You may recall an incident from this past March, whereby a woman pretended to ‘befriend’ a mother and then seized the opportunity to run away with her child. Well, this week, police have released footage of the incident – and it makes for truly chilling viewing.
Malika Hunter was shopping in King of Prussia Mall, in Pennsylvania, on 31st March, when the incident occurred. She was accompanied on the day by her sons Ahmad, 2, and Ahsir, seven weeks.
The video shows accused kidnapper Cherie Amoore befriending Malika in the mall before accompanying her to the food court for lunch. While there, Amoore helps Malika with her baby as she tends to her older son.
After luring Malika into a false sense of trust and security, Amoore is then seen slipping her handbag over her shoulder and placing the group’s rubbish in the bin – only, she never returns to the table.
CCTV cameras caught Amoore rushing through the shopping mall and out of the front doors, all the while with the baby in her arms.
Thankfully, Amoore’s family contacted the police hours later, and the tot – who was unharmed – was reunited with his mother.
In her police interviews, Amoore said that she had lost her own newborn a month previous to the kidnapping, and holding Malika’s baby made her feel ‘like she was holding her son again’.
Amoore is now facing multiple charges: kidnapping of a minor, unlawful restraint, false imprisonment, interference with the custody of a child, and concealment of the whereabouts of a child.
