Brian will you please do a rv on this case? I have more info on the suspect but don't know if you want to know it, if you want it let me know. This baby was being breast feed and the doc says that it will take time for the baby to adjust to the change. Can you please help?? I will be by my computer waiting for word from you either way.

Thanks very much!

Kay in Missouri

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Hi, yes, doing this now.

Brian

CASE # 130: Abigale Lynn Woods (9.16.2006)(LOCATED)

This RV has been confirmed correct by police and media reports.

The woman that took Abigale looks very dirty and could possible be using drugs, some sort of street meth. She has medium length 'stringy' black hair and would guess that she is moderately overweight.  Also might have diabetes and in need of Rx medicine for this condition.

I believe that she will be found soon and the baby will be ok, however not sure how healthy.  Here are some other notes on this woman.She is mixed up in some sort of child support and welfare fraud case pending in court, might also have a record of drug abuse, the number '27' is very important, and so is a letter that she had written.

Abigale may current be in a blue trailer not very far from where she was taken, look for a red truck and an American Flag.

I think the woman that took Abigale was suppose to be pregnant herself, yet she was not, and I also believe that a boyfriend of hers thinks she is going to have a baby.

One last thing...it is possible that I'm reading the mind of this child's mother, and not actual events that did occur.  And what I'm seeing is a plot by the mother to cover-up a murder....it's happened before, I suggest police on this case do not assume anyone is innocent right now.

9.18.2006

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A shaken Shannon Torrez, 36, of Lonedell, appeared in Franklin County Associate Circuit Court on charges of kidnapping, first-degree assault and two counts of armed criminal action.

'INDESCRIBABLE' REUNION:  Kidnapped baby rejoins parents

Torrez's attorney, Daniel Briegel, asked that her bond be lowered to $100,000, saying the $1 million amount was excessive. Judge David Hoven ruled in favor of prosecutors, who said Torrez remains a danger to the community.

Police say Torrez abducted 7-day-old Abigale Lynn Woods on Sept. 15 after slashing the throat of the infant's mother, 21-year-old Stephenie Ochsenbine. Torrez tried to pass the newborn off as hers for five days before her sister-in-law became suspicious, according to police.

The child, known as Abby, was returned to her parents Tuesday, the same day Torrez was arrested.

Torrez barely spoke during the hearing. Briegel entered pleas of not guilty on her behalf. She repeatedly wiped tears from her face with her manacled hands. She shook noticeably as she appeared before the judge.

Torrez shot one brief glance back toward her relatives in the courtroom, including her husband. Her relatives didn't speak to reporters.

Hoven set Torrez's preliminary hearing for Dec. 19.

After her hearing, Torrez rose from her seat, bending awkwardly in her chains, and turned to Briegel.

"I go back?" she asked him.

"Yes, you go back."

Torrez returned to jail without speaking to a throng of journalists that descended on this small town during an exhaustive five-day search for Abby Woods.

After being attacked Sept. 15, Ochsenbine carried her 1-year-old child Connor to a neighbor's home where she called police. Ochsenbine described an assailant who resembles Torrez: heavyset with long, dark hair. Ochsenbine said she had let the stranger into her home before the woman held her at gunpoint, stabbed her and fled with the child.

Police combed the woods and ponds around the home where Ochsenbine lives with her boyfriend and Abby's father, James Woods. Photos of Abby and a sketch of the attacker were released nationwide and posted at convenience stores and restaurants.

Police allege Torrez took the child and tried to pass it off as her own. She told authorities she was pregnant and delivered a stillborn child Friday before attacking Ochsenbine. Franklin County Sheriff Gary Toelke said investigators have doubts about her story, and are searching for the dead infant she would have delivered.

Toelke didn't return a message seeking comment Thursday.

Briegel said Torrez's $1 million bond was only a "symbolic" gesture meant to keep her behind bars. While acknowledging the charges against Torrez were serious, Briegel said the case has gotten more media attention than it deserves.

"There's never been a case (locally) that was so publicized. That's why bond was set so high," Briegel told the judge.

Prosecuting Attorney Robert Parks said if the bond was lowered, parents in Franklin County would no longer feel safe.

