Update:
The suspect in custody, Thomas Andrew Woods,25, was on
probation for a
voluntary manslaughter conviction in DeKalb County, according to
police. Woods, then 17,
confessed to killing his uncle and led police to his body, according
to his court ruling. But the confession was made before the attorney
he requested was present, violating his Fifth Amendment rights, and
Woods pleaded guilty to voluntary manslaughter, a lesser charge than
homicide. Woods was
released from state prison in October after serving more than four
years for a voluntary manslaughter conviction. According to
police, Woods started talking to Brittney Baxter in the toy aisle of
the Wal-Mart and then grabbed her and put his hand around her
mouth.“We’re pretty confident we’ve got the right guy,” a
police spokesman said.

===================

A
seven-year-old American girl escaped an alleged abduction attempt at
a Walmart store, in an incident that was caught on camera. Footage
shows a man approach Georgia schoolgirl Brittney Baxter from behind
as she was looking at toys in Bremen Walmart. The man grabbed the
young girl and tried to put his hand over her mouth.
But he
was forced to let go of Brittney after she struggled and
screamed.
"I was just trying to kick as hard as I can,"
Brittney told WSBTV.
Brittney said the man first started
talking to her as she was looking at toys.
"I just
said, 'I'm going to see what my momma is doing,' and he just grabbed
me and picked me up," she said.
Brittney's mother,
Georgeann Baxter, was picking up groceries only metres away from
Brittney when the attack took place.
"I was freaking
out at that point. I just couldn't believe it," Ms Baxter
said.

====================


6:58
p.m. Friday, February 10, 2012


7-year-old
honored for bravery in attempted kidnapping

By Alexis
Stevens

The
Atlanta Journal-Constitution

The
7-year-old girl who kicked and screamed when a man picked her up in a
west Georgia Wal-Mart was honored for her bravery Friday at her
school.

Brittney Baxter, a second-grader, shared her
story with classmates and teachers at Tallapoosa Primary School, just
two days after she was nearly kidnapped while her mom shopped
nearby.

Brittney's
actions prompted the suspect, Thomas Andrew Woods, to put her down
and run out of the store, police said. Security cameras in the store
captured the attempted kidnapping and gave investigators enough clues
to find the suspect just a few miles away.

Brittney's
school decided to use the incident as a safety lesson for other
children.

"I
feel like Brittney is now able to be like the ambassador for this,
and our children now have had a conversation with their parents,"
school counselor Emily Altman told Channel
2 Action News.

Students
at the school recently learned what to do if approached by strangers,
and Brittney's family and teachers believe the girl did what she was
taught, avoiding a potentially dangerous situation.

Woods,
on probation following a 7-year sentence in state prison on a
voluntary manslaughter conviction, remained in custody Friday in
Haralson County Jail