*The attorney for a pregnant Florida woman accused of murder says she should be released from jail because her unborn child is being “held unlawfully.”
Natalia Harrell, 24, has been jailed at the Turner Guilford Knight Correctional Center since July 26, 2022, when she was charged with second-degree murder in the July 23 shooting death of 28-year-old Gladys Yvette Borcela, The Blaze reports.
Harrell allegedly opened fire during an argument with the victim inside an Uber with several people in the vehicle. The fatal incident was caught on the driver’s dashcam. At one point during the argument, Harrell reportedly warns Borcela that the situation could get ugly.
“You don’t want this,” Harrell allegedly says to the woman moments before pulling the trigger. “You don’t want me to go in my purse.”
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Natalia Harrell Who Shot and Killed a Mother of 3 Gladys Yvette Borcela In Uber Because Borcela Was Getting More Attention at the Club Than Her Wants To Be Released From Prison Because She’s Pregnant and Says The Baby Didn’t Shoot Anyone (Video) https://t.co/zaOSqqNB7h pic.twitter.com/GVSjjPyj4O
— Robert Littal BSO (@BSO) February 22, 2023
Borcela was shot in her abdomen and arm and later died from her injuries. Harrell was six weeks pregnant when she allegedly shot Borcela last July. She was ultimately charged with second-degree murder with a weapon and is being held without bond.
Attorney William M. Norris filed an emergency habeas corpus petition to have his client released pending trial. He claims Harrell’s unborn child has not been charged with any crime and is, therefore, being illegally detained.
Per the legal docs, via The Blaze, Norris argues that the unborn baby has been placed in an “inherently dangerous environment … in close proximity to violent criminal offenders.”
In the petition, Norris points out that Florida law recognizes an unborn child as a legal person who “has constitutional rights, and one of them is the right not to be deprived of liberty without due process of law,” he stated.
Miami-Dade Corrections released the following statement in response to the petition: “Miami-Dade County Corrections and Rehabilitation partners with Jackson Health System to provide healthcare to the inmates in our custody, and we are committed to ensuring all inmates receive professional, timely medical care and all appropriate treatment,” the statement said. “We are conducting a full review of the health services offered and received to ensure that all pre-natal care being provided in our custody is appropriate.”
Borcela’s mother, Yvette Rivera, reacted to the habeas corpus petition in a post on social media.
“Natalia Harrell Killed My Daughter,” Rivera reportedly wrote on Facebook. “And Now Is Trying To Get A Get Out Of Jail Free Card.”
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