Bulaine Molme appears in a mugshot inset against the marquee for the Mount of Olives Evangelical Baptist Church on June 1, 2023. (Brevard County Sheriff’s Office; Screengrab via WESH)
A Florida mother has been arrested and charged after her 11-month-old baby girl died inside of a hot car late last month. The dead child’s parents forgot her and left her in the car while they went to church, according to the Palm Bay Police Department.
Bulaine Molme, 37, stands accused of one count of aggravated manslaughter of a child, according to a threadbare probable cause affidavit obtained by Law&Crime. She was taken into custody on an arrest warrant for the same charge on the night of June 1. Brevard County Court records show an initial assignment of “non capital murder” but that is not the formal charge in the case.
The 11-month-old died on May 28.
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Fire and rescue officers responded to the Mount of Olives Evangelical Church in response to a 911 call about an unresponsive infant at around 1:00 p.m. that Sunday, the PBPD said in a press release.
Police say that investigators soon learned the infant had been left in the vehicle by her mother “for approximately three hours while she and her family attended services.” The girl was rushed to Palm Bay Community Hospital where she was later pronounced deceased.
“The initial investigation revealed that the mother arrived late to a church service she was officiating and believed the victim was brought inside by a member of the church,” the PBPD said. “Approximately three hours later, after service concluded, the mother noticed her child was not inside or with any church member.”
The defendant is then alleged to have rushed back to her car “where her child was found still in the car seat and unresponsive.” Bolme told officers that she performed CPR on her daughter until first responders arrived. By then, of course, it was far too late.
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While the investigation was still ongoing, local police issued an empathetic statement.
“This is an unfortunate incident, and our condolences and prayers go out to the family,” Palm Bay Police Chief Mario Augello said in comments reported by Daytona Beach-based NBC affiliate WESH.
“At the completion of the investigation and working with the State Attorney’s Office, the mother was placed under arrest,” PBPD Public Information Officer Lt. Michael Roberts said in an emailed statement.
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The Facebook page for the Mount of Olives Evangelical Baptist Church has not addressed the child’s death or the faith leader’s alleged culpability. The church is a Southern Baptist congregation that is a member of the Florida Baptist Convention. Law&Crime reached out to the church for comment on this story but no response was immediately forthcoming.
Bolme is currently being detained in the Brevard County Jail on $15,000 bond. Her first court appearance is Friday afternoon.
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