Family may have tried to sell Yair Antonio Carrillo

Family may have tried to sell baby, documents say

The family of a Tennessee woman whose newborn was kidnapped is under investigation for possibly trying to sell the baby, according to documents obtained by The Tennessean newspaper.
Yair Antonio Carrillo and his three siblings remain in foster care. The Department of Children's Services removed them from the home of their mother, Maria Gurrola.

A hearing is scheduled today in Davidson County Juvenile Court, where the family will try to get the children back.

Juvenile court documents obtained by The Tennessean from someone with knowledge of the case show that the department received information about possible family involvement an hour after the arrest of Tammy Renee Silas. Silas was found with the baby Saturday near Ardmore, Ala., about 85 miles from Nashville. She is accused of impersonating an immigration official and stealing the child a week ago from Gurrola, who said she was stabbed in the kidnapping.

The documents don't say who made the accusation against the family, but that person told authorities that both Gurrola and the child's father, Jose Antonio Carrillo, knew about the money exchange.

An emergency petition said there were "statements by law enforcement that the parents and family members could not be ruled out as being involved with the exchange of money for the infant." The allegation could not be verified by USA TODAY.

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Wow that is wild. Now we know why the children were taking away and placed in foster care.

An FBI special agent said that his office received a lot of tips and all are considered potential evidence in this continuing investigation.

An anonymous email came into our newsroom just hours after the missing infant was found.

The tipster didn't respond to our request for further information including his/his relationship to the people involved.

The email claimed Maria Gurrolla knew Tammy Silas and the mother was selling her baby, adding that it was "only a matter of time before that evidence comes out."

We asked Supervisory Special Agent Joel Siskovic at the FBI's Memphis Division if the alleged victim and suspect knew each other prior to the incident in question.

Siskovic can't answer that at this time, but did say that agents are following every lead.

We also asked if Tammy Silas acted alone.

"Right now, we're working on a number of investigative tips and we're not leaving any stone unturned. A number of reports have been made by the community," Siskovic responded.

We also contacted the Tennessee Department of Children's Services to see why Yair Carillo and his three siblings were taken from their home Saturday.

Their statement said that the department wants the children reunited with their family, but "still has concerns about the well-being and safety of these children, based on credible and serious information we are currently receiving. The community definitely helped out during the search for the young child at the point where it had been abducted and these tips have been provided to law enforcement."

A juvenile court is expected to review the case Tuesday.

So what's next for the FBI?

"We'll continue the investigation as you would expect and ensure that anyone that might be involved is brought to justice and/or eliminating those based on the number of tips we've gotten," said Siskovic.

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The facts are very vague. I'm wondering if the charges are true or if a friend of the person that abducted the baby is trying to shift the blame. This is a hard one!

UPDATE: Mother of kidnapped baby to get children back

Maria Gurrola will be getting her children back after the Tennessee Department of Children’s Services dropped their claim.

An attorney with DCS confirmed that the petition for removal of the children has been withdrawn, and a hearing scheduled for this afternoon has been canceled.
Metro police spokesman Don Aaron released a press release saying that Metro police agree that the children should be returned to the parents after extensive interviews by Metro, TBI and the FBI over the last day. All the agencies are in agreement, he said.

“… At this time, (authorities) do not believe the parents, Maria Gurrola and Jose Carrillo, are involved,” Aaron said.

The documents don’t say who made the accusation, but that person told authorities that both Gurrola and the child’s father, Jose Antonio Carrillo, knew about the money exchange.

Entire story (long) here:
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By TRAVIS LOLLER
Associated Press Writer
A mother was reunited Tuesday with her newborn son after losing him twice, first to a kidnapper and then to state custody after someone claimed a family member had tried to sell him.

Infant Yair Anthony Carrillo and three siblings were no longer in foster care and authorities do not believe parents Maria Gurrola and Jose Carrillo were involved in the baby's Sept. 29 abduction, the Department of Children's Services and Nashville police said.

Gurrola told The Tennessean she was better but still has nightmares reliving the ordeal.

