Baby Born in Jail Dies

The baby that made national headlines last year for being born in a jail cell is now dead.

At 26, Julia Bilotta gave birth to her child on Sept. 29, 2012 at the Ottawa- Carleton Detention Center. She was eight months pregnant when she was first jailed Sept. 24 of that year.

Her child, Gionni Lee, was born a month early and suffered from breathing difficulties.  Bilotta’s lawyer, Lawrence Greenspon explains, "He had had respiratory problems since he was born and that apparently was the cause of his passing ... yesterday in hospital.”

Both Bilotta and her mother, Kim Hurtubise are traumatized. Bilotta wrote on her Facebook page that her child was “sick all night” and was taken to the hospital. Bilotta then announced her infant’s death writing, “"How could this happen to us? Life will never be the same! We love you, Gionni. Mommy will be with you soon."

When jailed, Bilotta was facing charges of:

• Use, trafficking or possession of a forged document.
•  Fraud.
• Accessory after the fact to the commission of offences.
• Failure to comply with bail conditions.

Gionni Lee was said to have stopped breathing in the night. The police added that an autopsy will be conducted sometime this week.