A Florida couple drove across the country to Washington state and kidnapped a relative’s baby last month, with the man posing as an Amazon delivery driver to gain entry to the house.
Marrly Jariana Ardila-Urrego, 33, and Chun Ho Vincent Lai, 42, have been charged with kidnapping, robbery, burglary, and assault. The were captured three hours after the attack in Federal Way on Interstate 90 near Moses Lake.
The 7-month-old baby was not physically harmed, according to KING.
Court documents say Ardila-Urrego told the baby’s mother — her cousin — that she was visiting and would be bringing clothing for one her children. She also said she had ordered a bed frame from Amazon for the 2-year-old child, telling her it would be delivered on February 20.
On that day, shortly after the baby’s father left for work, the mother said there was a knock at the door and she saw a man in a jacket and sunglasses carrying an Amazon box. But when she opened the door, she said, the man punched her several times in the face and forced his way inside.
A woman followed him into the house and held her down while he used zipties to secure her hands and feet. The documents say the woman held the woman down while the man found the infant, but them in a box and walked out.
Surveillance video showed the two suspects parked nearby in a white sedan. The baby’s grandfather told police he suspected his niece, Ardila-Urrega, and said she had insisted on getting her cousin’s address from him even though she did not keep in contact with the family.
Police used cell phone tracking and a license reader to track the suspects’ vehicle, which was located by the Washington State Patrol on I-90. Ardila-Urrego and Lai were arrested and the baby returned to the family.
Police also found several electronic devices stolen from the home in a bag in the car.
“The defendants came to Washington for the explicit reason of taking this baby, by force,” wrote Senior Deputy Prosecutor Jennifer Phillips in the case summary. “It appears that the victims were targeted because they were known to the defendants and known to have children.”
Phillips asked for $2 million bail, but a judge set bail at $750,000 each. The suspects are due in court again on Thursday.
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[Featured image: KING screenshot]
