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Elderly Couple Likely Won't Face Kidnapping Charge

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Jan 6, 2009 7:59 pm US/Eastern

Elderly Couple Likely Won't Face Kidnapping Charge

PITTSBURGH (KDKA/AP) ― Prosecutors might drop kidnapping charges against a woman and her boyfriend accused of forcibly removing her elderly sister from a trash-filled apartment in the Hill District.

Police say 72-year old Laura Stewart and her boyfriend, 76-year old Earl Cross, drove from Cleveland to Pittsburgh and forcibly took Stewart's 86-year-old sister, Evelyn Poynter.

The couple allegedly bound Poynter in a blanket with duct tape and drove her to their home in Ohio.

District Attorney Stephen Zappala Jr. says the felony charges of kidnapping and conspiracy likely will be dropped.

But Zappala insists Stewart and Cross still broke the law.

He says they will still face some charges for hiding Poynter from police.

Zappala said, "If they were trying to do the right thing, they did it the wrong way."

Zappala said he'll seek court intervention to help Poynter who was living in "absolute squalor".

The couple faces a preliminary hearing Jan. 13. 


(© 2009 CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. The Associated Press contributed to this report.)

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