Stranger at Walmart offered $500,000 for mother’s baby, police say

CROCKETT, Texas (Gray News) - A Texas woman is facing charges after police say she asked a mother in a Walmart checkout line if she could buy her baby boy.

Rebecca Taylor, 49, is charged with sale or purchase of a child, a third-degree felony in the state of Texas. She was released Thursday on a $50,000 bond, KPRC reports.

According to a probable cause affidavit, Taylor approached a mother and her two children in the self-checkout line at a Walmart in Crockett. She allegedly asked about buying the younger of the two children, a baby boy, for $250,000.

The mother thought Taylor was joking at first and “told her no amount of money would do,” police wrote, as reported by The Messenger.

But Taylor persisted, allegedly saying she had wanted to buy a baby for a long time. At one point, police say she called the child’s name, which the mother says she never told her.

As the mother and her children left Walmart, Taylor screamed at them in the parking lot, offering $500,000 for the baby and threatening to take him, according to the affidavit.

The mother got her children safely away from Taylor before reporting the incident to police, KPRC reports.

Police say surveillance footage from Walmart appears to match the mother’s account.

If convicted, Taylor could face up to 10 years in prison and a fine of up to $10,000, according to The Messenger.

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