US Soldier In Korea Told Baby Died, But His Wife Gave Son Away

From his Army base in Seoul, South Korea, Sgt. Steven Garcia is embroiled in a fight that has nothing to do with geopolitics, but rather a baby’s future. He was led to believe by his soon-to-be ex wife in Arizona that they were about to become parents and later that his daughter had died during childbirth — the beginning of a web of deception that culminated with a bizarre criminal investigation and a continuing long-distance custody battle.

Investigators say Marina Garcia, was pregnant, but DNA tests showed her soldier husband wasn’t the father. The baby — a boy, not a girl — didn’t die at all, but was born healthy on Feb. 2 at a hospital in Sierra Vista, Arizona. Three days later, according to Arizona Department of Public Safety reports, Marina Garcia gave the baby away.

Raising a baby was a “problem” the 31-year-old Sierra Vista woman didn’t want to deal with, according to the prosecutor in Cochise County, where the baby’s mother was charged.

Though the baby boy, Leo, isn’t his biological son, Steven Garcia, 24, wants to raise him.

“My adopted father completely changed my life,” the soldier told television station KVOA in Tucson via a Skype interview. “Without him I would not be where I am today. And for the opportunity to do that for someone else, I believe it’s important. It could change the child’s life and give him a better future and I believe that’s the right thing to do.”

In Korea, Steven Garcia dealt first with crushing grief when his sister called him to relay the story Marina Garcia had told her — that his baby girl hadn’t made it through childbirth.

“It was pretty emotional,” he told the television station. “We cried quite a bit together over the phone. It was devastating.”

When he learned the truth, more questions swirled. If he could, he would ask his soon-to-be ex-wife “why she lied about everything.”

“I want to know what was going through her head, to be honest with you,” he told KVOA.

Marina Garcia’s web of lies caught up with her on Feb. 5 when an Arizona state trooper stopped a speeding car on Interstate 10 near Willcox. Inside were Alex and Leslie Hernandez, of Kenedy, Texas, and a newborn baby. According to the Department of Public Safety report, the Hernandezes admitted they “conspired with the birth mother, who was identified verbally as Marina Garcia, to forge the signature as the father to take possession of the infant child."

No money changed hands, Cochise County Attorney Brian McIntyre told KVOA. Rather, he said Marina Garcia gave the baby to the couple, old friends from California, after forging a birth certificate.

“The only thing on her mind was getting rid of this child, this ‘problem’ in her life,” McIntyre told KVOA. “What scares me is that if … the couple hadn’t been willing to step forward, then what person off the internet might have been next?”

Alex Hernandez, 33, who signed the baby’s birth certificate as his father, pleaded guilty to forgery, and Leslie Hernandez, 41, pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit forgery, Stars and Stripes reported. Both received four months supervised probation.

Marina Garcia pleaded guilty to a felony charge of attempting to defraud by forging the birth certificate by naming Alex Hernandez as the father and is scheduled to be sentenced to next month. Her attorney has contested a pre-sentencing recommendation that she be sent to prison.

She was initially charged with kidnapping, fraudulent schemes, conspiracy and fraud by concealment.

Steven Garcia, a patrol supervisor with the 142nd Military Police Company, got an emergency leave and used his savings to fly home, the soldier’s cousin, Shelbie Clark, of Hart, Texas, wrote on a GoFundMe campaign. Despite the deception, he wants to be a father to baby Leo.

He was granted eight visits with the infant, but lost a custody hearing. He’s not giving up, though KVOA reported that Marina Garcia vowed he “is not gonna get custody of the baby,” who is currently in foster care.

Steven Garcia so far has sent more than $14,000 on flights, hotel reservations, rental cars and lawyer fees.

“Without help he will not be able to keep fighting for custody of his child,” Clark wrote on the crowdfunding page. “Unfortunately, lawyers are very expensive and we need to help him fight for his son.”

Photo via GoFundMe, a Patch promotional partner