Child Was Allegedly Kidnapped By Her Mother and Grandmother
Pair Denied Release From Sullivan County Jail
Attorney Chelsea Four-Rosenbaum and her mother, Mary Jane Hollman, have been denied release from Sullivan County Jail by the Appellate Division, Third Department following their arrest in Bellevue, WA in late August on charges of felony kidnapping of Rosenbaum's child from her father's home in Eldred.
News of the case surfaced from a writ of habeas corpus petition that was initially filed against Sheriff Michael Schiff with State Supreme Court Justice Stephan Schick - who denied the petition. An appeal by one of the defendant's attorneys to the Appellate Division, Third Department also failed.
Four-Rosenbaum, who most recently was employed by Newburgh law firm Catania, Mahon & Rider, allegedly kidnapped her daughter, 2, after an unspecified Family Court dispute with her husband, Alex Four-Rosenbaum. The SullivanTimes has reached out to the father for comment late today.
Sullivan County Judge Jim Farrell issued warrants for the arrest of the mother and grandmother on August 4 after the pair were charged with the class B violent felony of Kidnapping in the Second Degree, according to Assistant District Attorney Lisa Bondarenka.
In her affirmation opposing the write of habeas corpus on November 23, Bondarenka wrote:
"The charges allege that Chelsea Four-Rosenbaum and Mary Jane Hollman, acting in concert and together, did knowingly, intentionally, and unlawfully interfere substantially with the liberty of a minor child, Autumn F., aged two, the daughter of Chelsea Four-Rosenbaum and the granddaughter of Hollman, by moving her from her home at 90 Clark Road, in the Town of Highland, in Sullivan County, to other places, throughout the country, in an attempt to prevent the father of Autumn F., who has lawful custody, from being able to locate Autumn. The co-defendants failed to communicate with the child's father for more than four weeks and failed to respond to numerous police inquiries that attempted to ascertain the location and well-being of the child."
Details of what led up to the kidnapping or any possible motive are unclear at press time.
A source who did not want to be identified told The SullivanTimes that the Sullivan County Sheriff's Office repeatedly pinged Rosenbaum's cellphone, which located the mother, grandmother and child in a hotel room in Bellevue, where the child was found safe and "well-cared for."
The detection of their location by the Sullivan County Sheriff's Office led to an expedition request to the Bellevue, WA Police Department, which made the arrest of the of the pair on August 25. They were extradited to Sullivan County, arraigned in Town of Fallsburg court and held on cash bail.
According to Bondarenka's affirmation:
"The Sullivan County Sheriff's Office traveled to the State of Washington to extradite the two co-defendants, who waived extradition, and were brought back to Sullivan County to answer the charges against them. Neither co-defendant has familial ties to Sullivan County. Mary Jane Hollman resides in Connecticut, having absolutely no connection to Sullivan County. The only connection Chelsea Four-Rosenbaum had with Sullivan County was through her husband Alex Four-Rosenbaum and his family. There is currently a full stay away Order of Protection barring Chelsea Four-Rosenbaum from having any contact with Alex Four-Rosenbaum as a result of these charges. Both defendants were arraigned in the Town of Fallsburg Justice Court before the Honorable Jamie Kaminski."
(THIS IS A DEVELOPING STORY)