Photo: Couple Arrested For Trying To Sell Their 3 Month Old Baby For Drugs

An American couple has gotten themselves into trouble after they tried to sell off their 3-month-old baby.

The couple, Ashley Harmon and Jonathan Flint have been charged with child neglect after trying to sell their 3-month-old baby for $500 to $1000 in West Virginia.

According to WSAZ, investigators believe the couple wanted to use the money from selling the baby to buy drugs.

The couple showed up at a neighbor’s door and tried to get Carolyn Redden to buy the child.

Redden said after she refused to purchase the baby, they instead asked her to babysit while they walked five miles to a local convenience store. She says the couple did not return until the following day after the baby was already in custody of child protective services.

Redden did not want to show her face on camera, but she spoke to Eyewitness News about her efforts.

She said: “Why have a child if you’re not going to care for it?”

“Just because it is hard doesn’t mean you give up on a child,” she added.

The mother ran away leaving the sick baby at Redden’s home. The couple left one soiled diaper and a bottle of spoiled milk.

“I ran out and got diapers and more bottles for her,” Redden said.

“She was shaking, clinching her fists, crying and screaming.”

Redden then dialed 911, ultimately alerting law enforcement about the situation.

According to the woman watching the baby, an EMS worker told her the infant may be suffering from drug withdrawal.

Captain Jim Sizemore with the Fayette County Sheriff’s Office says, with more than 30 years on the job, nothing surprises him anymore. Still, he added he does not understand how anyone could put their baby in a similar position.

“You try very hard to separate your professional life from your personal life. But, when there’s a child being abused, you can’t help but think there but for the grace of God is my child. I have a daughter that I love more than anything on this earth, and I would gladly give my life to keep her safe,” he says.

Deputies say the child’s biological father had no knowledge of the scheme to sell his daughter.

Fayette County deputies said Ashley Harmon has two other children she has left in another part of the state.

Both Harmon and Flint were taken to the Southern Regional Jail. Their bond is set at $100,000 each while the baby is currently with Child Protective Services where they will decide if the biological father will get custody.

Photo credit: WSAZ