July 21, 2016
Source: http://wlos.com/news
A Cherokee, N.C. woman faces charges of international parental kidnapping after kidnapping her three children and fleeing with them to Mexico.
A federal grand jury in Charlotte returned a criminal indictment against Shira Elizabeth Mattocks, AKA Shira Elizabeth Raman, 27, of Cherokee for kidnapping her three children and fleeing to Mexico, where she hid for more than 18 months.
Mattocks was arrested in June upon returning to the U.S.
According to allegations in the criminal complaint and the bill of indictment, Mattocks was involved in ongoing custody disputes with the fathers of her three young children.
Reed Mattocks and Donnie Owle are both fathers of children with Mattocks, whom they say disappeared with their three kids in November 2014.
In an interview with News 13 last year, Reed Mattocks said Shira Mattocks had become addicted to opiates during her pregnancy with their child. That drug use led to their separation.
As alleged in court documents, sometime after November 14, 2014, Mattocks kidnapped the children and fled the country.
Law enforcement located Mattocks in Mexico, and with the assistance and cooperation of Mexican authorities, Mattocks was deported back to the United States. Mattocks was taken into custody upon her arrival in Atlanta.
“Rather than deal with pending custody issues, Mattocks chose to run, causing significant distress to the children’s fathers and potentially exposing the young victims to a great deal of psychological harm,” said United States attorney Jill Westmoreland Rose in a press release.
Mattocks is currently in federal custody. Her arraignment is scheduled for July 27, 2016 in Asheville.
Mattocks is charged with three counts of international parental kidnapping. Each charge carries a maximum term of three years in prison.
In a statement to News 13 earlier this year, Owle said, “We are all overjoyed and we thank God for answering our prayers. We ask for privacy as we work to get them readjusted to life in the United States. They are doing great and are happy to be back. We thank everyone who prayed with us during the last 19 months and those who are reaching out now. We truly appreciate the kindness.”
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