A man in Arizona allegedly abducted his ten-month-old son by jumping into the mother’s minibus on Wednesday and speeding away, killing the mother when she desperately wanted to cling to the vehicle.
Eric Maes was arrested in Phoenix and charged Tuesday with the murder of 30-year-old Brittany Martie, Peoria police said in a statement.
Martie was loading her baby into her minibus outside her home in Peoria when Maes jumped into the driver’s seat and started driving away with the child inside, police said.
Witnesses say the young mother grabbed the moving car and was thrown away as he drove away.
When officers arrived at the scene, they found that Martie had life-threatening injuries. She was rushed to a local hospital, where she died.
Police immediately issued an Amber Alert for the missing baby, who was found safe in North Phoenix around 1 a.m. after police responded to a report of an abandoned child.
Martie had sole custody of their son.
Maes, 30, was taken to Peoria police headquarters where he was questioned.