Charleston, W.Va. — A woman accused of taking a toddler from a Chicago bus station will be transferred there for preliminary hearings on federal kidnapping charges, federal officials said Wednesday.
Sheila Matthews waived her right to have preliminary and detention hearings in Charleston during an appearance in federal magistrate court.
Matthews will be transferred to Chicago in the next few days.
Prosecutors say Matthews kidnapped 16-month-old Jasmine Anderson on Christmas Eve after befriending her mother in a Greyhound bus terminal. After a nationwide manhunt, police found the girl last Thursday and arrested Matthews.
Matthews originally was to have the hearings in Charleston. Public Defender Mary Lou Newberger said Wednesday that Matthews changed her mind and wants them to take place in Chicago, where she is charged and any trial would take place.
Matthews could face life in prison if convicted.
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