HOUSTON — A woman who was kidnapped along with her newborn son in an apparent attempt to steal the baby was found dead in the trunk of a car Thursday in Houston. The 5-day-old baby was rescued unharmed.
Authorities charged Linda Anita Carty, 42, and Chris Anthony Robinson, 32, with capital murder and were searching for three other suspects.
Joana Rodriguez and her baby, Ray Cabrera, were taken at gunpoint early Wednesday by four men who broke into their Houston apartment, police said.
The men demanded money, ransacked the apartment, then tied up and pistol-whipped Rodriguez's husband and his cousin. The abductors — three in ski masks — forced Rodriguez and her baby into a car and fled, authorities said.
Police allege the abduction was masterminded by Carty, who wanted a child and lived in the same apartment complex as the young family.
"(Carty) had told several people that she was about to have a baby, even though she was not pregnant," police spokesman John Cannon said.
Carty told police they could find the infant in northeast Houston, on the opposite side of the city. The baby was found in a car with its engine running. The mother's body was found in the trunk of a car parked nearby.
Rodriguez's husband, Ramundo Cabrera, thanked those who helped return his baby. "This has given me the strength to go on," he said.