Woman Allegedly Pretended To Be A Newborn Photographer In Baby-Snatching Plot

In 2019, she finished second in a mayoral runoff in Colorado’s second largest city.

But last week Juliette Parker, a municipal politician and non-profit worker, found herself in handcuffs, accused of drugging a woman in an attempt to abduct her baby in Washington, authorities said. 

Police say a woman dialed emergency dispatchers on Feb. 5, claiming she was “feeling numbness, drowsiness,” was vomiting, and couldn’t maintain her balance. When firefighters arrived at the woman’s home, she told them she suspected she had been drugged by a photographer who had recently been at her home to photograph her infant. The individual told deputies that Juliette Parker approached her through a newborn child Facebook group. 

Parker supposedly visited the woman’s home a total of three times in order to snap pictures of the new mother’s baby. She told authorities that while Parker was in her home, she observed the former mayoral candidate “wiping her fingerprints off items” she had touched. Parker also allegedly took a number of selfies with the purported victim’s baby. 

During Parker’s third visit, the woman said that she believed she was drugged by the woman’s teenage daughter, who offered her a cupcake she claims was poisoned.

“The victim reported feeling numb and drowsy immediately after eating the cupcake,” law enforcement said.

The woman asked Parker and her daughter to leave, but told authorities she suspected the mother-daughter pair also swiped a pair of her house keys during that visit.

Further evidence uncovered by investigators allegedly linked Parker to an attempted kidnapping plot. 

“This detailed investigation identified additional victims and garnered evidence that indicate that the suspect was planning to steal a newborn baby to raise as her own,” Pierce County authorities said.

And she allegedly had other prospective clients. Police believe that Parker was purposefully targeting mothers with newborns.  

 "To think I almost let someone like that around my family... it's really hard," Gabby Romias, who had hired Parker to photograph her birth for Monday, told local station KOAA-TV.

Authorities said they suspect that Parker also went by the names “Juliette Noel” and “Juliette Gains.”

Juliette Parker's Facebook page. Photo: Pierce Co. Sheriff's Dept.

As a mayoral candidate, Parker supposedly fought for affordable housing and homeless solutions. She focused particularly on homeless amongst veteran populations, according to the woman’s Facebook profile. 

She advocated for more bike trails and art museums, and was also in favor of putting recreational marijuana on the ballot, local radio station KRCC reported. Parker managed to best other candidates, and even finished second in the mayoral race, racking up more than 11,000 votes in her favor, but she was soundly defeated by incumbent John Suthers, according to a separate KRCC report.

Parker was charged with attempted kidnapping and second-degree assault, court records show. Her 16-year-old daughter was also arrested and booked into juvenile detention.

She appears to have posted bond and was released at 3:31 p.m on Feb. 16, according to an online Pierce County Jail Roster. The woman and her daughter are scheduled to appear before a judge on Tuesday, local outlet KHQ-TV reported.