A man and a woman, who are said to be a couple, reportedly tried to sell their baby in order for them to have money to buy drugs.
According to police officials, the two are now facing charges with regard to the incident. They have been identified as 25-year-old Nichole Harmon and 20-year-old Jonathan Isaac Lucas Flint. Flint is said to be the fiancé of Harmon. They are both from Layland, West Virginia.
The two are charged with selling or attempting to sell a child and gross child neglect creating a risk of bodily injury or death to a child. My Fox 8 reported that the couple went to a home and tried to sell their baby, who is only three months old. The amount they were asking for in exchange of the baby was between $500 to $1,000.
The woman who answered the door, who remains unnamed, reportedly refused to buy the baby from the couple. Harmon and Flint then asked the woman to babysit the child for them. The woman agreed but when the couple returned the next day, the baby was no longer with the woman as the child was turned over to the child protective services.
The woman is the neighbor of the couple and she called 911 after thinking that the baby is sick. Accordingly, the couple brought the baby to her home on May 28 and they told her they will only be going to a convenience store. They were supposed to return hours later but they returned the next day.
Authorities handling the case said that the baby would not stop crying and shaking. It is possible that the child have been suffering from drug withdraw.
It was not stated what kind of drugs the couple are using and how it was found out by officials that they were trying to get drug money. Both are jailed and are being held under bonds of $100,000.
The biological father of the baby was tracked down by officials. He said he did not know anything about the plan of the couple to sell the baby.
