MARLBOROUGH, Mass. (AP) – Police on Tuesday arrested a second person wanted for the alleged kidnapping of two children.
Dennis Piper, 43, was taken into custody by Lynn police around 1:30 p.m.
Piper is suspected of helping his girlfriend, Cathleen Trotta of Lynn, kidnap her 5-year-old daughter from a foster home in Marlborough. The girl, Grace Trotta, was found at a hotel room with her mother Monday, zipped inside a suitcase. A doorman at the Embassy Suites at Logan International Airport tipped off police after a statewide Amber alert was issued.
The pair is also accused of threatening the girl’s foster mother before tying her up and taking her 3-year-old son. The boy, Christian Borey, was later found safe in Malden.
Piper was scheduled to be arraigned on Wednesday.
Trotta, 37, appeared in Marlborough District Court on Tuesday and pleaded innocent to charges including four counts of kidnapping and assault and battery, according to the Middlesex District Attorney’s Office.
At Tuesday’s hearing, the judge ordered Trotta held without bail and scheduled a dangerousness hearing for Monday. Trotta was also expected to undergo an examination by a court psychologist.
Department of Social Services counselors took custody of the daughter. DSS spokeswoman Denise Monteiro said the agency has taken away three children from Trotta because of neglect. Monteiro said that while DSS has a long history with Trotta, there was no sign that she was violent.
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