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Mother, 19, Thanks Police for Return of Her Baby Girl

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TIMES STAFF WRITER

A grateful Eugenia Quintanilla, still swollen and red-eyed from being beaten and left for dead, thanked police officers Friday for finding her kidnapped infant.

At a news conference at the Los Angeles Police Department’s 77th Street Station, Quintanilla held her 2-month-old girl as she recounted how the baby was snatched and she was beaten by someone police say was a hired hit man.

Michael Becerra, 26, was charged Friday with attempted murder and kidnapping. Also charged with the same crimes were Anna Ramos, a 26-year-old nurse, and Becerra’s girlfriend, Lisa Umana. The baby was found Wednesday at Umana’s home.

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“I didn’t expect to see my baby again,” said an emotional Quintanilla, 19. “It was something horrible.”

Police investigators said that Ramos paid Becerra $1,000 to kill Quintanilla, who had been Ramos’ patient during her pregnancy. Police believe that Ramos wanted to keep the baby, Celeste, for herself.

Capt. Kirk Albanese said that Ramos, who works at the Maternity Center of Vermont on South Vermont Avenue, called Quintanilla on Tuesday and told her to go to the center for an appointment.

Ramos left Quintanilla in a back room, where Becerra pummeled and kicked her until she was unconscious, police said.

Because of the ongoing investigation, police would not say who found Quintanilla that evening.

Albanese said her will to survive and her maternal instincts “permitted her to tell officers [what had happened] and help them solve the case.”

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Becerra, arrested at his South-Central home Wednesday, confessed and said he had been hired by Ramos, Albanese said.

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