Fugitive couple arrested at Universal Studios for allegedly beating, burning boy in N.H.
(CBS/AP) ORLANDO, Fla. - Police arrested a New Hampshire couple Wednesday during a parade at the Universal Studios theme park in Orlando, Fla., for allegedly beating and burning the woman's 3-year-old son two weeks earlier.
Pictures: Fugitive couple arrested at Universal Studios
Authorities said 23-year-old Jessica Linscott and her 27-year-old boyfriend, Roland Dow, were taken into custody Wednesday evening for allegedly causing significant head injuries and burns to Linscott's son. They had been on the run for two weeks after arrest warrants were issued for them Nov. 13 in New Hampshire.
Tips helped authorities track down the couple, Rockingham County Attorney Jim Reams said.
"We were feeling pretty confident 24 hours ago that we were going to have them soon," Reams said Wednesday.
Law enforcement officials spent "countless hours" trying to find Linscott and Dow, who are from Plaistow, N.H., a town of about 8,000 residents in Rockingham County, marshals said.
Marshals looked for the couple all day Wednesday and found them at the end of the day while a crowd was breaking up after the parade and they were headed back to the theme park's attractions area, said David Charles, deputy criminal investigator for the U.S. Marshals Service in Orlando.
"They were totally surprised," he said. "They had no clue."
Linscott is accused of failing to get medical attention for her son when he was suffering seizures from a head injury and of failing to protect him from harm. Dow is charged with assault for allegedly striking the boy hard enough in the head to cause traumatic brain injury. He also is accused of burning the child's fingers and wrist. Police charged both Linscott and Dow with multiple counts of child endangerment.
The couple said the injuries were self-inflicted, but doctors rejected that. Police said the boy's condition is improving but that his recovery will be long and difficult.
Linscott and Dow are held in jail on Wednesday. It is not clear when they will face arraignment in Florida on fugitive from justice charges. If they waive extradition, they'll be immediately returned to New Hampshire.
