New details about woman accused of kidnapping Atlanta sisters
Bodycam footage released of officers rescuing missing girls
Atlanta Police released body camera video showing officers using bolt cutters to rescue two missing sisters locked inside a trailer. The suspect faces kidnapping and cruelty to children charges.
ATLANTA - A woman accused of kidnapping two young sisters in Atlanta waived her initial court appearance Tuesday as prosecutors in Alabama moved to revoke her bond in a separate kidnapping case.
ORIGINAL STORY: 2 missing Atlanta sisters found, babysitter arrested for kidnapping
What we know:
Lakesha Brown is being held in the Fulton County Jail on two counts of kidnapping and two counts of first-degree cruelty to children.
Police say Brown took a 4-year-old girl and her 11-month-old sister while babysitting them over the weekend. Investigators eventually found the children safe Monday in a trailer at a southwest Atlanta apartment complex. Brown was also taken into custody.
WATCH | Atlanta police officers rescue 2 young girls from trailer
The girls' mother, Alicia Redding, told FOX 5 Atlanta she met Brown through a moms group about a year ago and had grown to trust her. She said it was the first time she had allowed Brown to take the children while babysitting.
"The first time I let her take them with her, she just used to be around, and I was around when she was around," Redding said.
Alabama kidnapping case
Dig deeper:
Jail records show Brown has active warrants from Paulding County and Jefferson County, Alabama.
The Alabama warrant stems from a separate case involving the alleged 2021 kidnapping of a 4-day-old baby in Jefferson County.
Court records show Brown was scheduled to go to trial in that case in May but failed to appear.
Alabama prosecutors filed a motion Monday seeking to revoke Brown's bond. They argue Brown violated her bond conditions both by missing court and by being charged with new crimes in Atlanta.
FOX 5 has contacted the Bessemer Cutoff District Attorney's Office for additional information about the Alabama case.
Arrest warrant details
Dig deeper:
Newly released arrest warrants provide additional details about the investigation and the conditions in which police say the girls were found.
According to the warrants, the FBI used cellphone-ping technology to track Brown's phone to the area around 2001 Sylvan Road SW. Atlanta police, the FBI and GBI searched the area before an Atlanta police fugitive detective heard a baby crying from inside a tow trailer. Officers immediately forced their way inside and rescued the children.
Investigators said the trailer had no air conditioning and only an overhead ventilation system. The outside temperature reached approximately 97 degrees that day. Police described the trailer as unclean and unsuitable for people to live in.
The warrants also reveal that Brown was interviewed at Atlanta Police Headquarters after waiving her Miranda rights. Investigators say Brown admitted the children had been in her custody and acknowledged she should have returned them when their mother asked. According to the affidavit, Brown could not provide investigators with a logical reason for why she did not return the girls.
Police also said Brown met the girls' mother through a Facebook group for pregnant women and presented herself as someone who helped mothers with babysitting and other services. Investigators said Brown spent about a year gaining the mother's trust. The affidavit says investigators believe the circumstances are similar to the Alabama kidnapping case Brown was already facing.
What happens next in Georgia
What's next:
Because Brown waived Tuesday's initial hearing, questions remain about where she will be held as the cases move forward.
FOX 5 has contacted the Fulton County Sheriff's Office to determine whether Brown will remain in Fulton County or could eventually be extradited to Alabama or transferred to Paulding County.
Woman accused of kidnapping girls due in court
The babysitter accused of kidnapping two young Atlanta sisters is expected to appear in court Tuesday, one day after police found the children safe at a southwest Atlanta apartment complex. Marc Teichner reporting.
How the children disappeared
The backstory:
Police said Brown began babysitting the sisters around 10 p.m. Saturday. Their mother called 911 about 24 hours later after Brown failed to return the children and her explanations about the delay raised concerns.
The mother said Brown claimed they had been involved in a car crash. However, the mother said she contacted children's hospitals and other hospitals and could not find any record that Brown or the girls had been treated.
The search for the sisters prompted authorities to issue an Amber Alert before investigators eventually tracked them to the Sylvan Drive property.