HUNTINGTON, W. Va. (AP) — The trial has begun for a West Virginia woman charged with making up a story about an Egyptian man trying to kidnap her child in a shopping mall.
Opening statements were conducted Thursday in the case of Santana Renee Adams, 25, of Milton, who is charged with falsely reporting an emergency incident, news outlets reported.
Adams was initially hailed as a hero after claiming she used a gun to thwart the attempted kidnapping of her 5-year-old daughter at a mall in Barboursville in April 2019. She told authorities that the man tried to drag the girl away by her hair, but her story unraveled when no witnesses were found and surveillance video didn’t support her claims.
The man was released from jail and Adams was charged.