In December 2023, two inmates from Miami-Dade made headlines after conceiving a child without ever meeting in person. The parents, who gave birth to a baby girl in June 2024, are now sharing the remarkable story of how they managed to conceive while incarcerated at the Turner Guilford Knight Correctional Center.
The mother, Daisy Link, 29, is facing second-degree murder charges for the fatal shooting of her boyfriend in 2022. She allegedly shot him in the leg and told him, “You’ll be fine.”
The father, Joan Depaz, 23, is facing first-degree murder charges and is currently held at Metrowest Detention Center.
Link explained that the conception happened after Depaz placed his semen in Saran wrap and passed it through the vents. Link then used a yeast infection applicator to insert the semen.
“She’s a miracle baby, she’s a blessing,” Link said, calling the process of conception “crazy” and likening it to the “Virgin Mary.”
The two first began communicating through the vents in their cells. Link shared that spending hours talking to Depaz in isolation made it feel as though they were in the same room.
Though they had never met in person, the two developed a bond, and Depaz expressed his desire to have a child with Link. “I always really wanted to have a baby. And I’m not gonna get to do that for a really long time,” he recalled saying. “So if I had to choose somebody, it would be you.” Link agreed.
Depaz shared that for about a month, he repeatedly placed the semen in Saran wrap multiple times a day, passing it through the vents with bedding material.
After several attempts, Link became pregnant. “I was very excited. I was ecstatic about it,” she said.
