Crime & Safety

Mom: Alleged Kidnapper Took Car, Baby in Prior, Unreported Incident

Bartow County authorities say Kristen Howard of Acworth, who had slurred speech, slow motor skills and difficulty answering simple questions, admitted to taking Xanax the night William Kaidyn Stover was abducted.

The Acworth mother of 8-month-old William Kaidyn Stover, who was kidnapped and involved in a high-speed chase, told Bartow County authorities the boy's alleged abductor had taken off with the car and child in an earlier incident.

Samantha Nicole Barrett, 22, of Marietta, faces a number of charges in connection with the 90-mph chase through Henry, Butts and Lamar counties Wednesday, as well kidnapping and theft charges in Bartow following her arrest minutes after an Amber Alert was issued. 

Howard reported Stover missing late Tuesday night.

But Bartow deputies knew Acworth or Cobb authorities earlier Tuesday had received a call similar to the one Howard made to Bartow 911 about 11:20 p.m., according to the Bartow County Sheriff's Office incident report. 

When asked about the previous call, Howard said she didn't report what happened earlier Tuesday when Barrett drove off from a gas station—with Stover in the backseat—in the Cobb County portion of Acworth.

Howard said she got a ride back to her Comanche Drive home and Barrett returned with the car and baby a short time later. The two had been together most of the day, trying to find a place for Barrett to stay, Howard said, according to the report.

And Howard and the child left again with Barrett to continue looking for her a place to stay before they returned to the Comanche Drive home, and Barrett allegedly drove off a second time with Stover in the car. Howard said she had went inside to get a lighter.

A deputy described the mother as having slurred speech, slow motor skills and difficulty answering simple questions the night of the alleged abduction. Howard allegedly admitted to taking Xanax after the alleged kidnapping "to help her calm down," according to the report.

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