MORGAN HILL
– Marion Smith, the grandmother of an 11-month old boy who
disappeared from his Morgan Hill home a week ago, turned herself in
to Morgan Hill police and handed the child over without incident,
said Lt. Joe Sampson.
MORGAN HILL – Marion Smith, the grandmother of an 11-month old boy who disappeared from his Morgan Hill home a week ago, turned herself in to Morgan Hill police and handed the child over without incident, said Lt. Joe Sampson.
The boy was taken to Child Protective Services shelter in San Jose Friday.
“The grandmother was visibly upset at turning the baby over to police,” Sampson said.
Police notified the baby’s mother, Laura Cadei, that her son, Noah Serrano, had been returned and was safe.
She was invited to visit Noah there while his future was being discussed.
Attorneys and CPS will work with the family to determine the best outcome for the child, Sampson said.
Smith told police that she intended to continue her efforts to gain custody of the baby.
No charges were filed and she was released on her own recognizance.
Once the police report is complete and forwarded to the District Attorney’s office, the DA will determine whether to file charges, Sampson said.
Any charges would depend, Sampson said, on the original reasons Smith took the child, the circumstances behind her actions and whether a reasonable person would have acted in the same way, with the best interest of the child in mind.
The incident began the night of March 29. When Cadei returned to her mother’s house in Morgan Hill, expecting to pick up her son, whom she left with Smith on Saturday, he and his grandmother were no where to be found.
When Cadei discovered the locks changed and Smith was not answering her cell phone, she went to the police station to report that her mother had kidnapped her son.
Smith had previously argued with Cadei about a relationship Cadei had and about the future of the relationship with Noah’s father.
Sampson said that, while he did not think the child was in any danger the past several days, Smith was definitely going about getting custody in the wrong way.
