Three people are behind bars after a North Carolina mother allegedly traded her 2-year-old daughter for a car.
The swap, which occurred last year, was only recently discovered by police after the child turned up at a local hospital with bruises. An investigation was launched, during which Tina Chavis, 47, claimed she and 53-year-old Vicenio Mendoza were the girl’s parents, police say. She later changed her story, saying they had adopted her.
Investigators eventually learned the girl’s real mother is 45-year-old Alice Todd, who’d given the girl to the couple in exchange for a 1992 Plymouth Laser.
All three were indicted Monday on a charge of unlawful sale, surrender or purchase of a minor. Bond has been set at $50,000 for each of them.
