Infant Found Dead In Trunk, Father In Custody: BSO

The body of the missing 2-month-old was found in a car's trunk

The body of a missing 2-month-old was found in the trunk of a car and the infant's father was in custody, the Broward Sheriff's Office said Friday.

Josiah Saintil was found dead, and his 24-year-old father, Janus Saintil, was in custody, authorities said.

Broward Sheriff Al Lamberti said authorities had been working the case for about 24 hours after an armed kidnapping in North Lauderdale around 7 p.m. Thursday. 

An argument began while the suspect, two women, another man and the child were en route to a Walmart in North Lauderdale, and the suspect pulled out a gun and directed the driver to drive north on Interstate 95, said Thomas Nichols, spokesman for  Port St. Lucie Police.

They drove to Port St. Lucie, where the suspect directed them to an unknown address, Nichols said. He got out of the car with the baby and returned without the child, Nichols said. They then drove to a gas station, where the suspect directed one of the victims to take out money from the ATM, Nichols said.

While at the gas station, the victims yelled for help, and at some point the suspect fled in the car and left the rest of the people there, Nichols said.

An Amber Alert was issued for the child, but it was cancelled a few hours later as authorities got information that the child was found dead in the trunk of the car, authorities said.

An unmarked car spotted him in a Kia in the parking lot of Palm Terrace apartments and alerted police. An 18-year-old woman was also found in the car, but her relationship to him was unknown.

"Unfortunately, the 2-month-old baby involved is deceased," said Lamberti. "The baby is in the trunk of the car."

The cause of the death wasn't immediately known. An autopsy will be performed.

The baby's mother, who was also one of the kidnapping victims, was being questioned by authorities.

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Authorities had said Janus Saintil had been considered to be armed and dangerous. He has a lengthy criminal history and an outstanding warrant for armed robbery, BSO said. 

Court records in Broward County show Saintil has been arrested numerous times over the past six years, including charges of armed robbery and trespassing. In 2008, he was sentenced to two years in prison for grand theft, according to court records.

"It's hard to think a father could do that to his own child," onlooker Kiky Torrez of Coral Springs said of the baby boy's death. "I mean, it's a baby, who does that?"

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