Parks might take the case before a local grand jury, according to a spokeswoman in his office. Parks would make the move because it would shorten the legal proceedings, she said.

During Thursday's hearing, Toelke sat in the back of the courtroom watching quietly. He smiled easily to strangers before the hearing, and seemed content after a grueling search that seemed at a low point Tuesday afternoon when police found Abby Woods' clothing abandoned in a wooded area.

Just hours later, police got their break. Toelke said the tip came from Torrez's sister-in-law, Dorothy Torrez, who had noticed that Shannon's new baby had makeup on her forehead. Dorothy Torrez rubbed the makeup off and discovered a birthmark there, similar to the one Abby Woods had in missing child photos.

Ochsenbine's family said Abby was returned in good health.

After the hearing, Briegel said Torrez's family is giving her their full support.

Torrez's husband has been questioned but not arrested, Toelke has said.

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Hi, thanks :)

Brian

9.22.2006

Dude, you rock!!  Trailer, distance, name and everything!!!

Way to go!!  Let's see if she has a drug problem like you said, the child support thing has been mentioned by the DA!!

By the way, can you find my car keys??

Jim

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Thanks Jim, will post this, your keys are in the last place you left them :)

Brian

Not Guilty Plea in Mo. Baby Kidnapping
By CHRISTOPHER LEONARD , 09.21.2006, 01:26 PM

The woman accused of slashing a young mother's throat and kidnapping her baby convulsed in sobs during her arraignment Thursday.

Shannon Torrez, 36, of Lonedell, whispered her plea: not guilty to counts of kidnapping, first-degree assault and two counts of armed criminal action.

Police say Torrez abducted 7-day-old Abigale Lynn Woods on Sept. 15 after slashing the throat of the infant's mother, 21-year-old Stephenie Ochsenbine, then tried to pass the newborn off as hers for five days before her sister-in-law became suspicious. The child, known as Abby, was returned to her parents Tuesday, the same day Torrez was arrested.

Wearing handcuffs and an orange jail-issued jumpsuit in Franklin County Associate Circuit Court, Torrez's legs, arms and back shook as she appeared before Judge David Hoven. She repeatedly wiped away tears with her handcuffed hands and spoke only in hushed tones, whispering "yes" when asked if she understood the charges. At one point, she leaned back to a deputy and said, "Could you get me a tissue?"

Hoven denied a request by Torrez's attorney, Daniel Briegel, to reduce her $1 million bond. She remains in the Franklin County Jail.

Prosecutor Robert Parks said high bond was intended "to protect the community." If the bond were lower, parents in the county might not feel safe, he said.

Torrez could face life in prison if convicted.

More than a half-dozen members of Torrez's family, including her husband, brother and sister, attended the hearing but declined to comment afterward.

As if to calm her, Briegel often put an arm around Torrez, smiling to her and whispering.

Police say Torrez told them that after giving birth to a stillborn child Friday morning, she drove by Stephenie Ochsenbine's home a few miles away on Missouri 47 and saw the "Welcome Home Abby" sign in the yard.

Investigators have been searching for the body of the stillborn child Torrez claims to have delivered but have not turned up anything, Franklin County Sheriff Gary Toelke said. He said investigators continue seeking evidence to support Torrez's tale.

The five-day search for Abby drew international attention to the rural area 45 miles southwest of St. Louis. The baby was returned and Torrez arrested after the suspect's sister-in-law, Dorothy Torrez, contacted authorities.

Shannon Torrez, who lives just a few miles from Ochsenbine's home near Lonedell, told her sister-in-law on Sunday that she had given birth on Friday, FBI agent Roland Corvington said. Visiting Shannon Torrez the next day, Dorothy Torrez persuaded her sister-in-law to take the baby to see a doctor, and on Tuesday the two women went to St. Louis for that doctor's visit.

Dorothy Torrez became suspicious that day when she noticed makeup on the baby's forehead. She rubbed off the makeup and found a strawberry-red birthmark that matched the description provided by investigators who were seeking an abducted baby. After confronting her sister-in-law, Dorothy Torrez contacted police.

Dorothy Torrez has not answered phone calls seeking comment.