In today's body camera video, we're covering the case of Marlly Jarina Ardila-Urrego and Chun Ho Vincent Lai.
We're a news agency committed to delivering factual information about police procedures and local news events. This video aims to educate the public without bias. Our goal is to empower viewers with a clear understanding of what's happening in their communities.
This is news piece in the public's interest. This video was created with the intent of educating the public.
We're a news agency committed to delivering factual information about police procedures and local news events. This video aims to educate the public without bias. Our goal is to empower viewers with a clear understanding of what's happening in their communities.
This is news piece in the public's interest. This video was created with the intent of educating the public.
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NewsTranscript
00:00This lady came up to us, tied up her hands,
00:03holding her child.
00:05I think someone took her other child.
00:07She only knocked with a package
00:08and she's waiting for someone from Amazon for her baby girl.
00:11Apparently, they walked to that bedroom
00:13and they told me that there was a baby in there.
00:15They were on like a mission.
00:17They like tied her up, went to the room,
00:18took the baby and left.
00:20They put her baby in the Amazon box.
00:23Authorities rushed to a chaotic scene
00:25after receiving alarming reports
00:27that a mother's seven-month-old baby
00:28was taken by two individuals
00:30posing as Amazon delivery drivers.
00:33As the investigation unfolds,
00:35shocking discoveries bring them one step closer
00:38to uncovering the suspects
00:39whose true identities they never saw coming.
00:42A few months ago, they called her
00:44and she had mentioned that she can make money
00:46by selling a kid.
00:47The following report is based on official police records
00:50and the footage has never been seen before until now.
00:53Please note that all persons charged with a crime
00:56are presumed innocent
00:57unless and until proven guilty in a court of law.
01:00In Federal Way, Washington on February 20th, 2024,
01:04officers began to receive multiple 911 calls
01:06from the Mariposa apartment complex
01:08just 20 miles south of Seattle.
01:10Hi, I had someone come to my door
01:13with a rag on her face,
01:14like a rag on her mouth and like a zip tie.
01:17Okay.
01:18And she just, I don't know,
01:20she was telling me that her daughter got lost
01:21or someone took her daughter
01:23and I didn't let her in the house
01:25because I got scared I was gonna get kidnapped
01:27or something.
01:28Okay.
01:29So how long ago was this?
01:30It's literally just been five minutes ago.
01:32I thought she was like playing around or something.
01:34Did she look injured at all?
01:36I don't know.
01:37She doesn't look injured.
01:38She's just crying,
01:39but she's saying that she lost her daughter.
01:41Did you see anybody around her?
01:42No, I didn't.
01:43I just closed the door.
01:44The dispatcher sends an officer to investigate
01:47just as another call comes through.
01:49We have Maribel's apartment
01:50and I am a big news guy.
01:52This lady came up to us,
01:54tied up her hands,
01:56holding her child.
01:58She's crying.
01:58She's very hysterical right now.
02:01And she's Spanish.
02:02She said she had a child also?
02:04Yes.
02:05She was holding her daughter inside her hands now.
02:08Okay.
02:08There's no,
02:09you don't see anybody with any weapons right now?
02:10I think someone took her other child.
02:13Is she able to tell you what happened?
02:15She's speaking Spanish,
02:16so I don't understand it.
02:23By the time the officer arrives at the scene,
02:25the victim's husband,
02:26who was out working as a food delivery driver
02:28during the attack,
02:29has also just arrived.
02:31Since the victim speaks only Spanish,
02:33a concerned neighbor steps in to translate,
02:36allowing the officer to grasp
02:37the urgency of the situation.
02:39She walked down through here
02:41and came upstairs here
02:43and what came up to us,
02:44tied up, holding child.
02:46So that's what he...
02:47So it's a child you're saying?
02:48Yeah, this is her child.
02:49That's the child you're saying?
02:50Yeah.
02:51No, the other one.
02:52The other one.
02:53But this is her child?
02:54Yeah, this is her child, yeah.
02:56And she does have pictures of her baby girl,
02:58but they took her phone.
02:59Did you see them leave in a certain direction?
03:02No, she said that they shut her in one of the closets.
