The Region - News from Sept. 21, 1986

A man and woman pleaded guilty just as their trial was to begin on charges of swindling three Southern California couples out of nearly $5,000 by simultaneously offering them her unborn baby in exchange for living expenses and other assistance. Ronald B. McElroy, 31, and Sue E. Mitchell, 27, who were returned from Arizona last July in extradition proceedings, each pleaded guilty to three counts of grand theft before Los Angeles Municipal Judge Veronica S. McBeth. McElroy was sentenced to 1,092 days in jail and placed on three years’ probation. Sentencing on Mitchell was delayed. City Atty. James Hahn said the pair preyed on “emotionally vulnerable childless couples” who advertised for children to adopt. He said it was learned that Mitchell’s baby was a boy, born last December in San Antonio and subsequently adopted through the New York courts.