Woman snatched newborn after lying about pregnancy, police say

A woman who allegedly tried to kidnap a baby girl from a Garden Grove hospital had told her husband she was pregnant, officials said.

Despite being separated for months, Grisel Ramirez, 48, told her husband that she was pregnant with a girl, according to police. When the due date passed, she needed to produce a baby, police said Ramirez told them.

“He thought she was really pregnant,” Garden Grove police Lt. Jeff Nightengale said. “Obviously, he didn’t have any idea that she was going to kidnap a child.”

Wearing scrubs and a visitor pass, Ramirez of Garden Grove walked into a room in the maternity ward of Garden Grove Hospital Medical Center early Monday and attempted to kidnap a newborn girl, police said.

She “tells the mother, ‘Hey, why don’t you take a shower before your family gets here?’ ” Nightengale said. While the mother was distracted, Ramirez put the baby in a tote bag and tried to leave the floor, Nightengale added.

An alarm triggered by a tag on the baby’s ankle alerted hospital staff. A doctor stopped Ramirez at the door and returned the baby safely to her mother, police said.

Ramirez has also been linked to reports of a suspicious woman at an Anaheim hospital asking expecting mothers the sex and due date of their baby, police said.

One of the mothers approached by the woman called Anaheim police, who in turn issued a warning to local hospitals, officials said.

By late Tuesday afternoon, police were not aware of any other hospitals where Ramirez might have gone.

“The case is very strong. We have a lot of physical evidence and statements that are going to assist in the prosecution,” Nightengale said.

Ramirez remains in custody and is expected to be arraigned Wednesday at the West Justice Center in Westminster.

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