Jamaica Gleaner

Accused baby snatcher claims she adopted Nyyear

- Danae Hyman/Gleaner Writer danae.hyman@gleanerjm.com

ANNIESHA RAMSAY, the woman charged with stealing baby Nyyear Frank, has denied being involved in snatching the child, claiming she adopted the then five-week-old on a payment plan with a total due of $500,000.

Nyyear was snatched while he and his mother were walking along Rousseau Road in St Andrew on the afternoon of Sunday, October 13 last year.

Requesting bail for his client in the Kingston and St Andrew court yesterday, attorney Davion Vassell said Ramsay, who was five months pregnant, lost her child in August and was going through a state of depression.

“She started to post a lot of sad things on her WhatsApp stories, and on one day, when she posted a picture of a mother releasing balloons to the heavens to represent her baby, a friend of hers messaged to ask what was wrong,” Vassell said.

LOST HER BABY

According to the attorney, Ramsay then told her friend about her pregnancy ending prematurel­y and that she was depressed. The friend then told her that he knew someone who wanted to give up their baby for adoption.

Two months later, her friend allegedly remade contact, telling her he had a baby for her and days later delivered the child who turned out to be Nyyear.

Ramsay’s attorney said it was after receiving the baby that her friend started demanding money for the child and that she had no previous knowledge that money was involved in the ‘adoption’.

However, rebutting Vassell’s suggestion­s, the clerk of court read a statement made by Ramsay to the police where she said her friend mentioned the cost of the baby before delivering the child.

“In relation to my friend’s submission in relation to money being involved, some conversati­ons were had with the accused and a person by the name of [name withheld] that he knows of people who want to give up their baby and the baby was given to her with the intention of a payment plan to be arranged and the sum that was agreed on was $500,000,” the clerk said.

Further, she said the Crown would not oppose bail under stringent conditions.

Parish Judge Feona FeareGrego­ry, however, denied the bail applicatio­n.

“There are some documents that are outstandin­g on which the court need to make further decisions,” Feare-Gregory told Ramsay.

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