Bonds reduced for 4 accused of staging kidnapping in Missouri of 6-year-old boy

TROY, Mo. – A Missouri judge has reduced the bond for four people accused of staging a kidnapping of a 6-year-old boy.

Each of the defendants had been ordered jailed on $250,000 cash-only bond. But KMOV-TV (http://bit.ly/1FAhhmk ) reports a Lincoln County judge on Thursday pared bonds for three of them to $100,000, while the fourth defendant had her bond reduced to $50,000 because of health considerations.

Police say the boy's mother planned the ruse earlier this month to scare the boy because they believed he was too nice to people and wanted to teach him about possible danger from strangers.

The mother's next court appearance is scheduled for next month. The co-defendants are to next be in court in April.

The Associated Press is not naming the defendants in order to protect the child's identity.

___

Information from: KMOV-TV, http://www.kmov.com