Girl, 5, Died After Non-Custodial Mom Allegedly Kidnapped Her and Crashed Car During Police Chase

Vanity Cabrera was being raised by her aunt and uncle at the time that she was allegedly abducted

Vanity Cabrera, 5, Died After Non-Custodial Mom Allegedly Kidnapped Her and Crashed Car During Police Chase 
Vanity Cabrera.

A Florida mother is facing a slew of charges, including manslaughter, after allegedly kidnapping her 5-year-old daughter — whom she did not have custody of — and fleeing from police, leading to a fatal crash.

On March 31, deputies with the Jacksonville Sheriff's Office responded to a reported kidnapping and discovered Pamela Cabrera, 32, in a vehicle with her biological daughter, Vanity Cabrera, according to an arrest report obtained by PEOPLE.

Upon noticing authorities, Pamela began to flee and drive erratically at a high rate of speed, deputies allege in the report. The police pursuit ended with Pamela veering her SUV into a retention pond.

As the vehicle sank Pamela was able to escape, holding onto a tire to stay afloat. Vanity, however, became trapped underwater.

"The suspect observed the officers in the water and was yelling, 'Help me. Save me,'" the report states, adding that Pamela "made no attempt to try and rescue her daughter" from the front seat.

By the time divers arrived and recovered Vanity from the sunken SUV, she was deceased.

Pamela now faces five felony charges: aggravated manslaughter of a child; vehicular homicide; aggravated felony fleeing or attempting to elude, causing death; battery on a law enforcement officer; and battery on an emergency medical care provider.

Vanity Cabrera, 5, Died After Non-Custodial Mom Allegedly Kidnapped Her and Crashed Car During Police Chase 
Facebook

Prior to the incident, Vanity was in the care of her aunt and uncle, Whitney and Alex Baez.

"Although she was our niece we had custody of her and raised her like our own daughter," the couple wrote in a GoFundMe campaign aiming to raise money for funeral expenses.

"The hardest thing you ever have to do in life is say goodbye to your loved ones," Alex stated in a Facebook tribute to Vanity. "It is especially difficult when they are your child and you know they had so much life left ahead of them."

The couple recently welcomed a second child into their life — a baby girl named Amyah — whom Vanity quickly grew to love, Alex said in another post. "She couldn't wait to teach her how to read and count. We will make sure Amyah knows how much her sister loved her and cared for her."

Want to keep up with the latest crime coverage? Sign up for PEOPLE's free True Crime newsletter for breaking crime news, ongoing trial coverage and details of intriguing unsolved cases.

Despite the tragic incident last month, Whitney and Alex made clear that they don't want people looking down on Pamela.

"Please understand that this is not a reflection of the type of mother Pamela was, she absolutely loved Vanity," the GoFundMe page reads. "Pamela was/is ill, she needed help; in no way does this excuse the actions that occurred on that awful day. Instead of judging her by this desperate attempt to be with Vanity, we should instead bring light to the seriousness of mental health and how not receiving the proper treatment can cause us to make decisions we otherwise wouldn't."

Pamela will be arraigned in court on April 28 and represented by a public defender, online court records show.

Related Articles