Former mayoral candidate drugged woman with cupcake to steal newborn, officials say
A Washington woman and her 16-year-old daughter were arrested and accused of drugging a woman with a tainted cupcake in an attempt to kidnap her newborn child and raise it as her own.
Juliette Parker, 38, allegedly used a number of aliases such as Juliette Noel and Juliette Gains, which may have been used to contact unsuspecting parents as a baby photographer. Both Parker and her daughter were arrested Friday on suspicion of attempted kidnapping and assault, per the Pierce County Sheriff’s Office.
According to the sheriff's office, Parker joined newborn parenting groups on Facebook and offered free photos for parents in order to build her portfolio. But police believe she had more nefarious plans in mind.
"She wanted (babies) five weeks and younger so she could raise it herself, take it out of state and pretend it was a newborn of her own,” Pierce County Sheriff's Department spokesman Ed Troyer told CBS News.
One mother, whom police didn't identify, met with Parker three times in her home in Washington. She told police that Parker took selfies with the newborn and wiped fingerprints off anything she touched.
In 2019, Parker entered a mayoral race in Colorado Springs, Colorado, where she lived for two years, according to the Colorado Springs Gazette. She came in second place behind the incumbent John Suthers.
She ran on a platform of ending homelessness and the housing crisis in the city with tiny homes, per the Gazette.
When asked by the website Ballotpedia what qualities she possessed that would make her a leader, she said: “Honest, Good moral code & compass, Caring, Respectful, Smart, Understanding, Common Sense, Passionate, Ethics, Ability to think outside the box.”
Follow Joshua Bote on Twitter: @joshua_bote
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Washington woman, ex-mayoral candidate drugged mom to steal baby
