A Florida inmate who captured international attention for an unprecedented jailhouse pregnancy has now been found guilty of murder. Daisy Link, 30, was convicted of second-degree murder this week for the 2022 shooting death of her longtime partner, Pedro Jimenez. The verdict brings a decisive conclusion to a case that was already shrouded in controversy and bizarre circumstances long before the trial began.
The case gained notoriety last year when Link announced she was pregnant while incarcerated at the Turner Guilford Knight Correctional Center. She claimed the father was a fellow inmate, Joan DePaz, with whom she had built a relationship by talking through the facility’s ventilation system. Link explained that the two devised a method for her to inseminate herself using semen passed through the vents, a story that medical experts described as exceedingly rare but not impossible.
During the trial, the courtroom became a stage for two conflicting narratives. Prosecutors argued that Link shot Jimenez in the leg outside her home and then walked away as he bled to death. They painted a picture of a calculated act, not self-defense. The defense, however, portrayed Link as a victim of prolonged domestic violence who acted out of fear for her life after being beaten and threatened by Jimenez in the days leading up to the shooting.
The jury deliberated for less than two hours before returning with a guilty verdict. One juror later commented to the press that the evidence did not support a self-defense claim, specifically noting that if the victim was shot while running away, it contradicted the idea of an immediate threat. This perspective ultimately outweighed the testimony from Link’s 11-year-old son, who testified that he saw Jimenez point a gun at his mother and pistol-whip her.
Link is scheduled to return to court for a sentencing hearing on November 21, where she faces a potential sentence of years in prison. Her sister has publicly expressed hope that the judge will consider the history of domestic violence and the fact that Link is now the mother of a newborn infant when determining the sentence. The case concludes as a complex tapestry of tragedy, violence, and a strange interlude that briefly made Daisy Link a subject of global fascination.
