2 charged with kidnapping child later abandoned at Mississippi Goodwill

MEMPHIS, Tenn. (WMC) - Two Memphians are facing federal charges for kidnapping a little boy who was abandoned earlier this week at a Mid-South Goodwill.

According to U.S. Attorney’s Office, 34-year-old Jeremy Fitzgerald and 29-year-old Turliscea Turner, both of Memphis, are facing federal charges for kidnapping.

Police say the 2-year-old boy was dropped off at Goodwill in Southaven, Mississippi Monday with a bag of clothes and a note. The suspects were taken into custody later the same day.

According to the U.S. Attorney’s Office, Fitzgerald offered for Turner, posing as his sister, to babysit the toddler while he and the boy’s mother went to Nashville overnight Dec. 14.

While Fitzgerald and the child’s mother were in Nashville, investigators say he tried to force her to work as a prostitute, and he left her there when she refused.

The U.S. Attorney’s Office says Fitzgerald spoke with the child’s aunt and demanded money for the boy’s return, all of which Turner was aware.

The next morning, investigators say Fitzgerald, Turner and an unknown person drove the child across the state line into Southaven where they stopped at a gas station and Fitzgerald walked the boy over to the Goodwill store.

Southaven Task Force officers recovered surveillance video that showed Fitzgerald, Turner and the boy with their vehicle, which was spotted later in the day in Shelby County. Investigators say Fitzgerald crashed the vehicle when law enforcement responded. He went to the hospital with minor injuries.

Deputies found Turner later inside a nearby Kroger wearing the same clothing as seen in the surveillance video, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office.

Fitzgerald and Turner each face possible sentences of 20 years to life in prison with five years of supervised release and a $250,000 fine.

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