A California woman posing as a new nurse was charged with kidnapping after she tried to steal a newborn baby at the Riverside University Health System - Medical Center.
Jesenea Miron, 23, allegedly entered one patient's room on Thursday, Jul 14, and told the family she was the new nurse who was going to see to the care of their baby. A hospital staff, however, was able to confront her and informed hospital security of the potential abduction.
Miron left the room without the baby and escaped arrest before the police arrived. It was unclear whether she had a specific target or picked the baby randomly. The mother and the child were not harmed following the incident, according to NBC Los Angeles.
Police track down Jesenea Miron
Authorities, however, were able to track down Miron at her home on Weber Street in Moreno Valley. The investigators said there were other items of "evidentiary value" inside her house. Reports stated that there were sonograms of two other pregnant women from different hospitals.
At the police station, Miron told the investigators that it was "easy" to steal a baby by posing as a nurse. The police are still trying to determine how Miron managed to pull her pretense without raising any alarm bells.
Riverside University Health System- Medical Center issued a statement to reiterate that they have "multiple layers of security" to protect the patients and the staff. Hospital management is also reviewing and reinforcing its security protocols to determine how Miron was able to gain access to the patient's room and talk to the family.
Miron is currently booked at the Robert Presley Detention Center. According to CNN, she has entered a plea of not guilty while the judge has set her bail at $1 million.
Public tips that can shed light on this attempted kidnapping are welcome via the Riverside County Sheriff's Department at 951-776-1099 or the Moreno Valley Sheriff's Station at 951-486-6700.
Woman posing as a baby photographer attempted to take mom's child
Meanwhile, the Pierce County Police in Washington arrested Juliette Parker, 38, who posed as a photographer to steal a woman's baby. According to BuzzFeed News, Parker offered her services for free in a parenting group on Facebook because she needed to establish a portfolio.
The "photographer" visited the home of the family two times to take photos and get to know the mom and her baby. On her third visit, she brought cupcakes laced with drugs, causing the mom to vomit and feel drowsy. The mom asked the photographer to leave as she was not feeling well.
At the hospital, the mom was told she had traces of GHB, a type of date rape drug, in her system. Later, she realized her house keys were missing, and Parker denied taking anything when she asked.
Suspecting that something was off, the mom reported Parker to the police. After finding cause for a kidnapping plan for baby girls, the police arrested the fake photographer. Parker's 16-year-old daughter confessed to the police that her mom wanted a baby girl and had a specific plan to carry out a kidnapping.
Parker has been out on bail since the pandemic. Her trial has been delayed due to COVID-19.
