Authorities in Budapest continued to investigate 31-year-old Renáta, who allegedly abducted a newborn from a District VIII apartment on 8 November. A psychiatrist was expected to determine whether she acted while accountable, according to Origo.
The suspect was free on bail. “I can’t have children, so I stole the newborn, but I already regret it,” she said, according to Telex. “This is not an excuse,” said police officials, according to Origo.
Prosecutors opened a case for violating a minor’s personal freedom, an offense punishable by up to five years in prison. Detectives seized a blue blanket and a synthetic blonde wig from Renáta’s home.
Security footage released at a police news conference showed a woman in a leopard-patterned tracksuit and blonde wig climbing a staircase while carrying an infant wrapped in the blanket. Investigators said Renáta tried to present the baby as her own and falsely claimed to work for a charity foundation.
Police reconstructed the timeline: several days before the abduction, Renáta met the baby’s mother and offered baby supplies and pharmacy vouchers. On 8 November she visited the family, suggested the mother pick up the promised items at a nearby address, and offered to watch the children. When the mother returned about twenty minutes later, the newborn was gone and she called police.
About ninety minutes after the alert, officers searched the suspect’s apartment, but the child had already been left unharmed in an incubator at the SOTE clinic. Later that day Renáta told relatives she no longer wished to keep the infant and headed for the hospital, leaving the baby to be reunited with her mother.
Two days later the suspect arranged another meeting with the family, enabling detectives to arrest her; she was still wearing the animal-print outfit captured on video.
Investigators continued to interview witnesses, examine additional recordings, and awaited the psychiatric report that could influence Renáta’s criminal liability. Authorities noted a rise in crimes involving infants and said each case would face prolonged scrutiny, Origo reported.
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