A pregnant 21-year-old Texas woman tried to sell her unborn baby to the “highest bidder” and shook down would-be desperate adoptive parents for cash in the maternity ward, according to cops.
Juniper Bryson posted in September on a group for adoptive parents looking for “adoptive parents” just days before she was set to give birth.
One of her alleged marks was Wendy Williams who responded to the post, signed legal paperwork to adopt the baby, and traveled to the hospital for the birth, Williams told ABC 13.
But at the maternity ward, she learned the “adoption” was a scam, said.
In reality, Bryson had spent the last days of her pregnancy shopping the unborn baby around online and demanding cash payments from would-be parents, and was “waiting for the highest bidder in exchange for her son” while lying in the recovery room, cops say.
Her effort to sell the child began as early as Sept. 21, just three days before the baby was born, when Bryson asked a distant relative for help finding a home for her son, court documents allege.
The relative then wrote a Facebook post that said: “She needs someone there during labor and take baby boy home. She doesn’t want him going into foster care.”
But in a follow-up message exchange, Bryson told the relative that whomever takes the child was “gonna have to compensate,” phone records show, prompting the relative to respond with, “that’s illegal!”
The next day, Bryson wrote the message on a Facebook group that connects birth mothers with adoptive parents.
She didn’t mention wanting payment, but as potential adopters reached out, Bryson demanded “compensation,” growing hostile or cutting the conversations short at the first signs of hesitation, court docs say.
One same-sex couple had driven halfway to Houston from Louisiana when they got a message from Bryson asking for a $150 money transfer. The couple said they wanted to discuss the matter over the phone, but Bryson refused to pick up, called them “full of s–t,” and wrote, “[sic] Don’t text my mf phone again unless its sent.”
Meanwhile, Bryson was allegedly stringing along other hopeful parents, including Williams, who traveled to the hospital and was present during the birth.
Williams — who is a licensed foster care provider — got wise to the scheme after Bryson gave birth on September 24. Bryson named Williams in a Facebook post, prompting a flood of angry messages from concerned netizens.
“A lot of people started commenting really really ugly things,” Williams told ABC 13. “‘How dare you sell this baby?’ And then they were tagging me, ‘How dare you buy this baby?’”
When she confronted Bryson about it, Bryson kicked her out of the recovery room.
That’s when Williams called child protective services, which contacted the police.
Williams told police Bryson had spoken of payment, but when she later saw Bryson’s message exchanges with other women, it was clear that she was part of a price war in which Bryson was “waiting for the highest bidder.”
Cops picked up Bryson, who already had two outstanding arrest warrants, on Sept. 26.
The baby tested positive for drugs in the hospital, and Bryson agreed to signed documents relinquishing custody.
Although Williams asked for custody, a judge said the child was given to an acquaintance of Bryson’s, Williams told the outlet.
