US woman tries to steal newborn in tote bag, Malaysian girl killed in suspected exorcism ritual

US woman tries to steal newborn in tote bag

GARDEN GROVE, California – A woman disguised in scrubs was caught trying to steal a newborn girl from a Southern California hospital in a duffel bag after sensors attached to the baby alerted employees, Garden Grove police said.

The 48-year-old woman was arrested Monday at Garden Grove Medical Center after a hospital staffer stopped her from leaving with the baby, Lt. Jeff Nightengale said during a news conference.

“At this point we don’t have a solid reason why she stole the baby,” Nightengale said.

The suspect is accused of posing as a nurse who came into the room of the baby’s mother and told her to take a shower before a doctor came to examine her, Nightengale said.

Once the baby’s mother was out of the room, the woman allegedly put the newborn in a duffel bag and tried to carry her out of the ward.

“An alarm went off when the baby crossed an imaginary line” in the hospital that set off a sensor, Nightengale said. He added that the baby was only in the duffel bag for a short period of time.

Nightengale credits an alert employee and hospital policies for stopping the suspect and saving the baby.

“The hospital staff reacted as they should,” said Nightengale.

Monday’s attempt may not have been the woman’s first, and authorities are working with other law enforcement agencies to figure that out, Nightengale said.

The child wasn’t harmed, and is back in the care of her mother.

Nightengale said the woman has no history of mental illness.

Malaysian girl killed in suspected exorcism ritual

KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia – A 3-year-old girl was killed in a suspected exorcism ritual by her parents and other relatives, Malaysian police said.

District police chief Azman Abdul Lah said police raided a house in northern Penang state late Sunday after receiving a distress call from a relative and found a group of eight people lying on top of the girl in a bedroom.

He said the girl was lying face down under the human pile, which comprised her parents, grandmother, uncle, aunt, two cousins and their Indonesian maid. He says the room was dark and that chanting could be heard from under a blanket covering the group.

Azman said Tuesday that the girl, who was ethnic Chinese, died of suffocation. He said all eight have been detained for investigation into the case.

Source: Philippine Daily Inquirer