NORTH CAROLINA (WAND) – A North Carolina mother traded her child for a car in 2018 and faces charges, investigators said.
An investigation began in 2019, according to police, when the child went with 47-year-old Tina Marie Chavis to a hospital in July because of a possible allergic reaction. NBC News reports hospital staff found the child had bruises, then contacted child protective services and law enforcement.
Investigators questioned Chavis, who initially said she was the biological mother, then changed her story and said she adopted the child, per police. She did not have any documentation.
Authorities said they later discovered the child’s real mother, 45-year-old Alice Leann Todd, had traded her child to a couple for a 1992 Plymouth Laser when the infant was 1 year old.
Todd is charged with the unlawful sale, surrender or purchase of a minor.
Cavis, Todd and 53-year-old Vicenio Mendoza Romero all face the same charges. They’re held on $50,000 bond each in the Davidson County Jail.
More charges could come later in the case. The child is with a family member and the suspects are expected in court on Oct. 21.
