Baby for Sale: $30, couple arrested

12/21 A Gulf Coast couple is charged with trying to sell their own baby for 30 bucks. Escambia County investigators say it happened in the parking lot of Pet Smart off Davis Highway, in Pensacola. Witnesses say the parents tried to find a buyer at a Pensacola bank, then at a shopping center. The accused are Robert Ellingson and Maghen Duvala, according to the Pensacola News Journal.

Off of a busy Pensacola Highway, in the parking lot of a popular shopping strip, police say a mother wasn't here to buy, she was here to sell. Witnesses tell us the mother was holding her infant, looking for anyone willing to pay the asking price of 30 bucks. "It leaves you speechless." Speechless, because she's pregnant, and due in just a few weeks. Kristin Wheeler was on her way into Pet Smart when we stopped to talk to her. Police say it's the same way the mother was approaching potential new parents. "You would think they would go somewhere they dont sell pets. Its' not a like a pet, you don't just bring them into the world and decide you dont want it."

Especially this time of year. The couple even has bumper stickers covering the back of the SUV witnesses say they were driving. One says "The Reason for the Season" along with a picture of Baby Jesus. "Thats beyond comprehension, I just don't get it." The couple was arrested before they could leave the parking lot, and before they could find a buyer. According to the Pensacola News Journal, Maghen Duvala, the baby's mother, is charged with one count of child neglect. The father, Robert Ellingson is charged with two counts of child neglect.