A 19-year-old woman was detained by police in Bacău, Romania, after she left the city’s maternity ward with a newborn on Sunday.
According to judicial sources, she had an agreement with the mother of the twins since January to buy one of the boys for 5,000 lei. At that time, the woman who gave birth was five months pregnant.
Initial investigation information indicates that the two women met on April 22 at the Bacău train station, where the young woman gave the mother 3,000 lei as an advance payment for the child. The next day, the 33-year-old woman was admitted for childbirth.
On April 27, the young woman went to Bacău Maternity, leaving the Dumbrava hotel where she had been staying since April 24.
According to the agreed plan, she entered the Neonatology department dressed in a gown and pajamas, as instructed by the children's mother, to avoid attracting attention. She entered the room where the baby was, put him in a paper bag, and left the hospital following the same route. Then, she returned to the hotel, packed her bags, and took a taxi to her home in the Șerbănești neighborhood.
Later, she told her relatives that she had just given birth to a baby boy. Her actions were captured by the hospital's surveillance cameras, both inside and outside the Neonatology department.
The police seized the clothes worn by the young woman on the day of the incident — the gown, pajamas, and slippers — for evidence.
During the hearings, the young woman admitted to taking the child. The Bacău Police Department issued a 24-hour detention order on charges of illegal deprivation of liberty.
The investigation is ongoing. Authorities are trying to determine whether the child's mother did indeed agree to hand over the baby and if money or other benefits were involved in this alleged transaction.