"It's a bad horror movie," she said. "But it's getting better. I have my baby. I have my children, and I'm healing physically and emotionally."

Gurrola said she had wanted to return to Mexico after the attack and never return to the home where the kidnapping and stabbing happened. But for the time being, they are still in Antioch.

"We know we have to see this out because the police expect us to," she said.

Attempts by The Associated Press to reach Gurrola and her family were unsuccessful Tuesday. AP also could not locate Jose Carrillo for comment, but he told The Tennessean that it has been a long ordeal and hopes the family will be left alone.

Gurrola lost custody of Yair and his three siblings after the baby was found safe in Alabama. Two officials familiar with the case, speaking on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to discuss it, said the state took the children after someone claimed a family member had tried to sell the baby.

A police statement says "significant unanswered questions remain" in the case, including why Gurrola and her infant were targeted. Thomas Miller, an attorney appointed to represent the children, told AP that police informed child welfare officials Tuesday they had "cleared the parents of any wrongdoing."

Meanwhile, the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation has opened a probe into the release of confidential juvenile court records to news organizations for stories about the children being placed in foster care.

The baby was found Friday, three days after he was abducted during a knife attack on his mother in her home. Gurrola was briefly reunited with the infant Saturday before Children's Services put him and his siblings, ages 3, 9 and 11, in foster care for their safety. Department officials have declined to be more specific, citing privacy concerns for the family.

Tammy Renee Silas, 39, of Ardmore, Ala., was charged with kidnapping after authorities said they found the baby unharmed at her home about 80 miles south of Nashville.

Silas has not been charged in the attack on Gurrola, who was stabbed several times and had a collapsed lung.

The investigation into the juvenile records being leaked to the media was requested by the Nashville district attorney and will look into whether the release impeded a criminal investigation, TBI spokeswoman Kristin Helm said Tuesday.

Officials familiar with the case told AP that the state took custody of the children after an allegation that a family member tried to sell the baby. Other news reports referred to case records and one outlet said it had obtained juvenile court records.

Helm said illegally releasing documents could lead to official misconduct charges against record-keepers.

Gurrola told investigators that after she was stabbed, the attacker made a phone call and said in Spanish "The job is done" and the mother "was dying," according to court documents.

Silas, who remained in custody Tuesday, waived an initial hearing and has not yet appeared in court. She has given a statement to investigators, according to Tennessee Bureau of Investigation spokeswoman Kristin Helm, who declined to detail what she said.

Gurrola told investigators she had never seen the woman who stabbed her. According to the arrest warrant, Gurrola was targeted while she and a cousin, identified only as "JS," were running errands and visiting a state food assistance office.

A car that police said Silas rented was seen on a surveillance video following Gurrola before the attack, and the car rental information led police to her home.

Police have not released a motive, but Silas' live-in boyfriend, Martin Rodriguez, told The Associated Press that she said she could not have children and wanted to adopt a child from a relative in Texas who was going to jail.

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The mother and father are not U.S. citizens and do not have legal status.
Her first reaction was to return to Mexico, where she is from, and never again step foot into the East Ridge Drive home where her nightmare began. For now, they'll stay in Tennessee.

"We know we have to see this out because the police expect us to," Gurrola said.

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Alabama resident Tammy Renee Silas was brought to Tennessee to face federal charges of kidnapping newborn Yahir Anthony Carrillo from his South Nashville home.

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Well, now that LE knows the couple are illegals will they be sent back to mexico after the trial??

New information about the woman accused of kidnapping a newborn and stabbing the baby's mother was available Monday morning.

A local newspaper reported that Tammy Silas went by a number of different aliases and has been associated with nearly 30 addresses in a half-dozen states.

The 39-year-old also has prior forgery convictions in Ohio, and she has been questioned in connection with an unsolved 2004 homicide case in Nashville.

Silas was still sitting in a Nashville jail cell Monday charged with kidnapping 4-day-old Yair Carillo nearly two weeks ago and attacking his mother, Maria Gurrolla.

Police arrested Silas in Ardmore, Ala., where her boyfriend said she'd told him she'd adopted the baby from a cousin in Texas and named him Martin.

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