Two inmates in South Florida conceived a child without ever having physical contact.
Daisy Link, 29, and Joan Depaz, 24 — both held at the Turner Guilford Knight Correctional Center on murder charges — managed to achieve this through an inventive and highly unconventional method that involved the prison’s ventilation system.
The couple, who have never had any physical contact, devised a unique method to communicate and exchange items using the air vents in their cells.
In an interview with 7News, Link shared that the prolonged isolation led her to start talking with Depaz. “When you’ve been alone for so long, you end up spending hours talking to someone—so much that it feels like they’re right there in the room with you,” she said.
She also mentioned that they would send each other photos and handwritten notes through the ventilation pipes.
Depaz expressed that he had “always really wanted to have a baby,” but given his charges, he knew that opportunity might not come for a long time. That’s when he asked Link if she’d be willing to try.
The new mother shared her uncertainty about their situation in an interview with 7News, saying, “I don’t know what my fate is, and you never really know what yours will be either. So we thought—if we’re going out, we might as well go out with a bang. If it works, it works. And it definitely did.”
Dad-to-be Depaz described how the vents were shaped like an “L,” which made it easy for them to pass small items back and forth. “Anything she tossed from her room—like a pen—would land right in my vent,” he explained.
Depaz revealed that he would collect his semen in Saran Wrap multiple times a day—“about five times a day for nearly a month”—and pass it to Link through the ventilation system.
“He would roll it up almost like a cigarette and attach it to the line we had rigged in the vent, and I’d pull it through,” Link explained. “Then I’d place it into one of those yeast infection applicators and, well, that’s how I inseminated myself.”
Amazingly, it only took a few attempts before Link became pregnant.
Despite the highly unconventional method, a paternity test confirmed Depaz as the biological father. Medical professionals acknowledged that while rare and unlikely, such a pregnancy is indeed possible.
The Turner Guilford Knight Correctional Center has launched an investigation into the unusual circumstances surrounding the pregnancy. In the meantime, the child is being cared for by Depaz’s mother. Although the parents are housed in separate facilities, they are able to stay connected with their child through video calls.
In an official statement, the Center said: “The care, safety, and rehabilitation of everyone in our custody remain our top priorities. While there is currently no evidence of sexual battery involving the inmate, the situation is under active investigation.”
Depaz acknowledged the extraordinary nature of their situation, saying, “Not gonna lie, this is definitely going down in history.”
Despite their circumstances, Link expressed hope and pride for their child, saying, “She’s gonna be something great.”
