Dawa Lama pleaded guilty to first-degree manslaughter last week after throwing her baby in a garbage bin on May 10th, 2011 at Elmhurst Hospital. She is scheduled to be sentenced on April 16th. Facebook Photo.
A 24-year-old mother pleaded guilty at Queens Criminal Court last week after she had thrown an infant girl she gave birth to in the garbage and left the baby there without telling anyone.
Dawa Lama, 24, pleaded guilty to first-degree manslaughter for throwing the baby in the trash and is scheduled for sentencing on April 16, where she is expected to receive a 10-year prison sentence.
According to a press release from Queens District Attorney Richard Brown’s office, Lama registered for prenatal care on May 10, 2011 at Elmhurst hospital. After she registered at the front desk, Lama felt a strong pain in her back and abdomen and went to the bathroom. It was there that she went into labor and delivered a baby girl, who was later named Mingmar Gurung.
She then detached the baby from the umbilical cord, threw the infant in the garbage bin and exited the bathroom. Before she left the hospital, Lama got back her identification card from the front desk. After Gurung was found alive, she was placed on life support but died one week later. The infant was born with no obvious deformities.
Brown said the guilty plea ends a sad case involving a troubled young woman.
“The defendant has been held accountable for what was a serious but avoidable crime,” Brown said.
He added that New York’s Safe Haven Law would have allowed a mother like Lama to anonymously surrender her unwanted newborn child, up to 30 days of age, to a hospital, fire station or police station without getting in trouble, if the child is abandoned safely.
Lama is currently in jail in lieu of a $250,000 bail.
