Creep of the Week - April 11, 1998

Image: Adriana Mejia and Friends

Adriana Mejia and Friends
"Childbirth Chicago Style"
Let's say you've been married a few years and decide it's time to start a family. You long to hear the pitter-patter of little feet around the apartment. The miracle of birth! A bun in the oven! A bundle of joy! A tax deduction! How do you go about having a baby? Most couples start with The Traditional Method: Throw away the birth control, lock the doors and start rockin'! The Traditional Method is cheap, fun and socially acceptable. The only trouble is, for some people, it just doesn't work. But don't despair - there are alternatives: Adriana Mejia, 22, from Chicago's North Side, had been married for four years and was having trouble getting pregnant when she came up with a different plan for having a baby - steal one! Stealing babies also has some drawbacks. The parents don't usually like it. Adriana had a plan for that, too - kill 'em! She recruited her cousin, Arturo DeLeon-Reyes, and their housemate Gabriel Solache, to help out. Adriana, Arturo and Gabriel went over to Jacinita and Mariano Soto's place armed with a couple of knives. Adriana had seen Jacinita and her 2-month-old daughter Guadalupe Marie the previous day at the doctor's office and thought Guadalupe looked like a good catch. The trio stabbed Jacinita and Mariano to death, then snatched Guadalupe and her 3-year-old brother, Santiago.

But wait - isn't someone missing here? What about Adriana's husband, Rosauro? Where was he while all this was happening? In the dark, apparently. You know how most wives complain that their husbands don't pay enough attention to them? Rosauro gets the prize for Most Unobservant, Least Inquisitive and Stupidest Husband on the North Side. Adriana had fooled him into thinking she was pregnant. How does a wife do a thing like that? The old Beach Ball Under the Blouse trick? Didn't Rosauro think to put his hand on it or even take a peek inside? When Adriana left to go kill the Sotos, she told Rosauro she was going to have her baby. Hey Rosauro, did it ever occur to you to go watch the birth of your child or at least pace back and forth in the waiting room with a cigar? No, Rosauro hung around at home watching Geraldo on TV until Adriana called him the next morning to come pick her up along with their new daughter. When Rosauro got there, he found not only Adriana and baby Guadalupe, but 3-year-old brother Santiago, too. "Santiago belongs to one of the other mothers who had problems with her pregnancy," Adriana explained. Rosauro shrugged, brought them all home, and went back to the TV.

Last week, the dead parents were found and the police began searching for the two missing children. They put Santiago's picture on TV which triggered a rare response from Rosauro: semi-intelligent thought! He recognized Santiago and brought him down to the police station, expecting the cops to thank him and Adriana for cracking the case. He still didn't realize who the baby daughter really was. The police, being a bit wiser, arrested Adriana and her two partners, who are now up on first-degree murder and kidnapping charges. The two kids are in foster care and Rosauro is in a fog, saying only, "She was a good person. I didn't see it coming.''

If this caper makes you sick, keep in mind that it's pretty tame by Chicago standards. In 1995, another frustrated non-conceiver, Jacqueline Williams, broke into an apartment with her two hired hands, and stole an unborn baby by killing the pregnant mother and cutting it out of her body.

Jacqueline was recently sentenced to death. Adriana could get the same. Arturo and Gabriel, who split $600 for their efforts, are no doubt plotting with their lawyers to blame Adriana for everything. And Rosauro, if he has any thoughts at all, is probably wondering if he should have paid more attention when he and Adriana were trying The Traditional Method.

Let me know what you think at montgome@servtech.com

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