Woman jailed for abandoning baby in lake
A woman was convicted of attempted homicide and sentenced to eight years and four months in prison today for putting her baby in a plastic bag and setting her afloat in a Brazilian lake a year ago.
Simone Cassiano da Silva, 30, was found guilty by a jury in south-eastern Minas Gerais state of abandoning her two-month-old baby in the Pampulha Lagoon in Belo Horizonte, 500km (300 miles) north-east of Sao Paulo.
Defence lawyers said they will appeal the ruling.
Da Silva maintained her innocence during the trial, claiming she gave the baby to a group of homeless people because she did not have enough money to raise the child.
The girl, who was later adopted, was rescued from the lake by a couple who heard her crying. A small wooden board inside the bag apparently kept it from sinking.
Amateur footage broadcast on Brazilian TV had shown rescuers using a long tree branch to pull the black plastic bag out of the water. The girl was found inside, wearing a pink dress.
