The couple, who share a residence in Lake Worth Beach, Florida, about 60 miles north of Miami, drove to the apartment of suspect Marlly Jarina Ardila-Urrego’s cousin, who just had a newborn baby daughter, according to reports.
A Florida couple has been arrested in Washington state and faces several charges after authorities say they crafted a complex scheme where one of them posed as Amazon driver and then kidnapped their cousin’s infant daughter, according to reports.
Last week, Marlly Jarina Ardila-Urrego, 33, and her husband, Chun Ho Vincent Lai, 42, were arrested on I-90 in Washington state after cops say they crafted a complex scheme involving abduction, burglary, and assault, when they drove from across the country to carry out their plan.
“This case is extraordinarily unusual,” Senior Deputy Prosecutor Jennifer Phillips wrote in charges filed Thursday against the couple, according to the Seattle Times.
The couple, who share a residence in Lake Worth Beach, Florida, about 60 miles north of Miami, drove to the apartment of Marlly Jarina Ardila-Urrego’s cousin, who just had a newborn baby daughter, according to reports.
Ardila-Urrego and Lai “came to Washington for the explicit reason of taking this baby, by force,” Phillips alleged in the charging document, according to The Seattle Times.
The apartment is located about 20 miles south of Seattle, according to News Nation Now.
Ardila-Urrego's cousin had informed her of a planned delivery of a bed frame for the baby’s 2-year-old sibling on Feb. 20, News Nation reported. Later that day, prosecutors allege that after the victim’s husband left for work, Lai, disguised as an Amazon delivery driver, allegedly assaulted, restrained, and left the victim in a room with her 2-year-old while Ardila-Urrego entered the apartment and took the baby, News Nation Now reported.
Upon breaking free, the mother discovered her baby missing and sought help from a neighbor, who promptly contacted emergency services, The Seattle Times reported.
Four hours later, the couple was arrested along I-90 with the baby in tow, according to reports.
Cops say the baby was reportedly unharmed.
The Florida couple have each been charged with first-degree kidnapping, robbery and burglary and accused of forcing their way into the family’s apartment and taking the infant, two cellphones and a tablet. They have also been charged with second-degree assault, accused of attacking the baby’s mother, and second-degree assault of a child for allegedly harming the baby’s 2-year-old sibling.
The couple is currently in police custody, according to jail records obtained by Inside Edition Digital. Each of them have been issued a $750,000 bond and neither have court dates set, according to jail records obtained by Inside Edition Digital.
No clear motive is referenced in charging papers, which say it appears Ardila-Urrego and Lai targeted the family “because they were known to the defendants and known to have children,” the charging document obtained by the Seattle Times said.
The charges note there’s “no evidence that mental illness or substance abuse contributed to this crime,” according to The Seattle Times.
Inside Edition Digital has reached out to the Kings County Prosecutors Office for comment and has not heard back.
It is unknown if the defendants have entered a plea or obtained legal representation. Inside Edition Digital has reached out to the King County Criminal Courts for more information and has not heard back.
