SPANAWAY, WA — Washington State officials say they believe a woman and her teenage daughter drugged a mother and planned to steal her infant.
According to investigators, Julie Parker, who goes by many aliases, used social media to connect with new moms so she could kidnap an infant.
Heavily armed deputies arrested Parker and her daughter at a home outside Graham.
"Looked in my bedroom and the sniper rifle and guy down there in tactical gear aiming toward this house next door,” said Harold Swales, a neighbor.
Investigators say Parker was posing as a baby photographer who worked for free to build up her portfolio when a single mom invited her over.
"Basically she was drugged. They put drugs in a cupcake. she ate it and they attempted to take her kid," said Detective Ed Troyer from the Pierce County Sheriff's Office.
The mom got Parker and her daughter out of the house and ended up going to the hospital.
She told detectives she remembered Parker wiping her fingerprints off things she’d touched, and had stolen her house keys.
"She wanted a girl and she wanted them five weeks and younger. So she could raise it herself, take it out of state and pretend it was a newborn of her own,” said Detective Troyer.
Parker is being held for attempted kidnapping and assault.
Investigators say more charges could be filed.
