Baby abduction suspect signed up on registry

STANFORD, Ky. -- Tanya Shelton had signed up on a Wal-Mart baby registry with a wish list of items an expectant mother might need. It included pacifiers, a Diaper Genie, baby bottles, receiving blankets and a mobile. A police search of the woman's home found many baby-related items, including an ultrasound picture that read "It's a boy" and a copy of the book "What To Expect When You're Expecting." Now charged with kidnapping a day-old girl from a central Kentucky hospital, Shelton remains jailed with bond set at $200,000. A pregnancy test showed Shelton was not pregnant, according to documents filed with the search warrant.

District Court Judge Bill Oliver decided Monday to send Shelton's case to a grand jury after a 19-minute preliminary hearing, during which Stanford police detective Rick Edwards testified about the timeline surrounding Grayci Barrows' abduction and Shelton's arrest 150 miles away.

Hours after the abduction, a passer-by found Grayci abandoned but unharmed behind a Bowling Green consignment store, about a half-hour drive away from the truck stop where Shelton was arrested.

Shelton, 24, is charged with kidnapping and third-degree burglary in Grayci's April 2 abduction from Fort Logan Hospital in Stanford.

"I'm not a monster," Shelton told the Lexington Herald-Leader in an interview from jail.

Shelton, who has pleaded not guilty to the charges, did not attend Monday's hearing. Her mother, Sherry Emerson, attended but declined to talk to reporters afterward.

During the hearing, Edwards, the Stanford detective, was questioned by Lincoln County Attorney John Hackley. Shelton's defense attorney, Ted Dean, continually questioned Edwards about the timeline.

Dean left the courthouse through a back door and did not answer questions from reporters.

Grayci is now back with her parents, Corey Barrows and Samantha Luttrell of Casey County.

According to a University of Kentucky expert, it's not not unheard of for a woman to feign pregnancy, or even attempt to claim another infant as her own.

Women who fake pregnancies generally do so because of a desire for the social acceptance that can come with having a child, said Laurie Humphries, a professor of psychiatry in the University of Kentucky's College of Medicine.

"They'll say, 'I'm pregnant' and then don't have the coping skills to get out of it," she said. "That's often because the acceptance is so overwhelming. It's a very powerful thing. There is a qualitative difference in the interpersonal relationships when the (pregnancy) statement is made. Since these women are so needy, it's qualitative in a positive way. They do get caught up in this."

Humphries was speaking in general terms and not about the Shelton case spefifically.

In a case in Sparks, Nev., a woman pleaded guilty in January 2002 to kidnapping a 10-hour-old boy from a hospital. That woman, Olga Lopez, said she faked a pregnancy in an attempt to save her marriage, and family members even threw a baby shower for her. She posed as a hospital staff member when she took the baby, who later was found unharmed.

Generally, it's an impulsive woman who would take a baby, Humphries said.

"They can't figure out the other alternatives to meet their emotional need," Humphries said.