Back in 1987 a friend of mine named Mark and his wife (Joan) had their first baby....it was a girl and they couldn't be happier.
Joan and Mark brought their little girl home from Baptist Hospital Jax. to their mobile home out in the country outside of Jacksonville, Florida.
Almost immediately after getting the baby home Mark installed one of those "stork" yard signs that announced the baby's arrival and that it's a girl and the baby's weight.
Anyway a few days go by and Mark has to return to his job as an electrician and his mother in law comes over to help his wife with the new baby.
A few days later there's a knock on the door and there's a young pregnant girl standing there and Mark's mother in law asks "what do you need?" The young girl says I'm lost and need to use your phone please.
Seeing as it was a expectant mother with no one with her they let her in....I believe she did use their phone and then asked if she could use the bathroom.
When the girl comes out of the bathroom she has a pistol in her hand and says "I'm here for the baby!!"
Immediately the baby's grandmother tries to fight with the intruder and Joan (the baby's mother) runs out of the mobile home with the baby. The girl then shoots the grandmother and races outside to catch up with Joan and the baby and shoots Joan in the back and picks the baby up and drives off.
I can't remember if it was Joan or her mother but one of them was able to call the police. They were rushed to the hospital both were conscious enough to give the police some information before they were both rushed into surgery.
Unfortunately Joan didn't make it out of surgery.....she died at 30 after only being a mom for 8 days.
Obviously of there being a kidnapping the FBI got involved and between them and JSO they found a pistol in the ditch not too far from Mark & Joan's home. They ran the serial number and that got them the information they needed to tie the gun to an address of an apartment in Jax. Beach.
At Joan's funeral one of the FBI agents told Mark quietly and away from others they were moving in on the kidnappers and believed they have located his baby girl.
The FBI and JSO staked out the apartment and arrested Wendy Zabel and her boyfriend for kidnapping and murder and found the baby unharmed.
This is where it even gets crazier.....Zable faked her pregnancy and somehow convinced even her boyfriend she was pregnant with his baby. She shows up at the car dealership where he worked with the baby immediately after the kidnapping and tells him meet your new daughter..... He says you have blood on you and she says "I just had a baby idiot."
Anyway after the authorities finish their investigation they do determine he is in fact an idiot and had absolutely nothing to do with the crime and evidently doesn't know what a real pregnant woman looks like undressed. Wendy was suffering from a mental disorder called "Pseudocyesis" it's a delusion of pregnancy. She wanted to be pregnant so bad that she faked it and went to Baptist Hospital actually shopping for a baby.
Back in those days total strangers could come into any hospital and go to the floor where the newborns were basically on show including their names and sex and even the parents names. Once Zabel picked out the baby she wanted she used the phone book to locate Mark & Joan's address.
When she got there she knew she was at the right house because the stork sign that Mark had installed was in the front yard telling her all she needed to know.
Zabel pled guilty and received life in prison with no chance of parol and her boyfriend is still selling cars as far as I know.
Mark sued Baptist Hospital Jacksonville for giving out the information that led to his wife's murder and his baby daughter's kidnapping.
Since this incident hospital have drastically changed their procedures on newborns and people have since been discouraged on putting yard signs out announcing a new baby's arrival.
Joan and Mark brought their little girl home from Baptist Hospital Jax. to their mobile home out in the country outside of Jacksonville, Florida.
Almost immediately after getting the baby home Mark installed one of those "stork" yard signs that announced the baby's arrival and that it's a girl and the baby's weight.
Anyway a few days go by and Mark has to return to his job as an electrician and his mother in law comes over to help his wife with the new baby.
A few days later there's a knock on the door and there's a young pregnant girl standing there and Mark's mother in law asks "what do you need?" The young girl says I'm lost and need to use your phone please.
Seeing as it was a expectant mother with no one with her they let her in....I believe she did use their phone and then asked if she could use the bathroom.
When the girl comes out of the bathroom she has a pistol in her hand and says "I'm here for the baby!!"
Immediately the baby's grandmother tries to fight with the intruder and Joan (the baby's mother) runs out of the mobile home with the baby. The girl then shoots the grandmother and races outside to catch up with Joan and the baby and shoots Joan in the back and picks the baby up and drives off.
I can't remember if it was Joan or her mother but one of them was able to call the police. They were rushed to the hospital both were conscious enough to give the police some information before they were both rushed into surgery.
Unfortunately Joan didn't make it out of surgery.....she died at 30 after only being a mom for 8 days.
Obviously of there being a kidnapping the FBI got involved and between them and JSO they found a pistol in the ditch not too far from Mark & Joan's home. They ran the serial number and that got them the information they needed to tie the gun to an address of an apartment in Jax. Beach.
At Joan's funeral one of the FBI agents told Mark quietly and away from others they were moving in on the kidnappers and believed they have located his baby girl.
The FBI and JSO staked out the apartment and arrested Wendy Zabel and her boyfriend for kidnapping and murder and found the baby unharmed.
This is where it even gets crazier.....Zable faked her pregnancy and somehow convinced even her boyfriend she was pregnant with his baby. She shows up at the car dealership where he worked with the baby immediately after the kidnapping and tells him meet your new daughter..... He says you have blood on you and she says "I just had a baby idiot."
Anyway after the authorities finish their investigation they do determine he is in fact an idiot and had absolutely nothing to do with the crime and evidently doesn't know what a real pregnant woman looks like undressed. Wendy was suffering from a mental disorder called "Pseudocyesis" it's a delusion of pregnancy. She wanted to be pregnant so bad that she faked it and went to Baptist Hospital actually shopping for a baby.
Back in those days total strangers could come into any hospital and go to the floor where the newborns were basically on show including their names and sex and even the parents names. Once Zabel picked out the baby she wanted she used the phone book to locate Mark & Joan's address.
When she got there she knew she was at the right house because the stork sign that Mark had installed was in the front yard telling her all she needed to know.
Zabel pled guilty and received life in prison with no chance of parol and her boyfriend is still selling cars as far as I know.
Mark sued Baptist Hospital Jacksonville for giving out the information that led to his wife's murder and his baby daughter's kidnapping.
Since this incident hospital have drastically changed their procedures on newborns and people have since been discouraged on putting yard signs out announcing a new baby's arrival.
