U.S. Woman to Be Tried in Mexico; No Bail Is Set in Baby-Selling Case

A criminal courts judge ruled Saturday that Bette Louise Winks must stand trial for allegedly attempting to buy a 14-month old Mexican girl and take her to the United States.

Mexican prosecutors informed Winks, 49, of the charges against her through an interpreter, who was hurriedly brought in. Winks and co-defendant Ivonne Lopez, 31, were ordered held without bail by Judge Alejandro Vazquez Rivera.

The hearing was held with Winks and Lopez standing in one room, peering through a barred window, while prosecutors quickly summarized a 39-page complaint that had been prepared against the two women moments earlier.

“They say that you are probably responsible for a kidnaping,” said the interpreter, Fausto Garcia.

This prompted an anxious reply from Winks, who appeared confused and scared.

“What do you mean kidnaping? Are they saying that I did or didn’t do it? . . . When can I talk to an attorney?” Winks asked.

The interpreter, who was wearing a New York Yankees warm-up jacket and a team cap, tried to reassure Winks, who began sobbing loudly.

“This doesn’t mean that the judge is sending you to jail indefinitely,” said Garcia. “They’re saying that you’re probably guilty . . . It will be up to your attorney to produce evidence that will prove you’re innocent.”

A flustered Winks asked when she would be able to talk to her attorney, Rigoberto Lopez Perez, and how long she would be incarcerated.

“Pretty soon. The attorney is right here. You can spend between four months and a year in jail before the judge decides if you’re guilty or innocent. If you’re guilty, he’ll sentence you then,” Garcia said.

Under Mexican law, a judge decides whether an accused is guilty or innocent of the charges brought against him. The accused is presumed guilty under Mexican law, and it is up to a defense attorney to prove his client’s innocence. After both sides prepare their cases, the information is submitted to a judge, who renders a decision.

Winks’ husband, Charles, was arrested along with his wife and Lopez by Mexican authorities on Jan. 24. Police allege that Lopez, a Mexican citizen living in Los Angeles County, conspired with Bette Winks to take a 14-month-old girl from Maria Enriqueta Millan Tostado, 31, of Tijuana and turned her over to Winks for $3,000.

Charles Winks, 46, was released from custody on Friday because investigators found no proof linking him to the baby-selling scheme, said police, and his whereabouts are unknown. On Saturday, Rivera said that Mexican police were told that the FBI is looking for Charles Winks. However, this could not be independently verified with FBI officials in San Diego.

Carlos Cajal, who is Lopez’s attorney, said there is some question about Tostado’s claim to be the mother of the infant whom Winks is charged with attempting to buy. Cajal said that Tostado has been unable to produce a birth certificate for the child, and the little girl’s birth was not registered with Tijuana officials.

Cajal and Perez, Bette Winks’ attorney, said that the two women “borrowed” the child and a 14-year-old girl from Tostado and drove the two children to Los Angeles on Jan. 17. According to the attorneys, the older girl was returned the same day, but the infant was kept in Los Angeles until Jan. 24 because she was suffering from a cold.

Depending on which attorney tells the story, Winks and Lopez were arrested Jan. 24 when they returned the baby to Tostado, or when the two women came to talk to Tostado about buying a house that belonged to Tostado.

“It’s a very confusing situation right now. I really don’t know how Mrs. Winks got dragged into this matter, but I am working to put the facts together,” Perez said. “The lady is innocent. I’m completely convinced of her innocence.”

Winks and her husband are parents of eight natural children. They were one of 12 couples honored in 1982 by Illinois Gov. James R. Thompson as the state’s “Adoptive Parents of the Year.” Since being honored, the Winkses’ home has been raided by Illinois officials on several occasions to remove 12 children because the couple could not prove that they had legal custody of them.