Newborn vanished after secret birth, parents allegedly claimed baby 'was a prank': cops
A Florida couple accused of claiming their missing infant never existed has been arrested in North Carolina after a yearlong investigation into the child’s presumed death.
Leon Alejandro Jr., 21, and Samantha Feliz, 20, both of Hollywood, Florida, were arrested Wednesday in Rockingham, North Carolina, where investigators say they fled while Hollywood police investigated the disappearance of their infant.
The pair were taken into custody by investigators with the Richmond County Sheriff's Office and the U.S. Marshals Service and booked into the Richmond County Jail on fugitive of justice warrants. They are being held without bond pending extradition to Florida.
Hollywood police began investigating the case in early 2025 after learning Feliz allegedly gave birth sometime between Dec. 6, 2024, and Jan. 5, 2025, according to the Richmond County Sheriff's Office.
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Authorities said the birth was concealed and happened somewhere other than a hospital.
Investigators said family members saw the couple with the baby during the child's first month of life. After that, authorities said, the infant was never seen again.
According to an arrest warrant obtained by WPLG, investigators believe the child, identified only by the initials A.F., was last photographed on Jan. 5, 2025. Detectives wrote that the infant appeared "visibly ill and malnourished" and showed "no signs of life" in what they described as the final known image.
The warrant also alleges investigators searched multiple locations with cadaver dogs but were unable to locate the child's remains, according to the outlet.
Authorities allege Alejandro and Feliz repeatedly denied the child existed, telling relatives the baby "was a prank" and later claiming the pregnancy had been a "hoax" intended to scam family members out of money, WPLG reported, citing the arrest warrant.
According to the outlet, investigators said photographs showed Feliz visibly pregnant, while text messages discussed the pregnancy and the baby.
Detectives also reportedly recovered baby clothing, a positive pregnancy test and what appeared to be blood-stained towels from a storage unit tied to the couple. DNA testing later determined blood recovered from the baby clothing and towels belonged to a biological child of Alejandro and Feliz, according to the warrant.
Despite the lack of a birth certificate or medical records, investigators said they developed enough evidence to charge both suspects with aggravated manslaughter of a child, tampering with or fabricating physical evidence, failure to report a death to the medical examiner, providing false information concerning a missing child and making false reports to law enforcement.
Authorities allege the couple fled Florida and were living on property belonging to one of Alejandro's relatives in Richmond County when investigators located and arrested them July 22.
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Richmond County Sheriff Mark Gulledge praised the multi-agency effort that led to the arrests.
"This is a prime example of agencies nationwide collaborating to uphold justice," Gulledge said in a statement.
Authorities have not publicly released additional details about what investigators believe happened to the infant.
Fox News Digital has reached out to the Richmond County Sheriff's Office for any additional updates on the investigation, but did not immediately receive a response.