Couple accused of kidnapping 3 children in SoCal arrested in Colorado
LOS ANGELES, Calif. (FOX 11 / CNS) - A man and the younger sister of a woman found dead in northern Los Angeles County were arrested Thursday in Colorado, as detectives continued to investigate the motive for the slaying and the subsequent kidnapping of the victim's children.
The three young children of 26-year-old Kimberly Harvill of Fresno, whose body was found two weeks ago, were found safe Wednesday in a motel outside Albuquerque, New Mexico, in the care of a good Samaritan who notified local law enforcement, according to the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department.
Their alleged kidnappers, Harvill's 22-year-old sister, Brittany Humphrey, and her friend, 27-year-old Joshua Robertson, were arrested in Pueblo, Colorado, according to Deputy Grace Medrano of the Sheriff's Information Bureau.
Robertson's 1 1/2-year-old daughter, Madisyn Harper, was located at a motel along with Humphrey by Pueblo police officers conducting an unrelated investigation, Medrano said.
The child, who had reportedly been handed over to Robertson by her mother before she went to jail, was unharmed and is now in the custody of local authorities in Pueblo.
Robertson was located about two blocks from the hotel and both he and Humphrey were taken into custody without incident, according to Medrano.
Humphrey and Robertson were wanted in connection with the kidnappings of the children and for questioning in connection with their mother's slaying, authorities said.
Harvill's body was found Aug. 14 in some brush by a motorist traveling along Gorman Post Road, north of State Route 138. She had been shot in the upper body, the sheriff's department reported.
The sheriff's department was working with the Department of Children and Family Services to arrange for the safe return of Harvill's children -- Joslynn Watkins, 2, Brayden Watkins, 3, and Rylee Watkins, 5 -- to California.
Robertson has a criminal history, is on post-release community supervision and has a previous arrest for possession of a firearm, according to the sheriff's department.
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