Two inmates in south Florida managed to conceive a child without ever physically meeting.
Daisy Link, 29, and Joan Depaz, 24 - both incarcerated at Turner Guilford Knight Correctional Center for murder charges - conceived a child through a creative and unconventional method involving the prison's ventilation system.
New mom Daisy Link. Credit: Miami-Dade Corrections
The couple, who have never had physical contact, developed a unique way to communicate and exchange materials through the air vents in their cells.
Speaking to 7News, Link revealed that being incarcerated for so long led her to converse with Depaz. "Being in isolation for so long you begin to spend hours and hours talking to this person, you know, to the point where it’s almost as if you’re in the same room with them," she said.
Link added that the pair would use the ventilation pipes to send each other photos and notes.
Depaz explained he's "always really wanted to have a baby" but as a result of his charges, knew he wasn't going to "get to do that for a really long time", and so asked Link if she wanted to try.
The new mom then opened up about the trepidation surrounding their circumstances, telling 7News: "I don’t know what my fate is, you kind of don’t know what’s yours. If we’re gonna go out might as well just go out with a bang, you know? If it works, it works. But it definitely did."
Both parents are incarcerated on murder charges. Credit: Miami-Dade Corrections
And dad-to-be Depaz explained how the vents are "like a L-shape", meaning they could easily exchange small items. "It drops right into my vent, from her room, she could throw a pen into the vent and it’ll land right into my vent," he said.
"We had figured out a way to drop the line. It was a line that we had established out of like bedding material," Link added.
Depaz then explained that he would place his semen in Saran Wrap every day - "like five times a day for like a month straight" - and pass it to Link through the vents.
"He would kind of like roll it up almost like a cigarette and he would attach it to the line that we had in the vent and I would pull it through," Link said. "From there, I had placed it inside of, you know, the yeast infection applicators? I had placed it inside of there and then from there, yeah, I administered it."
Unbelievably, Link shared that it only took several tried before she became pregnant.
Despite the unconventional method, the paternity test confirmed Depaz as the father. Medical experts have confirmed that such a pregnancy, while highly improbable, is not impossible.
The Turner Guilford Knight Correctional Center is currently investigating the circumstances surrounding the pregnancy, while the child is now living with Depaz’s mother. The parents, who are housed in separate jails, are able to maintain contact with their child through video visits.
In a statement, the Center said: "The care, safety and rehabilitation of all those in our custody remains our top priority. And while there is no evidence of sexual battery against our inmate at this time, the circumstances surrounding the pregnancy are currently under active investigation."
Meanwhile, Dopaz is certainly aware of the unique circumstances of their pregnancy, adding: "Not gonna lie, this is gonna go down in history."
And despite their respective situations as the mom and dad, Link says her daughter is "gonna be something great".