Baby thief steals baby again

A 33-year-old female ex-convict who was jailed for stealing a baby has been arrested by the police for allegedly stealing a nine-month-old baby boy in Agona Swedru in the Central Region.

The suspect, Patricia Gordoh, who was sentenced to 12 months’ imprisonment for a similar offence a year ago, stole the baby boy on Sunday, June 8, 2019, a day after she had been released from the Nsawam Prison.

She is currently in police custody, assisting with further investigations.

How it happened

Patricia is said to have called the child’s father, Pastor James Ayesu, the Head Pastor of the Salvation House of Prayer Ministry at Nsusososo, a suburb of Agona Swedru, on the day of her release from prison on Saturday, June 7, 2019 and introduced herself as a relation who was stranded in Agona Swedru.

She further told him that she had given money to someone to rent accommodation for her but could not locate the said individual.

The ex-convict went on to mention the names of some of the pastor’s external relations as she tried to convince him of how they were related when it appeared initially that the man of God had doubts about her narration.
Patricia subsequently informed the pastor of her decision to join him to fellowship in his church, a message the pastor was said to have embraced wholeheartedly.

Pretence

That Sunday, after church service, the pastor’s wife, who wanted to pass by the market to buy some foodstuffs for the house, left the nine-month-old baby in the care of her 14-year-old daughter and the other siblings, as well as the suspect, and dispatched them to the house.

Although the parents warned the children not to give the baby to the suspect, on reaching home, Patricia managed to convince the 14-year-old girl to hand over the baby to her under the pretext of buying the baby and his seven-year-old sister food because they were hungry.

When the parents got home and were informed that Patricia had left the house with the baby and his sister to buy them food, they suspected foul play and rushed to the various lorry stations in search of them.

After a long search, they found their seven-year-old daughter at a public transport terminal, known as Osama Station, and when they asked her about the whereabouts of the baby, she said Patricia had gone away with him.

Subsequently, they lodged a complaint with the Swedru Police, who issued an alert to police stations across the country for Patricia’s arrest.

Read also: Police arrests baby thief in Kwame Danso

Arrest

Confirming Patricia’s arrest to the media last Friday, the Crime Officer of the Swedru Divisional Police Command, Chief Superintendent Alex Buabin, said the ex-convict was apprehended at her hideout in New Edubiase in the Ashanti Region by the New Edubiase Police last Thursday, following a tip off.

He said she had been transferred to Agona Swedru for interrogation and further investigations.

Chief Supt Buabin said the baby, who was hale and hearty, after being examined medically, had been re-united with his family.