Precious Bland: Miami Mom Found Not Guilty After Drowning Baby; Judge Says COVID Made Her Mentally Ill
A Miami-Dade County mother has been found not guilty by reason of insanity in the drowning death of her 1-year-old daughter, after her defense team argued that a COVID-19 infection had pushed her into a psychotic state on the day of the killing.
Precious Bland, 43, learned her fate in a courtroom on June 24, 2026, nearly five years after she drowned her daughter Emii in the bathtub of the family's home on Northwest 99th Street.
Circuit Court Judge Miguel de la O, who decided the case after Bland waived her right to a jury trial, said there was no other way to understand what happened.
"There is zero credible explanation other than her psychotic state," the judge said.
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| Precious Bland crying in court after the verdict |
According to her husband, Evan Bland, was not acting like herself days before the killing, as Bland's behavior took a sharp and disturbing turn.
She reportedly began calling relatives and going door to door through the neighborhood, warning people not to get the COVID-19 vaccine because she had become convinced it was "the mark of the devil."
She told her family members that Jesus Christ was coming and that COVID-19 was going to kill them all, according to an arrest report, as per Miami Herald.
On the day of the drowning, August 23, 2021, Bland gathered her family and insisted that everyone needed to be baptized in the bathtub so they could go to heaven together.
When her husband resisted, Bland tried to kill him because she believed he was a demon who did not want to be saved.
Deputies later arrived at the home to find Emii face down in the bathtub, which was filled with bloody water.
After killing her daughter, Bland stabbed herself and attempted to shoot herself, but the extent of her injuries prevented her from following through.
She later told investigators that voices in her head had been commanding her actions, and according to her, a week after her arrest she was still hearing the voices.
Bland was charged with aggravated manslaughter and attempted murder and spent years in jail before being granted a $10,000 bond in September 2025.
She had been on house arrest with a GPS monitor while awaiting the final resolution of her case.
At trial, the defense argued that Bland was experiencing a psychotic episode which was caused by a COVID-19 infection, rendering her unable to understand the nature of her actions.
Defense attorney Larry Handfield highlighted Bland's military service—she was a decorated Navy officer who served in Iraq and was once part of a security detail for then-President George W. Bush—to show how out of character the killing was.
Family members, neighbors, and Bland's own children testified that she was a loving mother. "She loved being a mother," Handfield said.
However, prosecutor Elizabeth Utset offered a different explanation, describing Bland as a woman in a "pressure-cooker situation."
Bland was caring for six children, two of whom were still in diapers, while homeschooling the four school-aged children.
She also handled all the housework and renovations alone while her husband worked 12 to 14 hours a day.
Utset also noted that Bland had no prior mental-health diagnosis and had told investigators she never heard voices until the day of the drowning.
The prosecutor argued that Bland's religious obsession, while unusual, did not amount to insanity.
"It's odd behavior, but it's not psychosis," Utset said. "The voices and the COVID psychosis is an embellished and fabricated story."
The judge ultimately sided with the defense, and she was found not guilty by reason of insanity.
Bland broke down in tears when the verdict was read, wiping her face before embracing her attorneys and a psychiatrist who had testified about evaluating her mental condition.
Attorneys involved in the case said the June 2026 decision is likely the first time a COVID-related psychosis defense has been successful in the country.
Rather than commit Bland to a mental institution, de la O scheduled a hearing to work out the conditions of her release.
Under Florida law, a person found not guilty by reason of insanity can be placed on conditional release, which requires a treatment plan and periodic monitoring.
Outside the courtroom, Handfield called it a "glorious day" for his client. "I knew that she was not responsible for that tragic incident," he told reporters. "The actions that she took were the result of a medical crisis brought on by COVID."
Bland, speaking briefly, said, "I love my children. I'm just ready to get my life together." She then walked out of the courthouse a free woman.
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