Woman Tries To Buy Another Woman's Child At Walmart, Gets Arrested: Police

A 49-year-old woman in Texas was arrested earlier this week for allegedly attempting to purchase a stranger's child at Walmart while they were in the self-checkout line.

Rebecca Lanette Taylor, of Crockett, Texas, was taken into custody Tuesday and charged with the offense of the sale or purchase of a child, a third-degree felony, over the Jan. 13 incident, The Messenger reported, citing police records.

Lt. Ahleea Price with the Crockett Police Department received a phone call on Jan. 13 from the mother of the child “advising a white woman with blonde hair approached her in the Crockett Walmart, wanting to purchase her son,” according to an affidavit of probable cause.

The mother explained to the police officer that she was waiting to scan her items in the self-checkout, with her baby in a car seat and her 1-year-old son sitting in the cart.

Taylor then allegedly started commenting on her son's blonde hair and blue eyes and asked the child's mother how much she could purchase him for, the affidavit said.

The child's mother told police she initially thought Taylor was joking until the latter allegedly offered to give her $250,000 for her son. The mom told Taylor that no amount of money would do, according to the affidavit.

Taylor persisted, and the mother eventually told her to stay away from her son. Taylor said she had been looking forward to buying a baby for some time, according to authorities.

The mother told police that Taylor was with another woman who appeared to be Hispanic. The second woman asked what the child’s name was, but the mother did not share this information with them, police said.

However, the child's mother said Taylor and the other woman knew the child’s name and called it out, according to the affidavit.

The mother waited until the two women left the Walmart before going out and heading to her car with her kids.

But in the parking lot, Taylor allegedly started screaming at the mom and upped her offer to $500,000 because she was determined to get the child, the affidavit said.

The mother locked her kids in her car. Taylor stood behind a black SUV that was next to the mom's vehicle. Taylor kept saying she wanted the child and would pay $500,000 for him. She eventually got into the black SUV and left.

Police reviewed surveillance footage from Walmart and indicated in the affidavit that it matched with what the mother had told the officer.

The police officer went to Taylor’s home to ask her about the incident.

“She told me that she doesn’t like thieves, then she stated I could speak with her attorney and to get off her ‘precipice.’ She slammed the door shut,” Price said in the affidavit.

Taylor was arrested and charged five days later. She was released after posting $50,000 bond at the Houston County Sheriff’s office Thursday.

Taylor faces up to 10 years in prison if convicted.