Kidnapping of Santiago: the extradition of the parents could be ordered this Friday, what do they risk if they are handed over to French justice?

In pre-trial detention in the Netherlands since they were arrested in a hotel in Amsterdam on Friday October 25, 2024, the parents of little Santiago will be heard one last time by Dutch justice this Friday November 1. Under the yoke of a European arrest warrant, Cristina N. and Kevin D. agreed to their extradition to France. If Dutch justice also considers it this way, the couple could return to France in the coming days.

The end of a cavalcade for the young mother and father of Santiago, this infant who was only 17 days old when they took him from a maternity ward in Seine-Saint-Denis. On the evening of Monday October 21, they fled with the baby in a car where several people were present. The vehicle was only discovered two days later in Belgium, in the meantime a kidnapping alert was broadcast throughout France.

How is the child doing?

It was finally in Belgium that the couple was apprehended. The infant was with his parents, a relief for investigators because of the real race against time that had been underway for four days: Santiago being very premature, he needed constant care.

Santiago was immediately hospitalized, his state of health was “reassuring” according to the latest news. He may be repatriated to France when his health permits. Santiago will then be entrusted to a member of his family or he will be placed in a nursery.

Handed over to French justice… and then?

The arrest took place smoothly in a hotel in the capital of the Netherlands. The grandmother on my father’s side was present. The couple will be handed over to French justice if extradition is ordered. If this happens, it is likely that the 25-year-old mother and the 23-year-old father will be placed in pre-trial detention again pending their trial, under the decision of the prosecution.

Two accomplices were indicted on Thursday October 24 for kidnapping and sequestration of a minor under the age of 15 in an organized gang. The charges against Santiago’s parents may be similar. They risk imprisonment. If Santiago had died as a result of the kidnapping, his parents would have faced up to 30 years in prison.