03:06Yeah, because she lives downstairs,
03:08so they only knocked with a package
03:11and she's waiting for some from Amazon
03:12for her baby girl.
03:14So she opened the door,
03:15she didn't think anything of it.
03:17So as soon as she opened the door,
03:19she said the woman started to beat her
03:22and they ran into her kitchen for a knife.
03:24So they tied her up.
03:26They tied her-
03:27Are you sure they're gone?
03:29She said that she checked everywhere
03:30before she got out
03:32and she said she didn't see anything in there.
03:35What is her child?
03:36How old is her child?
03:37She's seven months old.
03:38Seven months?
03:39Seven months, it's a baby girl.
03:40Several officers head downstairs
03:42to the victim's apartment,
03:44performing a routine sweep.
03:46Police department.
03:49Hold on, just hold that.
03:51I just wanna see if we can find this kid.
03:54After searching every room,
03:55the suspects and the missing baby
03:57are nowhere to be found.
03:58Meanwhile, the neighbor continues to translate
04:01as the victim describes her attackers.
04:03Oh, she said that the girl was wearing like a ski mask.
04:06It looked like a snow one,
04:07like the type that someone would go to like skiing.
04:10Nothing.
04:11I hate you.
04:12I hate you.
04:13I hate you.
04:13I hate you.
04:14I hate you.
04:15I hate you.
04:16I hate you.
04:17I hate you.
04:18I hate you.
04:19The girl was in her house.
04:20Your house?
04:21Yeah, inside her house.
04:26That man was caused,
04:28and to have sunglass block,
04:30and that's what I got.
04:32Were you wiped this?
04:34Or like this?
04:35Like this,
04:35and then the officer grabbed.
04:38She kept standing up.
04:41Found her,
04:42and she kept getting wiped.
04:43And she was wet.
04:44So...
04:46They also taped her baby's mouth.
04:49The baby that they took?
04:50No, the little girl, the hand.
04:53A Spanish-speaking officer arrives at the scene
04:56and takes a more detailed statement from the mother
04:59before filling in the other officers on what he's learned.
05:02Let me catch you up real quick.
05:02So she's at home with her two kids, husband's at work.
05:05Knock, knock on the door.
05:07These two folks show up holding a big Amazon box.
05:08She's never gotten an Amazon package before.
05:10She opened the door for them.
05:11They start punching her.
05:12They push her down.
05:14They tied her up.
05:15She's got injuries consistent with that.
05:17They snagged her baby, put it in the box,
05:20and then they shoved her into one of the other bedrooms
05:22where she's holding the other kid.
05:25She didn't get much.
05:25They didn't say anything, just, like, be quiet.
05:27And then they left.
05:29She hasn't seen the suspect yet.
05:30No idea why they picked her.
05:32She's been out anywhere, and they have followed her.
05:36According to the victim,
05:37she only moved into the apartment eight days ago,
05:40and no one but immediate family knew her address.
05:43Where was the baby when they went into the apartment?
05:46She said they went, like, right,
05:49she even said, like, they went right for the room.
05:50I don't know how they knew that's where the room was.
05:52Have you or your husband had anybody over visiting?
05:55No.
05:59They've only been here eight days.
06:01So odd that they would know where to go.
06:03The attacker's apparent knowledge
06:05of exactly where to go inside the apartment
06:07would later prove to be a crucial clue
06:09in identifying potential suspects.
06:12In the meantime,
06:13as officers canvas the apartment complex,
06:15they locate a neighbor with a security camera
06:17and request access to the footage.
06:20At 8.23 a.m., a white sedan can be seen backing
06:23into the parking space
06:24just above the victim's downstairs apartment.
06:27The suspects remain inside the vehicle for nearly an hour
06:31as multiple people and maintenance workers pass close by.
06:34Finally, at 9.18 a.m., the suspects begin to emerge.
06:39Another neighbor in the complex
06:40would later describe seeing the suspects
06:42from her apartment.
06:43I seen two people standing,
06:46one male with a blue jacket on and a baseball cap.
06:50And I seen a female with a gray puffy jacket
06:54and a beanie on and with a Corona mask on.
06:59And they both looked Mexican to me.
07:02And they were just standing at this apartment
07:05that I know that they shouldn't have been.
07:07And it looked really awkward to me.
