A Lexington County woman has been sentenced to 22 years in prison after she pled guilty to homicide by child abuse.
Brennan H. Geller, 27, gave birth to Kimberly Faith Taylor in August 2018. On Aug. 4, 2018, the newborn was found dead in a trash bag inside Geller’s vehicle, according to a release from the 11th Circuit Solicitor’s Office.
“The infant was discovered by a family member of Brennan Geller hours after being placed into the bag,” the release read. “An autopsy determined that air was present in the infant’s lungs, along with other indications of a live birth. Doctors determined that the infant was full term, greater than 37 weeks gestation. She weighed 7 pounds, 6 ounces.”
The Lexington County Sheriff’s Department Major Crimes Unit found Geller had left work early on Aug. 3, 2018, and went to a parking lot in West Columbia. Her web history shows she was aware she was in labor.
Here’s a timeline determined by her phone activity, as detailed in the release:
At 10:35 a.m. on Aug. 3, 2018, Geller searched, “what to expect while in labor.”
At 7:59 p.m. on Aug. 3, 2018, Geller searched, “when do contractions stop.”
At 8:30 p.m. on Aug. 3, 2018, Geller told her boyfriend she was still at work, even though she had left work much earlier that day.
“After giving birth, Geller used scissors to cut the umbilical cord and placed the infant into a trash bag. Doctors would have testified at trial that suffocation could occur under these circumstances,” according to the release. “The law enforcement investigation confirmed that Geller secretly gave birth while in her vehicle, without any form of medical assistance.”
The manner of death was homicide, as determined by Lexington County Coroner Margaret Fisher.
Geller repeatedly denied her pregnancy to friends and acquaintances, and when she was treated at Lexington Medical Center for post-delivery complications, she initially denied giving birth, but a search of her vehicle was conducted and the scissors and towels used during the birthing process were discovered.
The release details that according to medical experts, the infant had no signs of congenital defect and would have been healthy.
Kimberly Faith Taylor was named by her father, Edwin Taylor, who testified in court that he had learned about the pregnancy and birth only after the start of the investigation. He got paternal rights then buried his daughter.
“I was never given the opportunity to hold her in my arms, I only get to hold her in my heart,” Taylor is quoted saying in court. “It breaks my heart knowing that she’s not here on earth right now with me making some of the childhood memories a father and daughter should be making at 5 years old.”
The case was prosecuted by 11th Circuit Deputy Solicitor Suzanne Mayes, Assistant Solicitor Whitney Yongue Taylor and Assistant Solicitor Gabrielle Williams.
Geller, who is a 2015 high school graduate and was a student at Midlands Technical College at the time of Taylor’s birth, is being transferred to the S.C. Department of Corrections to begin her sentence. She is not eligible for parole.
“Under the Safe Haven for Abandoned Babies Act, also known as Daniel’s Law, a person who abandons a newborn in South Carolina cannot be prosecuted for abandonment if he or she takes the baby to a Safe Haven,” according to the release. “Safe Havens include hospitals, outpatient medical facilities, fire stations, EMS stations, and staffed houses of worship. Daniel’s Law is intended to save infants, it is not intended to punish anyone.”