Son kidnapped; mom dies
A Phoenix mother is dead after police say she tried to stop the kidnapping of her infant son. The baby was found safe and the father was arrested.
Police on Wednesday arrested a man accused of kidnapping his son in an incident that led to the death of the baby’s mother on Tuesday evening in Peoria.
The man, identified as 30-year-old Eric Maes of Sun City, was arrested on Wednesday afternoon in north Phoenix, according to Peoria and Phoenix police.
He is facing a manslaughter charge in the death of the baby’s mother, Brittany Martie.
Officers had responded to what was reported as a domestic violence incident about 6:30 p.m. Tuesday at a residence in the area of 91st Avenue and Deer Valley Road in Peoria.
Police say the mother, identified as 30-year-old Brittany Martie of Phoenix, was loading her 10month-old baby into a Chrysler minivan when a man, later identified as Maes, jumped into the driver’s seat. Maes took the vehicle with the baby inside and fled, police said.
Maes does not have custody of the baby, while Martie did, police said.
Witnesses told police they saw Martie grab onto the minivan and hold on while Maes was driving, but that she was thrown off of it as Maes drove away.
She was taken to a hospital where she died from her injuries, Peoria police said.
Peoria police notified the public of the kidnapping about 8:45 p.m., and an Amber Alert was sent out for the baby after midnight. The Arizona Department of Public Safety told The Arizona Republic it was researching the nearly six-hour delay between the kidnapping and the Amber Alert.
The baby was found safe at about 1 a.m. Wednesday when Peoria police went to a north Phoenix location for a report of an abandoned child, according to police.
The baby was clothed and in good health when he was left on the doorstep of a home near 23rd Avenue and 21st Drive, said Peoria police spokesperson Sgt. Amanda Gaines, who added that the home was not known to Maes or Martie.
The unoccupied minivan was found less than a mile away near Cactus Road and Interstate 17.
Amber Alert tweeted about 2:20 a.m. that the alert was canceled.
Eric Maes found near canal in north Phoenix
About 2:45 p.m. Wednesday, Phoenix police received a 911 call reporting a possible sighting of Maes near 23rd Avenue and Cactus Road, according to a department statement. Officers arrived and saw the man matching the description. When they attempted to make contact with him, the man ran away.
The two police agencies as well as city of Phoenix park rangers worked together to search the area. While searching the canal near 23rd Avenue and Thunderbird Road, officers found Maes and took him into custody, Phoenix police said.
Maes was being transported to the Peoria Police Department, where he will be interviewed, processed and booked into jail on one count of manslaughter, though charges may be added or amended, Peoria police said about 5:30 p.m. Wednesday.
“The family has requested privacy as they try to process this tragic event,” Gaines said in an email on Wednesday. “They have asked me to relay to all media partners that they are not interested in speaking with the media at this time.”