A Florida couple accused of insisting their missing newborn had never existed has been arrested in North Carolina, following a yearlong investigation into what authorities now describe as the infant’s presumed death.
Leon Alejandro Jr., 21, and Samantha Feliz, 20, both from Hollywood, Florida, were taken into custody Wednesday in Rockingham, North Carolina. Investigators say the pair had gone there while Hollywood police continued probing the disappearance of their baby.
Deputies with the Richmond County Sheriff’s Office, working alongside the U.S. Marshals Service, arrested the couple and booked them into the Richmond County Jail on fugitive of justice warrants. Both are being held without bond as they await extradition back to Florida.
The case began drawing scrutiny in early 2025, when Hollywood police learned that Feliz had allegedly given birth sometime between Dec. 6, 2024, and Jan. 5, 2025, according to the Richmond County Sheriff’s Office.
Authorities said the child’s birth was hidden from officials and did not take place at a hospital.
Investigators said relatives reported seeing the couple with the infant during the baby’s first month of life. After that period, officials said, the child was not seen again.
An arrest warrant obtained by WPLG states that detectives believe the infant, identified only by the initials A.F., was last photographed on Jan. 5, 2025. In the warrant, investigators said the baby appeared “visibly ill and malnourished” and showed “no signs of life” in what they characterized as the final known image of the child.
The warrant also says investigators searched several locations using cadaver dogs, but the child’s remains were not found, WPLG reported.
Authorities allege Alejandro and Feliz repeatedly denied the child existed, telling relatives the baby “was a prank” and later claiming the pregnancy had been a “hoax” intended to scam family members out of money, WPLG reported, citing the arrest warrant.
According to the outlet, investigators said photographs showed Feliz visibly pregnant, while text messages discussed the pregnancy and the baby.
Detectives also reportedly recovered baby clothing, a positive pregnancy test and what appeared to be blood-stained towels from a storage unit tied to the couple. DNA testing later determined blood recovered from the baby clothing and towels belonged to a biological child of Alejandro and Feliz, according to the warrant.
Despite the lack of a birth certificate or medical records, investigators said they developed enough evidence to charge both suspects with aggravated manslaughter of a child, tampering with or fabricating physical evidence, failure to report a death to the medical examiner, providing false information concerning a missing child and making false reports to law enforcement.
Authorities allege the couple fled Florida and were living on property belonging to one of Alejandro’s relatives in Richmond County when investigators located and arrested them July 22.
Richmond County Sheriff Mark Gulledge praised the multi-agency effort that led to the arrests.
“This is a prime example of agencies nationwide collaborating to uphold justice,” Gulledge said in a statement.
Authorities have not publicly released additional details about what investigators believe happened to the infant.
Fox News Digital has reached out to the Richmond County Sheriff’s Office for any additional updates on the investigation, but did not immediately receive a response.
