The former best friend accused of murdering nursing student Michelle Le gave birth to a baby boy last week while in custody of Alameda County authorities, just before Thanksgiving. Giselle Esteban was reportedly transported from the jail to a hospital for the birth, and then returned to custody. It is not known who's now caring for the child.

We speculated earlier that the father could, possibly, be the man who came between Giselle and Michelle, with whom Giselle already has a five-year-old girl. That man, identified as Scott Marasigan, took Giselle to court earlier this year to try to gain full custody of their child, prior to Giselle's arrest. Since her arrest, Giselle has twice used complications with her pregnancy to delay court proceedings.

The news of the birth came out because Giselle made a brief court appearance today. She was at the Hayward Hall of Justice but, as SF Gate's crime blog is reporting, did not enter a plea in the murder charge as was expected. "Esteban’s attorney, Andrea Auer, said she needed to receive more evidence from prosecutors before her client could enter a plea. After the hearing, Auer said her client 'recently had a healthy baby.' She declined to provide details." Though we hardly want to make light of nor delight in the tragic murder of Le, we still look forward to watching this case unfold after Giselle returns to court on January 6 to enter her plea. It is bound to be soap operatic.

[SFGate/Crime]
PREVIOUSLY: Remains That Could Be Michele Le's Found in Niles Canyon; Murder Suspect Giselle Esteban to Enter Plea
Arrest Made In Michelle Le Murder, And It's Her Friend Giselle Esteban