A Miami judge’s recent decision in a murder case may have cost him his job. It comes after a woman was found not guilty of drowning her baby, arguing she was experiencing a psychotic episode due to COVID-19.
Florida Attorney General James Uthmeier said Thursday he plans to file an article of impeachment against Judge Miguel De La O.
Precious Leslie Bland, 43, was found not guilty by reason of insanity on Tuesday. She waived her right to a jury and instead placed her fate in the hands of De La O.
“God is good; this doesn’t bring back my daughter,” The mother of six told CBS News. “I’m thankful. I love my children.”
Miami-Dade police arrested Bland in 2021. Atlanta Black Star obtained Bland’s arrest warrant.
When investigators arrived, Bland’s husband, Evan, was outside with multiple stab wounds. He told officers she was upstairs, saying that “Jesus Christ is coming” and “COVID is going to kill us all.”
The report said Bland insisted that everyone needed to be baptized in the bathtub.
Investigators said Bland held her infant daughter underwater until she became unresponsive. The report said Bland then told her another daughter to grab a knife.
The teen told police she didn’t know why her mother wanted the knife, but she complied. The report said Bland grabbed the knife and stabbed Evan several times.
The teenage girl tried to grab the baby from Bland, the report said. But the mother stabbed her during the struggle.
When officers arrived, they found the baby in the bathtub, face down and unresponsive. She was pronounced dead at the hospital.
Investigators said Bland also had self-inflicted wounds on her wrist.
State prosecutors tried to argue that Bland killed her child because she thought Evan was cheating on her. They referenced several statements she made to investigators.
“It’s odd behavior, judge, it is, but it’s not legal insanity,” State Prosecutor Elizabeth Utset argued. “The voices and the COVID psychosis are a fabrication and an embellished story.”
She also alleged Bland was in a “pressure-cooker situation,” according to the Miami Herald. Bland was taking care of six kids, two of whom were in diapers. She homeschooled her other four children.
Bland was also doing all of the housework, including making renovations to the home on her own, according to the Miami Herald. Her husband was reportedly working 12 to 14 hours a day.
The state also argued that despite mental health issues, Bland knew what she was doing. But the judge rejected the theory.
“That theory doesn’t make sense to me that she decided to do all of the things that she did: going to all the neighbors, calling her family members, putting the kids in the water, all of it because she was angry due to some perceived infidelity,” De La O said.
The defense leaned on the COVID-19 pandemic, saying the stress contributed to Bland’s actions.
The pandemic caused a massive 25 percent global increase in anxiety and depression, the World Health Organization said. Much of it was driven by social isolation, financial instability, and widespread grief.
Prosecutors challenged the claim.
“COVID is not the issue in this case. There will be no clear and convincing evidence that COVID made this defendant drown her 1-year-old daughter,” the prosecutor said.
Bland’s attorney argued the case was groundbreaking.
“There’s so much we don’t know about COVID,” he said. “And this was the first case in the country to go to trial on COVID being the defense to murder.”
The only COVID-related cases that have gone to trial are insurance fraud cases.
Evan Bland testified on Monday that his wife had been acting unusually on the day of the murder.
“I’m a victim. My family is a victim. And, yeah, I mean, Precious is a victim in this as well,” he said, according to CBS News.
Judge De La O reportedly said he sees no reason to hold Bland.
“This was a bench trial. It’s time to impeach this judge,” Uthmeier wrote on X. “My office will be drafting articles of impeachment, and we look forward to working with all legislators who will support them.”
De La O has not commented on the pending articles of impeachment.
