Child Abandoned After Mom Allegedly Kidnaps Wrong Toddler

HOUSTON -- A mother has been accused of abandoning a child after she allegedly kidnapped the wrong child from a southwest Houston apartment, KPRC Local 2 reported.

Houston police said a couple broke down the front door of an apartment on Forum Park Drive at about 3 a.m. Friday.

Travis Onukwugha and Jennifer Lopez were planning to steal Lopez's daughter, who was inside the apartment, investigators said.

Detectives said Onukwugha had a handgun and the pair went straight for the bedroom.

Police said he pistol-whipped both adults who were sleeping inside the bedroom.

When the couple went to grab the child, there was a mix-up, detectives said. There were two toddlers inside who were very close in age. Police said they grabbed the wrong girl first, then grabbed the other one and took off with both.

"Maybe it was too dark to see. I don't have an answer," said Detective Tony Chavez with Houston Police Homicide.

Investigators are still trying to figure out why the couple couldn't immediately tell the two children apart.

An hour after the kidnapping, the younger child was found in another apartment complex several miles away. Police say they must have just dropped her off, realizing she was not the right baby.

"Anything could have happened to that child," said Chavez.

The girl is safe, thanks to a caring woman.

"I didn't know danger, I just knew a kid needed help. I couldn't imagine what happened or why a baby was out in the middle of the night crying," said the woman who lives in a nearby apartment. She asked KPRC Local 2 not to reveal her identity.

She said she was still in shock after finding the 15-month-old girl all alone outside her apartment at 4 a.m.

"The baby kept walking. I said, 'Please come here baby. Please come here baby.'"

The woman said she had one thought.

"Save this baby, bring this baby to safety," she said.

The couple and the other toddler were found late Friday afternoon in a relative's apartment.

Onukwugha has been charged with aggravated assault with a deadly weapon and burglary. Lopez was charged with aggravated kidnapping.

Both the toddlers were checked for any signs of injury before they were reunited with relatives.