FRESNO, Calif. (KFSN) — A Fresno woman offered a telling testimony Wednesday against a mother and son accused of kidnapping a little girl.
Therese Maria Knutsson rushed to the Clovis home where prosecutors say a teenage girl was kidnapped and sexually assaulted in February 2016.
Watch coverage from ABC30: https://abc30.com/video/embed/?pid=13836543
The incident happened while the girl’s father, Johan Gidstedt, was out of town. When he learned of his daughter’s kidnapping, Knutsson said he called and asked her to head over to support his girlfriend.
But as soon as she arrived, Knutsson said girlfriend Sandra Garcia’s behavior seemed unusual.
“They were huddled in little groups like whispering amongst each other,” Knutsson said of Garcia and her family members there. “I just got a really weird feeling.”
“She was more concerned about herself,” Knutsson added.
It was earlier that afternoon when the victim, who took the stand last week, said men wearing all black approached her, tied her hands, taped her eyes, and shoved her into a trunk.
Prosecutors say Gidstedt’s girlfriend and her son, Mark Anthony Roque, are responsible for the kidnapping and sexual assault that ended with the girl tied to a tree in a remote part of Fresno County.
The jury also heard again from crime scene specialist Kristal Buckley.
She first testified Tuesday that she found a yellow rope at the scene. On Wednesday, the jury saw photos.
“Number four is a yellow rope,” Buckley said as she explained the evidence markers in photos shown to the jury.
“Number five was a cloth towel. And number six was a tassel.”
Prosecutors say Garcia orchestrated the kidnapping after Gidstedt evicted her from his Clovis home.
Garcia and her son each face life in prison for crimes related to the alleged kidnapping and sexual assault.
The incident happened while the girl’s father, Johan Gidstedt, was out of town. When he learned of his daughter’s kidnapping, Knutsson said he called and asked her to head over to support his girlfriend.
But as soon as she arrived, Knutsson said girlfriend Sandra Garcia’s behavior seemed unusual.
“They were huddled in little groups like whispering amongst each other,” Knutsson said of Garcia and her family members there. “I just got a really weird feeling.”
“She was more concerned about herself,” Knutsson added.
It was earlier that afternoon when the victim, who took the stand last week, said men wearing all black approached her, tied her hands, taped her eyes, and shoved her into a trunk.
Prosecutors say Gidstedt’s girlfriend and her son, Mark Anthony Roque, are responsible for the kidnapping and sexual assault that ended with the girl tied to a tree in a remote part of Fresno County.
The jury also heard again from crime scene specialist Kristal Buckley.
She first testified Tuesday that she found a yellow rope at the scene. On Wednesday, the jury saw photos.
“Number four is a yellow rope,” Buckley said as she explained the evidence markers in photos shown to the jury.
“Number five was a cloth towel. And number six was a tassel.”
Prosecutors say Garcia orchestrated the kidnapping after Gidstedt evicted her from his Clovis home.
Garcia and her son each face life in prison for crimes related to the alleged kidnapping and sexual assault.
