Mother Tries to Sell Her Newborn Baby...at Taco Bell

How desperate and twisted must someone be to try to sell their three-day old infant... at a Taco Bell? Well, according to a local KOIN news report, one Washington State woman attempted to do just that before being arrested. The mother who attempted to pawn her three-day old infant off to a random woman at a roadside Taco Bell in Vancouver for between $500 and $5000 appeared before a Clark County judge Monday.

Heidi Lynn Gasaway, 35, also goes by her maiden name, Heidi Lynn Knowles. Her father, John Knowles, said in a telephone interview Monday he had no idea his daughter was considering selling her child. A close friend who came to Gasaway's first arraignment said she believed Gasaway may have been suffering from symptoms of postpartum depression and that she had tried to find a homeless shelter. Both described a desperate woman who was turned away from homeless shelter. A much different portrait than the woman described in court documents as intoxicated when police arrested her for allegedly trying to sell her baby to a woman at Taco Bell.

Apparently the woman Gasaway reportedly tried to sell her baby to refused the outrageous offer and promptly called 911 to report the crime. Police allegedly then caught up with the would-be baby peddler at Kay's Motel, the place where Gasaway had been staying.

Motel owners Patty and Oliver Morris reportedly said that at first glance, Gasaway's baby appeared well cared for:

"When I went into her room the baby was clean it was obviously fed because it wasn't crying it was usually napping like new babies do," said [Patty] Morris. "It was always centered in the middle of the bed she seemed to be doing a good job."

In another report, Oliver Morris alleged Gasaway was trying to sell the baby so she could "skip town" and "start a new life." But, he conceded, "at least the baby's alive"and has been taken into foster care. He imagined the child's fate could have been far worse if the desperate Gasaway had not been caught.

According to reports, bail has been set at $50,000 and Gasaway is charged with a Class C felony. If convicted, she will face up to five years in prison.

The baby is now apparently in state custody and other reports claim Gasaway is a recovering methamphetamine addict with five other children. Those reports haven't revealed where the other children are currently.

(H/T: KPLCTV and KOIN)