Grand Jury Indicts Man For Death Of Baby Found In Trunk
FORT LAUDERDALE (CBSMiami) - A Broward County grand jury indicted Janus Saintil, 24, for the murder of his infant son and the armed kidnapping and robbery of the infant's mother and her friends.
Saintil faces charges of: first-degree murder, four counts of armed kidnapping, three counts of armed robbery, one count of armed carjacking, one count of attempted armed robbery, one count of aggravated battery with a deadly weapon and one count of possession of a firearm by a convicted felon.
Police say Saintil, of Deerfield Beach, kidnapped three adults along with his own son, nearly two-month-old Josiah. According to the police report, Saintil was with his girlfriend Claudia Harriot, Marissa Murray, Andrew Pennant and the baby in the parking lot of a North Lauderdale Walmart on Thursday night.
While inside a black Kia, Saintil and Harriot got into an argument over their relationship. Saintil, said police, pulled a gun and threatened everyone in the car.
One of the hostages was driving during the ordeal. Marissa Murray said she was taking orders from Saintil. In a June 2nd interview with CBS4 News, she said she was told to stop at a home in Port Saint Lucie.
"When we got to the first house, he said don't go anywhere; I'm not done with you all and he took the keys from the car and he took the baby in the house and he came back," Murray said.
After another stop, Saintil forced the group to a nearby gas station where he demanded one of the hostages take out money from an ATM. He refused and the others started begging for help. The gas station attendant said Saintil drove away, leaving the hostages behind.
It wasn't until the next day that a police officer in Coral Springs spotted Saintil and the car. Inside, the authorities found baby Josiah dead in the trunk. Police said foam was coming from his nose and mouth.
"He said the devil was after his child," Murray said of Saintil's alleged actions. "Like the devil wanted his child and I guess he had to sacrifice his child."
Saintil is being held in the Broward County Jail without bond.
