They Thought They Were Adopting. Then, 'the Rug Was Pulled'

A couple thought they'd be adopting in the fall the baby Christina Bay was carrying, and they signed a contract in the spring and handed over nearly $15,000 to pay for the Florida woman's living arrangements in Daytona Beach during her pregnancy. The problem was, police say, that the 33-year-old Bay had also promised a second couple her unborn child as well—and now she's been arrested and charged with adoption deception and organized fraud, the Daytona Beach News-Journal reports. Brian Kelly, an adoption attorney for the first couple, told police he'd helped them set up an escrow account to pay for six months' worth of Bay's living expenses after they'd all signed off on the adoption; she'd withdrawn $14,254.

Last month, however, Kelly said he discovered Bay had, through a different lawyer, taken out nearly $4,000 from a different escrow account, in an adoption deal with a completely different couple, per the Orlando Sentinel. "We had started prepping the nursery," one of the potential dads tells WFLA about finding out they'd been had. "It was really starting to feel real for us, it was kind of like the rug was pulled from under us." ClickOrlando.com reports this isn't Bay's first brush with the law, with charges reaching back to 2002, at least 10 of them felonies. Bay's baby is set to arrive Nov. 22; it's not clear what's going to happen to the newborn. Bay, meanwhile, is being held without bail, though it's reported she was taken to a local hospital with a medical issue. (A happier story in which a firefighter delivered a baby—then adopted her.)