The woman accused of kidnapping a 3-month-old Hispanic boy from her grandmother’s house in California along with two other men was obsessed with the little boy.
The grandmother, identified as Victoria Mejía, said in an interview with Univision 14 that he met the suspect, identified as Yesenia Guadalupe Ramirez, from 37 years, at church.
Ramírez befriended her and gained her trust, and whenever little Brandon Cuellar was around, he hung around them.
“Thank God we have a happy ending. It was such a hard experience that I could never expect it. I wish that on no one (…) It was a very terrible anguish, very hard. I felt like I was dying”, Victoria declared to the Hispanic television station.
“When they gave us the news that they had found our little grandson, I thanked God very much. God has done the work for us to be able to see him and hug him again”, added the grandmother.
For her part, the little boy’s mother said that she could not believe what was happening.
“I didn’t know how to react”, he declared to the same network.
“I fell to the ground and it was a moment that I cannot explain”, added the parent.
Little Brandon was removed from the interior of the grandmother’s house in San José last 25 of April. The woman, who was caring for the child, was taking some bags out of her car when the intruders entered the property and took the child away.
The minor was rescued the next day in an area about 5 miles from the apartment. Apparently, a worker at a nursing home for the elderly alerted the Police.
Not only San José police officers participated in the search efforts, but also the Federal Investigation Agency (FBI) and the California Highway Patrol (CHP).
Sergeant Christian Camarillo, a spokesman for the San José Police, pointed out that the kidnapping was not random, but was planned.
Specific reasons are unknown.
Apart from Mejía, the authorities arrested and charged José Román Portillo, aged 25 years old; and Baldomeo Sandoval, from 37. The trio faces multiple charges related to kidnapping and entering a home without authorization.
Román Portillo was caught on video carrying a baby seat covered with a white blanket. Authorities clarified that the video shows him walking to the residence before taking Brandon.