07:09And then the lady was looking at me kind of crazy
07:13and she had her phone in her hand
07:15and it looked as if she was recording.
07:17The male suspect is captured on camera
07:20retrieving an Amazon box from the back seat of the car.
07:23After that, both suspects vanished from view
07:25for nearly 20 minutes before reappearing on camera.
07:28I saw those same two people moving really fast to their car,
07:33holding a red bag that looks something like a Uber Eats bag
07:39to keep the food warm.
07:41Almost like a cooler, like a Southside cooler.
07:43Yeah. Okay.
07:44And the male is the one holding it.
07:46And the woman, she was really rushing to the car.
07:50She jumped in the passenger seat.
07:52And then the male, he went around the car.
07:54He was going to go to the back door,
07:56but for some reason he didn't put the bag.
07:59Looked like he was going to put it in there,
08:00but he had a second thought for some reason
08:02and brought it up to the front.
08:04Then after that, they took off really fast.
08:07Although the baby's mother initially recalled
08:09the suspects placing her child inside the Amazon box,
08:12surveillance footage suggests
08:14they then transferred the baby into the bag.
08:17Who the suspects were and why they would take the child
08:20leaves officers grasping for answers.
08:23They don't owe anyone mint money?
08:25They don't owe wealth to anybody?
08:26Not that we're getting, at least at this point.
08:29However, the baby's grandparents raise suspicions,
08:31forcing officers to consider the kidnapper
08:33may be closer to the family than they've yet to realize.
08:37So he mentioned that this piece of this
08:40was very adamant about getting her address
08:42to send a gift.
08:43And it was so weird because she never reaches out to him.
08:46But then just now he said that a few months ago,
08:48they called her and she had mentioned
08:50that she could make money by selling a kid.
08:53And that she was about making that money.
08:57And-
08:58Whose niece is this?
08:59His niece that lives in Miami.
09:01According to the baby's grandfather,
09:03his niece Margie is the victim's cousin.
09:05The gift intended to be a crib for the baby
09:07was from her and her husband, Vincent.
09:10With this new information,
09:11one officer heads over to speak to the baby's father.
09:14Sir, did you get a phone call from a family member today?
09:22Yeah, but now they're not answering.
09:23Could we see that phone number?
09:25Who is this?
09:26Who is this?
09:27That's the one who's been calling them all morning.
09:30What family member is that?
09:31Okay, it's your cousin.
09:34She said that her suspicion is starting to grow
09:37because they were going to order her baby clothes.
09:40Her baby clothes?
09:41Yeah, the same girl, yeah, yeah.
09:45So that's why she didn't think anything of it
09:47when she opened the Amazon package
09:49and it's supposed to get here today.
09:51Did she see?
09:53Where did they put the baby?
09:54Where did they put the baby?
09:57In the Amazon box.
09:58Yes, but they put the baby in the Amazon box.
10:00They put her baby in the Amazon box.
10:03In the same box.
10:05The woman resemble her cousin.
10:09No, she doesn't think so.
10:11No.
10:14So she said that the people from Amazon had,
10:17the girl said that the people from Amazon
10:19said that they couldn't get to the address.
10:22So they needed the layout of like how to get into the,
10:26what the apartments look like, driving,
10:29and like what the inside of her house
10:31and the outside of her house looked like.
10:34And she sent them a video, who?
10:36Her cousin.
10:37She sent her cousin a video.
10:38Yeah.
10:39According to the baby's mother,
10:41her cousin Margie had been calling her all morning,
10:44but now isn't answering the phone.
10:46As the translator continues to explain,
10:48it isn't the only glaring red flag.
10:51And she did mention that she deactivated
10:54all her social media.
10:55Who did?
10:56The cousin.
10:57When?
10:58Last night.
10:59Despite clues suggesting the victim's cousin Margie
11:02may be involved, doubt is cast when the mother
11:04is asked to recall details about her attackers.
11:07I have a question.
11:08So like, did she feel, did they feel familiar?
11:11Did the lady feel familiar to her at all?
11:13Was there any characteristics on that woman
11:15that would match her needs?
11:17No?
11:18No.
11:19No?
11:20They didn't like, like no one that she knew.
