A 23-year-old woman has been indicted after she allegedly abducted a 3-year-old girl from Arizona.
Maricopa County Attorney Rachel Mitchell announced in a press release on Friday, March 6, that Marina Noriega was indicted by a grand jury on charges of custodial interference and second-degree burglary in connection to the kidnapping of Kehlani Rogers.
Prosecutors said that Noriega was charged with custodial interference due to her alleged attempts to keep Rogers away from her parents. Meanwhile, the burglary count stems from Noriega illegally being in the family’s home prior to the kidnapping, according to AZFamily.
Noriega is currently being held on a $250,000 cash bond.
The Avondale Police Department announced that Rogers was missing from Avondale, Arizona, after she was last seen on February 20 around 11:30 p.m.
“Kehlani is described as 3’5” tall, thin build, brown braided hair, brown eyes, and was last seen wearing pink pajamas. She is believed to be with a woman known only as ‘Merena,’ described as a 30-year-old White female, short stature, thin build, brown hair in a ponytail, hazel eyes last seen wearing a white top and purple or pink pants,” police wrote at the time.
Two days after she went missing, Rogers was found safe on February 22.
Rogers’ parents told police they had welcomed a “random woman” into their home who needed a place to stay, according to court documents obtained by 12 News. They woke up on the morning of February 21 to find that the woman and their child had disappeared.
Police then launched a search for Noriega and Rogers. A major development in the case took place when investigators received a tip that helped them identify Noriega as a suspect, which they shared in a February 22 update.
A woman told police she gave Noriega and the child a ride to Maricopa when Noriega allegedly shared her plan to take a train to California, according to court documents.
Surveillance footage from a local business in Maricopa allegedly confirmed that Noriega was there with the young girl.
Investigators located Noriega and Kehlani at a gas station on the morning of February 22 after they were spotted in Phoenix, Avondale police said in a following update.
Noriega allegedly told police that she was Rogers’ mother and claimed that the girl was born in Sacramento and was abducted from the hospital, according to documents viewed by AZFamily.
She reportedly told investigators she traveled to Arizona looking for family and “coincidentally” found her child. However, she later admitted that Rogers was not her daughter and said that she made a mistake.
“I shouldn’t have took advantage of the situation and done what I did. You’re right, that’s my fault,” Noriega told authorities, according to AZFamily.
Noriega is scheduled to be arraigned on Wednesday, March 11, and her trial is tentatively expected to take place starting on July 8.
It is not currently clear if Noriega has entered a plea or retained legal representation following her arrest. Police have also not shared if she had a motive for the alleged kidnapping.
