Woman Arrested After Attempting to Buy a Child For $500,000 at a Texas Walmart

A 49-year-old woman by the name of Rebecca Lanette Taylor was arrested on Tuesday and charged with the sale or purchase of a child, a third-degree felony in Texas.  

Taylor allegedly approached a woman at a Walmart in Crockett who had her baby in a car seat and a one-year-old son in a shopping cart at the self-checkout area. It’s alleged that Taylor commented on the woman’s son’s blonde hair and blue eyes and asked her how much she could purchase him for. While the mother tried to laugh as if it was a joke, Taylor told her that she had $250,000 in the car and that she would give it to her. “Taylor said that he was the perfect fit and she had been wanting to buy a baby for a long time now,” an affidavit said.  

The boy’s mother told police that Taylor was with another woman, who asked what the child’s name was, which the mother would not share with them. The affidavit claims that somehow Taylor and the other woman already knew the child’s name and began “calling him by his name”. 

The mother waiting for the two women to leave before going to her car. After finally heading to her car, Taylor began to scream at the mother stating that if she doesn’t take the $250,000, she would give her $500,000 because “she wanted him and she was going to take him”.  

Police have stated that surveillance footage from the store matched the mother’s account, and the officer who wrote the affidavit went to Taylor’s residence to question her about the incident.  

As of Thursday, Taylor bonded out of Houston County Jail according to jail records. If convicted, she will face a minimum of two years in jail and a maximum of 10 years under Texas Penal and could face a fine of up to $10,000