Palm Bay pastor reaches plea deal, faces no jail time after 11-month-old dies in hot car
By Scott Heidler
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PALM BAY, Florida (WESH) — A plea deal was reached on Wednesday for a Palm Bay pastor after the death of her 11-month-old baby — including no jail time and two years’ probation.
The incident happened last May when police say she left the baby in a hot car before a sermon.
Bulaine Molme was charged with leaving a child unattended in a car for more than 15 minutes, a crime punishable by up to five years in prison.
Last month, she was facing manslaughter charges but those were downgraded. Through a plea agreement with the state, she received two years’ probation on Wednesday.
Molme will also have to install an alarm system in her cars to be used when she’s driving with children.
“This is a tragedy. Nothing more, nothing less, a tragedy. She’s not getting off easy. She’s grieving and will continue to grieve,” said Defense Attorney Michael Cook.
Palm Bay police say she left her 11-month-old in her hot car on May 28, 2023, at Mount of Olives Evangelical Baptist Church. She told officers she was late and rushed into the church with her other children.
It was not until after the service that they realized that the baby was still in the car. Left alone for three hours, the baby was pronounced dead an hour later at the hospital.
The prosecution agreed after negotiations and because Molme took accountability and responsibility for her actions.
She had no criminal record before this case.
“It is a very tragic set of circumstances, and we were very agreeable. I mean, we get cases where they don’t want to take a drug test. You say drug test, they are running. Not here. The test came back negative for any illegal substances and they cooperated thoroughly with the investigation,” said Assistant State Attorney Julia Lynch.
If Molme violates her probation, she could face up to five years in prison.
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