MIAMI-DADE COUNTY, Fla. — Precious Bland is a free woman, despite being previously accused of drowning her 1-year-old daughter.
Bland, 38, spoke to Local 10 News two days after a judge found her not guilty by reason of insanity in the murder of her baby and the attempted murder of her husband and teenage daughter.
Investigators said the incident happened on Aug. 23, 2021, at a home near Northwest 99th Street and 30th Avenue in Miami-Dade County. They said Bland was accused of drowning her baby while claiming she was trying to baptize everyone in the home.
Authorities confirmed that Bland’s 38-year-old husband and 16-year-old daughter were stabbed during the incident and survived. Detectives said they also found Bland suffering from stab wounds that were determined to be self-inflicted.
They said four other children, all under the age of 11, were inside the home at the time but were not harmed.
“This took a lot from us as a family and that’s the goodness I feel, she said. ”This doesn’t bring back my daughter. It doesn’t stop the pain."
The mother of six was found not guilty by reason of insanity after investigators said she was hearing voices telling her Jesus was coming back.
When asked if she remembered being in the bathroom with her daughter or remembered the drowning, Bland said:
“I remember seeing my son, my one and only son. I couldn’t speak. I remember looking in his eyes and just with my eyes just telling him, run, because I couldn’t speak. And it’s like he knew,” she said. “He looked in my eyes and he ran. Because I didn’t understand what was happening to me, like why this was happening. Something had control of me.”
Bland was also asked about body camera video showing her telling paramedics, “Save yourself. God is coming back.”
Authorities said Bland also tried to take her own life.
Her attorney, Larry Handfield, said Bland was a good mother and a Navy veteran who was suffering from COVID-19-induced psychosis.
“From the first day that I was hired to represent Precious Bland, having done the research, because there’s so much that we don’t know about COVID, and this was one of the first cases in the country to go to trial on COVID-19 to the defense of murder,” he said.
“Both doctors concluded that this was a result of COVID, number one, and number two, that COVID brought on the mental defect,” Handfield added.
Bland’s case may be one of the first successful COVID-related psychosis defenses in the country.
The prosecutor argued the psychosis was not real, but it was not enough to convince the judge.
After the verdict, Bland said she was thankful and ready to rebuild her life.
“God is good. This doesn’t bring back my daughter. I’m thankful. I love my children. Just ready to get my life back together, my husband and my children -- just move forward.”
Local 10 asked Bland about her future with her family and whether she trusts herself around her children.
“Absolutely, without a doubt, and I’m sure that my family is very vigilant now as well,” she said. “It’s not something that you know, they would take lightly.”
Bland says she is in therapy several times a month and is working to be reunited with her children and husband.
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