11:22And just so you, I know we asked this already
11:23and apologize for that I'm asking again,
11:25but the race of the lady, did she have a Hispanic accent?
11:30Wasn't it a Russian accent?
11:32That's what we originally had.
11:33So I'm curious if that's.
11:35She said they were speaking another language
11:37and it definitely wasn't English.
11:39Or Spanish?
11:40Yeah, or Spanish, yeah.
11:42While confusion lingers over the ethnicity
11:45of the attackers, a sudden phone call
11:47puts everyone on high alert.
11:49She said it was another language.
11:50She said that she wasn't, just now she mentioned
11:53that she's not sure what he looked like
11:54and that everything was just happening.
11:57Okay.
11:57And they were wearing ski masks, right?
11:59Both of them?
12:00No, the guy was wearing sunglasses.
12:03Yeah.
12:04Was wearing a ski mask.
12:05Okay, what race was the male?
12:06Have you figured that out?
12:09She had mentioned that he was Latin.
12:11Can you ask again what race he was?
12:15The cousin is talking right now.
12:17He said that he was a Mexican.
12:19He said that he was Mexican.
12:22He said that he was Mexican.
12:24She's telling her that she's lying to her right now.
12:27She's not making it up.
12:28She said that the Ponce de Sari arrived.
12:30Excuse me?
12:31The cousin was saying that the Ponce de Sari arrived.
12:33Send me the screen so I can see the Ponce de Sari.
12:37I already sent it to you, to the old man.
12:40No.
12:41I sent the package to the safety of my mom.
12:43Send me the Ponce de Sari so I can see it.
12:47I already sent it to you.
12:49No, I didn't send it to my mom.
12:51I had it and I don't know what she did with it.
12:57Bueno.
12:58The phone is missing.
12:59I think the baby's missing.
13:01She's on the phone?
13:02No, she's not telling me.
13:06That's a good thing to know.
13:07Okay, she said she's acting all normal
13:09that she already sent the screenshot of the package
13:11or whatever.
13:14Oh, that's her mom.
13:15Yeah.
13:16Did she hang up already?
13:17Yeah, she hung up with the girl and then the girl,
13:18she was like, oh, send me a screenshot
13:20of the package that already arrived.
13:22And then she was like, I sent it to your phone.
13:23And then she was like, I lost it.
13:24She was like, oh, someone,
13:26her sister misplaced her phone.
13:28They don't want to tell her anything that's going on.
13:31Okay.
13:35But I guess she's talking to her cell phone.
13:37If there's any way that you can get a screenshot.
13:40That's what we're working on right now, yeah.
13:46According to multiple news reports,
13:47police were able to trace the victim's phone,
13:50which the suspects took with them after the attack.
13:53That, in conjunction with license plate readers
13:55led to the car being located driving on the highway
13:58about four hours after the attack was carried out.
14:01The baby was unharmed and reunited with her mother.
14:04The victim's cousin, 24-year-old Margie Jarina Ardila-Urrego
14:08along with her husband, Chunho Vincent Lai, were arrested.
14:12With the help of a translator on speakerphone,
14:14detectives read Margie her Miranda rights
14:17and begin to question her.
14:18Can she explain,
14:19can you explain why they brought you here?
14:22They have to know why I'm here.
14:25You must know why I'm here.
14:28Well, I'm here to ask you
14:29why you think you're here and why we're here.
14:31I'm basically trying to get your side of the story.
14:36I'm not going to answer anything until I have a lawyer.
14:39I won't answer anything until I have a lawyer.
14:42Though Vincent also declined to speak with detectives,
14:45he did have a question for officers
14:46as he was prepared for transport to jail.
14:49Can I ask you one thing?
14:51How is the baby?
14:52The baby's fine.
14:54Where is the baby?
14:56At home.
14:57Going home.
14:57Home?
14:59I'm the biological father.
15:02Okay, we'll talk about that later.
15:04Both Margie and Vincent were charged
15:06with first degree kidnapping, robbery, burglary, assault
15:10and second degree assault of a child.
15:12Their bail was set at $750,000 each.
15:16They each entered a plea of not guilty
15:18and are being held at the Meiling Regional Justice Center.
15:21Their trial is set to take place on March 17th, 2025.