Baby kidnapper is sentenced

A woman who posed as a nurse and took a newborn from a hospital in March will spend another four months in jail and three years on probation.

Third District Judge Judith Atherton cited "tremendous mitigating circumstances," including the fact she has been the victim of domestic violence for 20 years, in deciding Elizabeth Marie Alarid's sentence.

Atherton sent Alarid to jail for one year (minus 236 days for time already served) and imposed 36 months probation and treatment for substance abuse and mental health problems.

Alarid, 40, also must not associate with anyone younger than age 18 other than family members and agree to random drug and alcohol testing.

Wearing surgical scrubs, she posed as a nurse at LDS Hospital and persuaded the mother of a 3-day-old baby to give her the infant. She left the building, only to have large numbers of police converge on her at a nearby grocery store a short time later.

Alarid was trailed to the store by two hospital employees, who were suspicious of Alarid walking around the hospital with a baby in her arms, which is not the way babies are moved at LDS Hospital. Additionally, a hospital security guard was going through the neighborhood asking people if they had seen a woman and a baby.

The baby was not harmed and was returned to his parents the same day.

Micklos said outside the courtroom that Alarid had been abused in three separate relationships over 20 years and, at the time of the crime, had told her domestic partner that she was pregnant so he would stop beating her. Micklos said she was not privy to Alarid's thinking processes but said it seemed that situation was the motive for kidnapping the baby.

"He was nice to her, for a change, when she was 'pregnant,' " Micklos said. "She was trying to keep herself from further victimization by him."

Micklos said it was clear Alarid immediately regretted taking the child because she called her sister from the grocery store and admitted what she had done.

There has been limited contact with the parents of the infant because they have no telephone, but they have accepted a plea bargain with this type of penalty, Micklos said.

Alarid wept in court as she spoke to the judge in a nearly incoherent voice and indicated she wanted a second chance. "I know I will never commit another crime like this again," she said, wiping her eyes.

Defense attorney Heidi Buchi said Alarid had been cooperative in jail, graduated from five classes there and had begun work on her GED. A psychological report recommended counseling for Alarid.

The kidnapped baby, who will be a year old in April, is with his parents and is healthy.

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E-mail: lindat@desnews.com