Projo 7 to 7 News Blog

SWANSEA, Mass. -- The aunt of a toddler who was kidnapped when the child's mother stopped for a soft drink at a Swansea gas station last week had planned to take the child well in advance, according to the Swansea police.

At a 10 minute press conference Tuesday afternoon, Swansea Police said they believe the child's aunt had planned the kidnapping with the intention of contacting an old boyfriend and claiming the child was his.

"This was planned," Swansea Police Chief George Arruda said, "[Thompson] was manipulating, calculating and strategic."

According to the Associated Press, the Pennsylvania State Police say that the kidnapping suspect is from central Pennsylvania and is named is Alyssa Dawn Johnson, and that she used the name "Kimberly Johnson" as an alias.

Johnson, 38, has been arrested in the kidnapping of 13-month-old Jaylin Boudria, of Fall River, who was taken from a gas station parking lot Thursday and found unharmed a few hours later in a Middletown, Conn., industrial park.

Johnson was arrested in Altoona, Pa., Swansea police and Massachusetts state police said earlier Tuesday.

Johnson offered no resistance when taken into custody. She was arrested as she returned to a women's shelter, where she had used an alias and stolen identification. At the time of her arrest, she was driving the stolen vehicle that was used in the abduction, the police said. Pennsylvania troopers made the arrest on a Pennsylvania warrant for larceny of a motor vehicle as well as a Massachusetts kidnapping warrant.

Information developed by Swansea and state police investigators led to the determination earlier this week that Johnson might be staying at the shelter.

Swansea police said this afternoon that Johnson had been using the women's shelter system to her own advantage, and had been staying at a women's shelter in Bristol, R.I., until just before the kidnapping.

Swansea Detectives Marc Haslam and Joseph Martin have been dispatched to Pennsylvania to continue the investigation.

The kidnapping triggered activation of an AMBER Alert.

The Providence Journal has been following this story today as it develops. Our initial report was posted at 12:31 p.m.

-- with reports from C. Eugene Emery Jr. and Thomas J. Morgan, Journal staff writers, and the Associated Press

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 Tags  Jaylin Boudria Kimberly Johnson Swansea Mass

Comments

Bill said:

Well done to all the Law Enforcement people involved in this case. To often we hear griping and complaining about pay and benefits but when needed LE always gets it done!

Link | February 23, 2010 4:28 PM
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