Mother arrested after ‘trying to sell her four-month-old baby in a classified ad for $4,000’

A mother who allegedly tried to sell her four-month-old baby in a classified ad for $4,000 has been taken into custody.



Dallas Police were made aware of the shocking case after a would-be buyer backed out of the deal and alerted authorities.



Megan Heichelbeck, the woman who responded to the newspaper advertisement, said she wanted to adopt the baby but had second thoughts, according to WFAA .

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Abandoned: Managers at the mother's Shadow Ridge apartment in Plano, Dallas, discovered the four-month-old alone in his crib, while his mother was nowhere to be seen

‘She was looking for a better home for him. She wanted someone who could take care of him and do the things that needed to be done,’ she told the channel.



‘She was very honest about all that. I don’t think she had any intention of sending him anywhere.’

The true extent of the baby boy's suffering came to light after managers of the mother’s apartment in Plano, Dallas, entered her home on Friday to collect rent.

The boy was found alone in his crib, while his mother was nowhere to be seen.

She drove home a short while later, with an empty car seat in the back of her Honda, and was charged with child abandonment.



Th e boy, known only as Eden, is now in the care of Child Protective Services.

For sale: Another advertisement offering a four-month-old baby for adoption for $6,500 was discovered on website PennySaverUSA

As the mother was handcuffed and taken into custody, her neighbours looked on in horror.

'I just think it's a very sad situation, and I'm glad that the baby is safe and away from those people,' Latonia Smith told NBC 5 .



'I saw her when she was pregnant, and she just seemed to be very depressed, always alone sitting on the stairway.'

A neighbour named Omara Muhammad added: ' I can't take this. It's hard to see anybody's child go through something like this. It's not fair.'



A nother advertisement offering a four-month-old baby for adoption for $6,500 was discovered on website PennySaverUSA.



Although it is not clear if it is the same child, t he ad was posted on June 13 in Dallas.

Neglected: The baby was found abandoned in a Dallas apartment while his mother returned home a short while later, with an empty car seat in the back of her Honda

‘I'm in search of an great family for my son. He is four months old and he is African American and Hispanic,' the advertisement states.



'I can no longer care for him the way he needs to be. We are living in a women's shelter now.



‘I'm working with an adoption agency so there is an adoption fee they have set up. I believe its $6,500. Thank you and God bless.’



Police said the mother's identity would not be released until she was booked into jail.

‘Apartment management entered into the apartment looking to collect rent from the tenant after several attempts to contact her failed,’ a police statement said, according to The Dallas Morning News .



‘When they went inside, they discovered an infant male lying inside his crib. There was no one else inside of the apartment.



‘The mother returned and was subsequently taken into custody for Child Abandonment with Intent to Return, which is a State Jail Felony.



‘The infant was in good condition and turned over to CPS. The mother was transported to police headquarters to be interviewed by detectives.'