Abducted Tenn. newborn’s mom regains custody of 4 kids, cleared of baby-selling claim

Abducted Tenn. baby’s mom gets kids back

NASHVILLE, Tenn. — A mother was reunited Tuesday with her newborn son after losing him twice, first to a kidnapper and then to state custody after someone claimed a family member had tried to sell him.

Infant Yair Anthony Carrillo and three siblings were no longer in foster care and authorities do not believe parents Maria Gurrola and Jose Carrillo were involved in the baby’s Sept. 29 abduction, the Department of Children’s Services and Nashville police said.

Gurrola told The Tennessean she was better but still has nightmares reliving the ordeal.

“It’s a bad horror movie,” she said. “But it’s getting better. I have my baby. I have my children, and I’m healing physically and emotionally.”

Gurrola said she had wanted to return to Mexico after the attack and never return to the home where the kidnapping and stabbing happened. But for the time being, they are still in Antioch.

“We know we have to see this out because the police expect us to,” she said.

Attempts by The Associated Press to reach Gurrola and her family were unsuccessful Tuesday. AP also could not locate Jose Carrillo for comment, but he told The Tennessean that it has been a long ordeal and hopes the family will be left alone.

Gurrola lost custody of Yair and his three siblings after the baby was found safe in Alabama. Two officials familiar with the case, speaking on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to discuss it, said the state took the children after someone claimed a family member had tried to sell the baby.

A police statement says “significant unanswered questions remain” in the case, including why Gurrola and her infant were targeted. Thomas Miller, an attorney appointed to represent the children, told AP that police informed child welfare officials Tuesday they had “cleared the parents of any wrongdoing.”

Meanwhile, the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation has opened a probe into the release of confidential juvenile court records to news organizations for stories about the children being placed in foster care.

The baby was found Friday, three days after he was abducted during a knife attack on his mother in her home. Gurrola was briefly reunited with the infant Saturday before Children’s Services put him and his siblings, ages 3, 9 and 11, in foster care for their safety. Department officials have declined to be more specific, citing privacy concerns for the family.

Tammy Renee Silas, 39, of Ardmore, Ala., was charged with kidnapping after authorities said they found the baby unharmed at her home about 80 miles south of Nashville.

Silas has not been charged in the attack on Gurrola, who was stabbed several times and had a collapsed lung.

The investigation into the juvenile records being leaked to the media was requested by the Nashville district attorney and will look into whether the release impeded a criminal investigation, TBI spokeswoman Kristin Helm said Tuesday.

Officials familiar with the case told AP that the state took custody of the children after an allegation that a family member tried to sell the baby. Other news reports referred to case records and one outlet said it had obtained juvenile court records.

Helm said illegally releasing documents could lead to official misconduct charges against record-keepers.

Gurrola told investigators that after she was stabbed, the attacker made a phone call and said in Spanish “The job is done” and the mother “was dying,” according to court documents.

Silas, who remained in custody Tuesday, waived an initial hearing and has not yet appeared in court. She has given a statement to investigators, according to Tennessee Bureau of Investigation spokeswoman Kristin Helm, who declined to detail what she said.

Gurrola told investigators she had never seen the woman who stabbed her. According to the arrest warrant, Gurrola was targeted while she and a cousin, identified only as “JS,” were running errands and visiting a state food assistance office.

A car that police said Silas rented was seen on a surveillance video following Gurrola before the attack, and the car rental information led police to her home.

Police have not released a motive, but Silas’ live-in boyfriend, Martin Rodriguez, told The Associated Press that she said she could not have children and wanted to adopt a child from a relative in Texas who was going to jail.

Associated Press Writer Kristin M. Hall contributed to this report.

(This version CORRECTS the spelling of the last names Carrillo and Gurrola.))