HOLIDAY, Fla.— The Pasco County Sheriff’s Office released new information about how a headless baby doll played a part in a mother’s alleged attempt to fake her daughter’s kidnapping in July.
Tammy Steffens, 36, was accused of calling the Pasco County Sheriff's Office Saturday and reporting that someone kidnapped her 12-year-old daughter behind her home near the woods.
The sheriff's office tracked down the man they say Steffens told them was the abductor, and found that he was in Tampa at the time of the supposed abduction. Detectives also learned Steffens blamed the man for sabotaging some sort of online contest she entered.
A new court document shows Steffens called the sheriff’s department to report somebody left a headless baby doll on her porch with a note that said, “new toy for the kids" a few days before reporting the false kidnapping.
Deputies said Steffens didn’t approve of the response she got from the sheriff’s office and a few days later she called in a fake kidnapping.
Court documents said a witness heard Steffens and a friend talking about setting up the baby doll and note and told them it was a bad idea.
Steffens willingly filed a false police report and fabricated evidence by having a headless doll placed on her porch, deputies said.
In July Steffens was charged with filing a false police report for lying about her daughter's attempted abduction. She admitted to investigators to making up the allegations, coaching her daughter and purchasing several items she said were left on her property by a suspect.
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