Police in Argentina have seized a young man, his teenage partner, and her mother for stealing a newborn baby from a hospital.
Suspect Georgina Ayelen Rodriguez entered the maternity ward of Hospital Paroissien in La Matanza, Greater Buenos Aires, at 1.25am on 18th March.
She asked for room 210, but the person on duty sent the 33-year-old away because she was not a family member.
But she came back at 6.15am just after the changeover of staff. This time, the person on duty allowed her to enter and failed to register her.
Three minutes later, she was caught on CCTV leaving the hospital wearing her rucksack, which police believe two-day-old Aimara Abril was inside.
Waiting for the woman outside the hospital was her daughter, 18-year-old Milagros Ailen Rodriguez.
After a nearly seven-hour search, little Aimara was found in the arms of 21-year-old Emanuel Alejandro Velazquez outside San Jose Chapel in Isidro Casanova.
When questioned by police, Velazquez, who is Milagros Ailen’s partner, replied “evasively”. Police then arrested the three suspects.
During questioning, Georgina Rodriguez admitted to stealing the newborn, while Milagros Rodriguez exercised her right to remain silent.
Velazquez, meanwhile, pinned the blame on his partner’s mother.
At the time of reporting, the three were being held in custody and were charged with abduction of a minor.
After a medical check-up, little Aimara was handed back to her relieved mother, Elizabeth.
Elizabeth’s sister, Jesica Correa, told local media: “I don’t know any of the detainees, there is no connection whatsoever.
“We believe that it was all premeditated, that they marked my niece.
“At the time my little niece was born, the hospital was a maze for me. It is very difficult to enter without knowing, and this woman knew the place very well.
“They entered as if it were their own home and took the baby away in a rucksack.
“You don’t think of this overnight, they already had all the clothes bought and had the woman to breastfeed the baby.”
Jesica said of the hospital: “At no time did they apologise to us. The baby was lost and they acted as if it were just a procedure.
“Perhaps if they had notified us earlier we would have found her faster.
“When people enter the place, they should ask for more information, not just the name. They should also check rucksacks.”
Looking back on the ordeal, Jesica said: “It was all horrible. It’s something I want to get out of my mind and never remember again.
“It’s something I’ll remember for the rest of my life, unfortunately.
“Now all that’s left is to be happy because we’ve found my niece, she’s in her mother’s arms, which is the most important thing, and thank God she’s okay.”
