WICHITA, Kan. (AP) – A Texas woman suspected of kidnapping a newborn had faked a pregnancy for months and was a longtime acquaintance of the girl’s mother, who was found shot to death at her Kansas home, authorities said Monday.
Yesenia Sesmas, 34, of Dallas, was being held in a Dallas jail on a Kansas warrant, with first-degree murder and kidnapping charges pending. Authorities who are pursuing the charges are seeking to have her extradited back to Kansas.
The baby was reunited with family members in Kansas on Saturday.
The baby’s mother, 27-year-old Laura Abarca-Nogueda, was found dead at her home Thursday, setting off a search for the missing baby. The infant, whose name is Sophia according to police and family members, was six days old when she was reported missing.
Sesmas had known the baby’s mother for years and had spent some time in Wichita before returning to Texas to live several months ago, Wichita police Lt. Todd Ojile said. She traveled to Wichita to kidnap the baby, he added.