A California woman was arrested and charged for kidnapping a three-month-old infant she was reportedly obsessed with.
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The kidnapper befriended the victim’s grandmother and wanted to see him constantly
Yesenia Guadalupe Ramirez,43, befriended Victoria Mejia in order to get closer to her three-month-old grandson, Brandon Cuellar. Mejia explained that Ramirez met at their local church and appeared to be obsessed with the infant whenever he was close by as reported by the New York Post.
Cuellar was kidnapped from Mejia’s second-floor apartment after she left him with Ramirez so she could retrieve groceries from her car. Prior to the kidnapping, Ramirez convinced the grandmother to go shopping at a local Walmart so they can buy items for him. Police said during a press conference that the kidnapping led to a 20-hour search.
The infant’s mother, Jessica Ayala. said she also noticed Ramirez’s strange behavior and added that she always wanted to be around her son constantly. ” She would go to my house a lot, she always wanted to be there,” Ayala explained to Telemundo affiliate KTST-TV. The mother added that she was at work when she learned about her son’s kidnapping from her sister-in-law: “I fell to the ground and it was a moment that I can’t explain.”.
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How San Jose police located Ramirez and the kidnapped infant
San Jose Police arrested Ramirez after she continued to change her story during an interview. Additionally, a witness spotted a van that was found in the home of Jose Roman Portillo. Portillo,28, was also charged in the case but his involvement was not disclosed by police. Investigators said he was spotted carrying a baby car seat and walking to the vehicle moments before Cuellar was kidnapped.
A third person, Baldomeo Sandoval,37, was also arrested for the case but he was later released from police custody Thursday. According to relatives, Sandoval is reportedly married to Ramirez and she allegedly came up with the kidnapping plot.
Ramirez and Portillo are facing charges for the kidnapping and were arraigned on Thursday.
Investigators said the baby boy was found unharmed and reunited with his mother several hours later: “I cried out of joy, I cried until I got tired of crying,”