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KING OF PRUSSIA, PA (WTXF) - "You want to say anything? You're sorry? You want to say anything?" asked reporters as the defendant as she walked out of court. Cherie Amoore left the Montgomery County Courthouse on Friday alongside her attorney after a judge convicted her during a bench trial of kidnapping and concealment.
Prosecutors say that on March 31st of last year, Amoore befriended a mother and her two children inside King of Prussia Mall then took off with the woman's youngest child, a boy who was only a few weeks old at the time.
Mall surveillance captured the entire incident which set off an amber alert that led police to Amoore's apartment in Tredyffrin Township.
She followed the woman and her family to several stores and joined them at the food court. When the newborn became fussy, she asked if she could hold him while the mother took a phone call and tended to another child. Amoore then walked off with the boy.
"The defendant stole a very young baby from the safety and security of the child's mother and her conduct caused a lot of distress and emotional harm to the family who thought that the child was gone forever. This is every parent's worst nightmare," said Assistant District Attorney Brianna Ringwood.
According to a criminal complaint, Amoore told authorities she had given birth to a baby boy on February 11th, but that he had died within hours. She's quoted as saying of the baby she's accused of taking, "I held him and all those feelings rushed back. I just wanted my baby. It felt like i was holding my son again. It felt so good. I didn't want to lose that feeling. I was crazy."
The District Attorney says after they presented evidence, Amoore took responsibility for what happened, thus the judge found her guilty. She had waived her initial insanity defense to have a bench trial instead of a jury trial.
Ringwood says Amoore admitted to having a false pregnancy test and faking a pregnancy. Eventually she told her family she had the baby but claimed it had been taken by DHS. Amoore then went to the mall and kidnapped a baby to present to her family as her own.
"Her intention in going to the mall that day was to permanently conceal the whereabouts of the child. She held the child out as her own to her boyfriend, to her family and they believed that the child was her son and their family member," said Ringwood.
Amoore is the daughter of longtime Philadelphia Republican strategist and party leader Renee Amoore. Renee Amoore appears frequently as a guest on Good Day Philadelphia.
Amoore will be sentenced in a few months. She's facing a maximum of 20 years.