Mother Charged With Malnutrition Death Of 1-Month-Old Girl; Twin Brother Suffered 'Severe Starvation'

A Florida mother has been arrested after she starved her one-month-old twins, and one of them died from malnutrition.

Delaila Pino Lasalle, the 23-year-old mother of three from Palm Beach County, was arrested Monday on charges of aggravated manslaughter of a child in connection with the death of her unidentified 1-month-old daughter on March 17, 2022.

Lasalle also faces charges of neglect of a child after the deceased girl's twin brother suffered "severe starvation." He was rushed to a hospital a week after the girl child's death, WPTV reported.

Emergency officers arrived at Lasalle's residence after her mother called 911 to report the unresponsive child. The rescue officers rushed the child to a nearby hospital, where she was pronounced dead.

During interrogation, Lasalle claimed that she found the child unresponsive when she woke up to feed her. Lasalle then alerted her mother, who called 911 for help.

Investigators determined that although the infant had certain health issues after a difficult birth, she had recovered. The infant suffered pneumonia, upper respiratory distress, a left cleft lip, and a "hole in her heart" and had to stay in the newborn ICU for about two weeks after her birth.

Medical examiners found out that at the time of her death, the infant did not have "any preexisting medical conditions that could have contributed to" death.

The infant's death was ruled as a homicide caused by malnutrition.

After the girl's death, the Department of Children and Families removed the other child from the home. The infant boy recovered and "appeared to be in good health and gained weight" two weeks after he was moved to a foster facility, reports said.

A doctor who treated the now-deceased child at birth claimed that had "concerns about the mother's behavior as she refused to listen to the instructions and recommendations made by the medical staff," the arrest affidavit said.

The family missed the infant's follow-up appointment and could not be reached by the hospital even after several attempts.

Lasalle is currently held in jail with a bail set at $18,000.