Darien Urban (left) and Shalene Ehlers (right) courtesy of the Benton County Sheriff’s Office.
A couple from Benton County are facing multiple felony charges for attempting to sell their 2-month-old baby for a six pack of beer and a $1,000 cashier’s check.
21-year-old Darien Urban and 20-year-old Shalene Ehlers were arrested September 21st by the Benton County Sheriff’s Office (BCSO) for felony charges of endangering the welfare of a minor and attempting to negotiate the relinquishment of a minor for adoption.
According to the affidavit, on September 21st Benton County Sheriff’s Office deputies were contacted by a staff member at Hide Away Campground regarding an incident involving Urban and Ehlers. Witnesses claimed that Urban and Ehlers wrote a letter granting custody of their baby to another person in exchange for money.
Another witness noted the state of the baby to investigators. The witness stated she could smell strong ammonia and fecal odor coming from the baby due to a dirty diaper. When she changed the baby’s diaper, she observed a severe diaper rash, blisters and swelling.
When BCSO Deputy C. Skaggs arrived, Urban and Ehlers were not present but the deputy did find that the baby was in possession of a man court records allege was named Ricky Crawford. The responding deputy noted the infant needed medical attention and called on emergency medical personnel to transport the infant to Children’s Hospital for further evaluation.
Detective Wes Grube lead the investigation and learned that Crawford had asked to take the baby for the night in exchange for a six pack of beer. Grube noted that Crawford appeared heavily intoxicated, exhibiting slurred speech and difficulty maintaining balance during the investigation.
According to court records, Crawford took the baby, Urban and Ehlers to another campsite where the deal was formed with another resident, Cody Martin, to purchase the baby for $1,000. The deputy was able to obtain a letter of agreement signed by Urban and Ehlers that read, “I Darien Urban and Shalene Ehlers are signing our rights over to Cody Nathaniel Martin of our baby boy for $1,000 on 09/21/2024.”
The letter also included a disclaimer stating, “After signing this there will be no changing y’all two’s minds and to never contact again.”
The agreement was recorded on video to “keep it legal” and the couple stated they planned to finalize it the following Monday.
“It was not working having three dogs and a baby,” Ehlers said when asked why she wanted to give up the baby for adoption.
They both stated it was then left on the understanding the baby was given to Martin in exchange for $1,000 to be collected on Monday.
The court documents concluded: “Based on the totality of the investigation, it is believed both Urban and Ehlers created a substantial risk of death or serious physical injury by abandoning their minor child initially with an obviously intoxicated male and ultimately with someone they did not know.”
Urban was released on a $5,000 bond on September 24th, Ehlers is still in custody in the Benton County Jail on a $30,000 bond.
Public defenders have been appointed for the couple, but no court date has been set at this time.
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