An Alabama couple faces kidnapping charges after transporting a 5-year-old child across state lines against the will of the child’s mother.
Nicole Renee Campbell, 40, and Robert Petro Curry, 49, are charged with kidnapping and interference with custody, according to jail documents.
Authorities said the couple had brought their 5-year-old grandchild back to Newnan to be reunited with his mother, who has legal custody of the child.
While meeting up at a local gas station, Campbell refused to turn the child over after asking the victim for $200. The child’s mother told police Campbell has a gambling addiction, and she believes that was the reason for the request for money.
Investigators attempted to contact Campbell several times on her phone, but calls went directly to voicemail each time, they said. When Campbell finally answered, investigators told her she would be charged with kidnapping if she failed to return the child.
Campbell reportedly doubled down and responded, “Do what you got to do. Lock me up."
Campbell claimed to be protecting the child, saying that the minor didn’t want to go home with his mother. Investigators informed Campbell that adults typically make these kinds of decisions when it comes to such matters, not 5-year-olds.
Investigators contacted authorities in Brewton, Alabama, to alert them of the situation, and they were able to regain custody of the child. The child was not harmed and was turned back over to his mother, according to investigators.
Campbell and Curry were taken into custody and eventually extradited to Coweta County to face kidnapping and interference with custody charges.
Both Campbell and Curry remain in the custody of Coweta County authorities after being denied bond by Judge Jim Stripling.
