It was almost the perfect crime: a set-up home invasion and a pre-fabricated police tale that would get the perpetrators off scot-free. And it almost worked, too, except for one thing the babysitter overlooked: how smart, honest, and unafraid her little four-year-old client was.
It all happened in 2014 outside of Seattle in Washington State, in the suburban community of Ferndale. Little Abby, an exceptionally loquacious youngster, was at home with a 17-year-old babysitter who thought she’d come up with a brilliant plan to get the little girl’s prized electronics, including an X-Box, an iPod, and a Wii.
The sitter’s 16-year-old boyfriend and a friend of his posed as intruders and stole the items, after which the sitter called the police, with her story all set to go. The only problem? It wasn’t true. Even worse, she described the two robbers as being black, and the description of one of the men matched that of a next-door neighbor perfectly.
That man, Cody Oaks, himself a young father, was handcuffed and grilled by police. It wasn’t until Abby overheard the sitter’s made-up story that she told police that none of it was accurate, saving Oaks from what could have been a truly horrific arrest for something he had nothing to do with.
Abby, as well-spoken as any four-year-old comes, told cops emphatically that the intruders were not black, but white, and when police went back to the babysitter with this, she broke down and told them the true story.
All three teens were later charged with robbery, burglary, and perjury for lying to authorities.
As for Abby, she summed it up perfectly in a television interview with local station KCPQ in Seattle.
“I think about her, that was really her being bad,” Abby said. “She’s not a good babysitter,” the adorable toddler added in the understatement of the year.
Abby also said when asked if she wanted to continue in her sleuthing career, that she would rather be a doctor someday. With her ability to get to the bottom of a situation with no hesitation, we are guessing she will be a great one.
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