South Florida mother accused of drowning toddler found not guilty "by reason of insanity," judge finds

A Miami-Dade judge has found a South Florida mother not guilty by reason of insanity in the death of her 15-month-old daughter, siding with defense attorneys who argued she was suffering from a COVID-related psychotic break at the time of the killing.

The ruling came Tuesday after a two-day bench trial for Precious Bland, who admitted to drowning her baby daughter and attacking her husband and oldest child in 2021.

When Judge Miguel De La O announced his decision, an audible gasp and cries could be heard from Bland inside the courtroom.

"As to count one, aggravated manslaughter, the defendant is not guilty by reason of insanity. As to count two of attempted murder in the first degree, the defendant is not guilty by reason of insanity. And as to count three attempted murder in the first degree, the defendant is not guilty by reason of insanity," De La O said.

Moments after learning she wouldn't be convicted, Bland spoke briefly outside of the courtroom. 

"God is good. This doesn't bring back my daughter," Bland said. "I'm thankful. I love my children."

The prosecution argued that she killed her toddler due to infidelity, instead of insanity

State prosecutors attempted to prove that Bland, a mother of six, killed her toddler because she believed her husband was cheating on her, pointing to statements she allegedly made to investigators.

"It's odd behavior, judge, it is, but it's not legal insanity," State Prosecutor Elizabeth Utset argued during the trial. "The voices and the COVID psychosis are a fabrication and an embellished story."

However, De La O rejected the state's 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.

Prosecutors also argued that while Bland may have been suffering from mental health issues, she still understood what she was doing.

"She was verbalizing that the baby needed to stop breathing. So she was holding her down to make sure she stopped breathing," a prosecutor said during opening statements.

The state also challenged the defense's argument that COVID-19 caused the child's death.

"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.

Defense successfully alluding to her insanity due to COVID-19 was "first of its kind" 

Defense lawyers successfully argued that Bland was overcome by voices in her head and suffered a severe, COVID-induced psychotic break.

Her attorney, Larry Handfield, called the case groundbreaking.

"There's so much we don't know about COVID," said Handfield. "And this was the first case in the country to go to trial on COVID being the defense to murder."

Bland spent approximately three and a half years in jail before being released about a year ago while awaiting trial.

Following the ruling, she said she is focused on rebuilding her life and reconnecting with her family.

"I'm just ready to get my life back together, my husband and my children, and just move forward," Bland said. 

Bland's husband, Evan Bland, testified on Monday that his wife had been acting unusually on the day of the child's death.

"I'm a victim. My family is a victim. And yeah, I mean Precious is a victim in this as well," he told the court.

Handfield said Monday that he is not seeking to have Bland institutionalized, arguing that both psychological evaluators determined that the level of treatment was unnecessary. 

A status hearing is scheduled for Thursday, where the court is expected to determine the conditions of Bland's release and any future supervision requirements.