Baby sitter accused of kidnapping appears in court
A 17-year-old baby sitter accused of kidnapping a 9-month-old Raeford girl over a week ago made her first court appearance in North Carolina Monday.
Posted — UpdatedRenesha Shante Griner was given a public defender, James Hedgpeth, to represent her. She has another hearing scheduled for June 17.
She arrived in Hoke County late Sunday after being extradited from Alabama. She faces first-degree kidnapping charges in the disappearance of Saniya Jaynelle Purcelle on May 23.
Griner and the baby were both found unharmed in Opp, Ala., Thursday, and Saniya was returned to her family Friday.
"They were asking about when the baby was born, where she was born and all this information and said the girl kept giving them the runaround," Saniya's great-grandmother Donna Clark said.
Once investigators tracked down the babysitter and infant, the ex-boyfriend's family sent Saniya home along with things they bought for her – a quilt, clothes, a stuffed lion.
Investigators said Griner does not have a past criminal history.
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