Arkansas couple charged for selling their baby for beer, cash
A young couple from Arkansas sold their child for a six-pack of beer and $1,000. Twenty-one-year-old Darien Tyler Urban and twenty-year-old Shalene Ehlers were charged with endangering the health and life of the child, as well as relinquishing parental rights for money, which is also a crime.
According to the "Independent" portal, the child was sold on September 21. The owner of Beaver Lake Hide-A-Way campground reported the matter to the police after learning about the horrifying transaction at his campground. Authorities arrived on the scene and decided to transport the two-month-old boy to the hospital. The child was already in the care of an intoxicated man, Ricky Crawford. The boy’s parents were no longer on site.
A witness testified that the child had a strong smell of ammonia and feces. The child also had a rash, blisters, and swelling on his buttocks and genitals. During the investigation, police discovered a "contract" signed by the child's parents and the "buyer" of the child, who, according to the agreement, was Cody Martin.
I Darien Urban and Shalene Ehlers are signing our rights over to Cody Nathaniel Martin of our baby boy for $1,000 on 09/21/2024. Disclaimer: Alter signing this there will be no changing yall two’s minds and to never contact again — cites the agreement "Independent".
The witness also provided a recording documenting the parents signing the cited agreement. Ricky Crawford, with whom the two-month-old child was found, testified that he decided to make the transaction out of concern for the child's welfare.
Crawford offered the couple a few cans of beer in exchange for the child, to which they agreed, handing over the boy along with a diaper bag. Then Crawford contacted Martin, who was also staying at the campground, and they signed the document together, additionally offering $1,000.
Authorities' position and arrest
According to police documents, Martin admitted that while he drafted the contract, the money was never delivered as he planned to provide a cheque in a few days.
It is believed both Urban and Ehler created a substantial risk of death or serious physical injury by abandoning their minor child initially with an obviously intoxicated male and ultimately with someone they did not know — reported the Benton County Sheriff's Office.
