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CNN Live Today
Baby Snatcher Arraigned
Aired August 15, 2002 - 13:08 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
MARTIN SAVIDGE, CNN ANCHOR: In Texas, a month-old girl who was snatched from outside a Wal-Mart there is back with her family. Her alleged abductor in jail. The suspect, Paula Roach, was formally arraigned in that case today.
CNN's Ed Lavandera joins us now live from Abilene with the story on that.
Ed -- good to see you.
ED LAVANDERA, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good to see you, Marty.
Paula Lynn Roach making a brief appearance in an Abilene courtroom this morning, a formality really, but the beginning of the legal process for her, as she was formally charged with aggravated kidnapping, the official posting of the $200,000 bond that she is being held on.
She did ask the judge if the aggravated portion of the aggravated kidnapping charge could be removed from that charge. The judge told her she would have to take that up with the D.A., but nobody here thinks that's likely to happen.
It's aggravated because Nancy Chavez's mother, Margarita Chavez, was injured in the process of trying to save her daughter from the abduction, and also because of the age of Nancy. That's what makes this an aggravated kidnapping charge, which of course, is a much more serious crime than just a simple kidnapping charge.
But here, what everyone has been talking about is the emotional reunion between Nancy Chavez and her parents. As you might imagine, the fear and the anxiety turned to extreme joy and happiness yesterday afternoon, as that baby daughter arrived back here in Abilene safe and sound.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
LAVANDERA (voice-over): There's nothing quite like holding your newborn baby, so imagine the feelings and emotion rushing through the arms of Margarita Chavez, her one-month-old baby back safely, and a family reunited.
MARGARITA CHAVEZ, MOTHER: My hopes never ended. I trust the Lord. I was very sure that I was going to get my baby back.
LAVANDERA: Tuesday afternoon, Margarita Chavez walked out of Wal-Mart with her three children, but what she didn't know, police say, was that 24-year-old Paula Lynn Roach had been circulating the parking lot looking for a baby of her own. A surveillance camera captured the abduction. It only took a moment.
Margarita turns around to put away a shopping cart. Just seconds later the baby is gone. Take a closer look at the video and you see a 13-year-old boy, Roberto Gann, lunging for the car. He tried to save little Nancy but couldn't.
ROBERTO GANN, ABDUCTION WITNESS: I started chasing the car. I seen her (UNINTELLIGIBLE), that made me run fast. I got to the car and I tried to open the door, I couldn't open the door, so I swung at the window.
LAVANDERA: Years from now little Nancy Chavez probably won't remember this day, but you can bet her mother and father will share this story with her. After all, they say, you never forget the most frightening 24 hours of your life.
SALVADOR CHAVEZ, FATHER (through translator): My family and I are very happy to have our baby back with us.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
LAVANDERA: Paula Lynn Roach was asked several questions as she was escorted out of the courthouse here in Abilene earlier this morning, but she wouldn't speak with the reporters.
Police tell us that when she was pulled over in Quanah, Texas, which is about 125 miles northeast of the Abilene area, that she had told police that the baby was hers, and that she had been born yesterday. But one close look at that baby instantly tipped off the officer that there was no way that baby was just 1-day-old, and that perhaps this was Nancy Chavez, the little baby girl that so many people had been looking for here in the Abilene area.
Marty -- back to you.
SAVIDGE: That's a remarkable story, Ed, especially to see the heroics of those who tried to intervene.
I've got a question for you on Paula Roach. Do they speculate anything about her mental state of mind, and what may have driven her to the end?
LAVANDERA: The initial indication -- we know that investigators have been speaking with her. She was driven back to the Abilene area yesterday, and we know that investigators have been talking to her. From the police officers that I have spoken with here in Abilene, they say that there was an indication that perhaps she was trying to fill some sort of -- some void, some need to have a baby of her own. And so, there is some speculation and some thinking that perhaps that might have been what they believe drove Paula Lynn Roach to commit this abduction.
SAVIDGE: Yes, Ed Lavandera, thank you very much -- reporting to us live from Abilene in Texas. TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com.
