- Marlly Jarina Ardila-Urrego and Chun Ho Vincent Lai embarked on a cross-country expedition with the goal of kidnapping an infant child, cops say
- The husband allegedly posed as an Amazon delivery man before forcefully entering the apartment, attacking the mother, and taking the baby
A Florida couple were arrested after driving 45-hours from their home state to Washington, where they allegedly abducted a woman’s infant-daughter.
Marlly Jarina Ardila-Urrego, 33, and her husband Chun Ho Vincent Lai, 42, were charged and taken into custody last week after executing a bizarre plan that involved kidnapping, burglary, and assault.
According to authorities and footage of the incident, Lai posed as an Amazon delivery driver before entering the mother’s home – an apartment about 20 miles south of Seattle.
He then beat and restrained her, before taking the baby, as well as two cell phones and a tablet, police say.
The baby’s mother is a cousin of Ardila-Urrego. She told police that Ardila-Urrego told her she had purchased a bed frame for the baby’s two-year-old sibling and that it would be delivered on February 20.
The husband and wife co-conspirators are seen emerging from the mother’s apartment with a large Amazon box
The woman said that after her husband left for work, she heard a knock on the door and through the peephole saw a man holding an Amazon box and clipboard.
When she opened the door, Lai punched her in the face repeatedly, knocked her to the ground and tied her limbs with zip ties and placed her in a bedroom with the two-year-old as Ardila-Urrego entered the apartment to steal the baby.
Lai then put the infant in the Amazon box and left.
When the mother broke free of the zip ties and the tape he’d used to gag her, she discovered her baby was gone and ran outside with the toddler, where a neighbor called 911.
Less than four-hours later, the couple were pulled over on Interstate 90, where the baby was found unharmed and returned to her parents.
Authorities have not referenced an obvious motive for the crime. Charging documents say the family was targeted ‘because they were known to the defendants and known to have children.’
Police added that there is ‘no evidence that mental illness or substance abuse contributed to this crime.’
They were found after State Patrol was given Ardila-Urrego’s cellphone information. Authorities also discovered that Lai owns a Honda Insight that had been in the same location as Ardila-Urrego’s phone.
A state trooper conducted a traffic stop on the Honda at around 1pm on the day of the kidnapping – he sent a picture of the child to the police, and her parents confirmed her identity.
The man places the box, which contains the infant, into his vehicle
The grandfather of the baby, who is also Ardila-Urrego’s uncle, said his niece had been persistently requesting his daughter’s address, which struck him as odd because she is generally not in contact with the family.
He also noted that about a year ago, Ardila-Urrego told him she was going to earn $70,000 by becoming a surrogate for a couple. He not, however, believe she ultimately became pregnant.
Senior Deputy Prosecutor Jennifer Phillips wrote in charges that were filed on Thursday that this is an ‘extraordinarily unusual’ case.
Ardila-Urrego and Lai, who live together in Lake Worth Beach, about 60 miles north of Miami, were charged with first-degree kidnapping, robbery and burglary, as well as second-degree assault of a child for allegedly harming the 2-year-old.
Both remain in jail in lieu of posting $750,000 bail. They are scheduled to be arraigned on March 7.
