctional Center in West Miami-Dade, Florida, were in solitary confinement.
They subsequently devised a plan to have a child after Joan expressed his desire to become a father, The Express reported on Sunday (November 24).
A female inmate in Florida, USA, gave birth to a baby girl in June while in solitary confinement
The pair reportedly tied bedsheets together, attached the 23-year-old’s sperm in plastic wrap and sent it through the vents and into Daisy’s cells.
“I put the semen in Saran Wrap every day like five times a day for like a month straight,” Joan previously told WVSN.
Daisy explained: “He would kind of roll it up almost like a cigarette and he would attach it to the line that we had in the vent and I would pull it through.
“From there, I had placed it inside of the yeast infection applicators. I had placed it inside of there and then from there I administered it.”
The lovebirds had never met face-to-face and when asked if they ever even touched, Joan told WSVN: “Never, like the Virgin Mary.”
Daisy explained the process of getting her beau’s sperm: “You would knock on [the vent] and you can hear the people from the different floors.
She allegedly impregnated herself
“You would stand on the toilet and actually to be able to talk to them.”
She continued: “Being in isolation for so long, you begin to spend hours and hours talking to this person, you know, to the point where it’s almost as if you’re in the same room as them.”
Daisy admitted that she couldn’t believe the elaborate technique “worked”, as she added: “I think everything happened for a reason.”
She exclaimed: “She’s a miracle baby. She’s a blessing.”
Professor Joyce Harper, Head of the Reproductive Science and Society Group at University College London’s Institute for Women’s Health, confirmed that this is a possible way of getting pregnant.
She told Bored Panda in an email: “This is very possible. For decades some women have got pregnant using sperm that is put into their vagina – even using a turkey baster.”
Daisy Link reportedly used semen passed by a fellow male inmate through an air conditioning vent
“There are companies who sell a device where women can put sperm in their vagina for fertility issues.
“When we have sex – this is exactly where the sperm is deposited upon ejaculation.”
Daisy’s family, initially suspecting sexual assault and demanding an investigation, later learned the baby’s father was Joan.
“She ended up pregnant under their watch, this should never happen,” Crystal Bareto, Daisy’s sister, told WVSN back in August upon welcoming her niece into the family. “This is, this is horrifying.”
The 29-year-old prisoner gave birth to a baby girl on June 19, while serving time. She had been behind bars for about two years at that point, serving time without bond for allegedly murdering her boyfriend, The Daily Mail reported on November 21.
Daisy, who is serving time on second-degree murder charges, is accused of shooting and killing her ex-boyfriend. Joan is also being held on a first-degree murder charge.
“She called us and told us that she had been sexually assaulted and that she was three months pregnant,” Crystal said in August, revealing that she had received the call from Daisy in December.
The new parents face murder charges
Crystal further revealed: “The baby was born June 19th and 48 hours [later,] they handed the baby over to an inmate’s mother.
“We don’t even know if that’s the real family.”
Daisy and Joan are now in separate jails, but still talk on the phone and see their daughter – who is now living with her grandmother from her dad’s side, according to The Mail.
Daisy said: “She could be anything. I think that she’s gonna be something great.”
When someone gives birth in a US prison, the process and outcomes vary depending on state and facility policies.
Pregnant inmates generally receive prenatal care, but the quality can differ, and childbirth often occurs in a hospital or under supervision at the prison.
After delivery, mothers are usually separated from their babies within days, with infants often placed in foster care or with family members.
Some states allow mother-infant programs where women can stay with their babies for a set period to encourage bonding and reduce recidivism, but such programs are limited, as per the Women’s Community Justice Association.
“Mary and the air conditioning vent. A tale as old as time,” a reader quipped
