KANSAS CITY, Missouri – Two teenagers kidnapped a pregnant woman they met online and took her to a motel in an effort to take her baby, authorities said. The plan was foiled when one of the teens got scared and called police.
Prosecutors say Alisa D. Betts, 17, and Lauren M. Gash, 19, kidnapped Amanda Howard, 18. Gash, of Odessa, and Betts, of Atchison, Kan., were arraigned on felony kidnapping charges Tuesday. Gash also was charged with assault.
Police believe the suspects lured Howard into a car Monday, sprayed her with Mace and bound her with tape, according to the complaint from the Jackson County prosecutor's office.
Gash and Betts are accused of then driving the victim to a motel in Blue Springs, a Kansas City suburb. The complaint said Gash sat on Howard's abdomen and twisted her neck back and forth, "a substantial step toward" trying to "kill or cause serious physical injury" to Howard.
Betts apparently "started to get cold feet and exited the room and called police," said Detective Troy Pharr of the Blue Springs Police Department.
The three women met on MySpace.com, a social networking Web site, Pharr said.
Bond was set at $500,000 for Betts and $750,000 for Gash, who were being held in the Jackson County jail.
It was unclear Tuesday evening whether Gash and Betts had lawyers. The Jackson County Sheriff's Department said the women were in transit.
MySpace is owned by NewsCorp., the parent company of FOXNews.com.
Get all the stories you need-to-know from the most powerful name in news delivered first thing every morning to your inbox