March 27, 2012 By Christian Murray
A Woodside woman who killed her new-born baby by dumping it in the trash faces 10-years in prison and deportation.
Queens District Attorney Richard Brown announced yesterday that Dawa Lama, a 24-year-old woman from 65th Street, who had given birth in a hospital bathroom last May has pleaded guilty to first-degree manslaughter for having thrown her infant girl in the trash and leaving the premises without alerting anyone.
“Today’s guilty plea is a just and fair disposition to a sad case involving a very troubled young woman,” Brown said yesterday. “The defendant has been held accountable for what was a serious but avoidable crime. New York’s Safe Haven law allows a parent to anonymously surrender their unwanted newborn infant to personnel in a safe place – such as a hospital, a police station or a fire station – and not have to worry about getting in trouble.”
Lama, who was arrested on the day of the incident, appeared yesterday before Queens Criminal Court Judge Lenora Gerald and pleaded guilty to first-degree manslaughter.
Sentencing has been scheduled for April 16, 2012, at which time Judge Gerald indicated that she would sentence Lama to ten years in prison. Lama, originally from Nepal, is presently being held in jail in lieu of $250,000 bail.
Lama, in her guilty plea, admitted that she went to Elmhurst Hospital on May 10, 2011, to register for prenatal care. After registering at the front desk, she experienced a strong pain in her abdomen and back and needed to use the restroom. While in the restroom, Lama went into labor and delivered the baby – who was later named Mingmar Gurung.
Lama then detached the baby from the umbilical cord, threw the baby in a garbage bin and left the bathroom. Before exiting the hospital, Lama went back to the front desk and retrieved her identification card. Mingmar, who was born alive and full term with no obvious deformities, was placed on life support but died seven days later.
