EXCLUSIVE: Revealed - the Filipino baby and teen mom at center of human trafficking claim: Utah woman posed as newborn's aunt

9 September 2019

EXCLUSIVE: Revealed - the Filipino baby and teen mom at center of human trafficking claim: Utah woman posed as newborn's aunt 'to smuggle him to U.S. in her carry-on for Mormon blessing'

Jennifer Talbot, 42, claimed she was the aunt of a six-day-old baby after she was allegedly caught trying to 'smuggle' the child on a flight from Manila to Detroit

She was carrying an affidavit of consent and support from Maicris Dulap, 19, of Mt Diwata, who gave birth to baby Andrew on August 29, on September 4

The document, obtained by DailyMail.com reveals the teen mom stated the child was traveling to the US with his 'aunt' to meet his dying great-grandmother

She also said the baby was to receive a membership of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints and American medical vaccines

Mother-of-five Talbot, who lives in Sandy, Utah, is not related to the child and has no surviving grandparents

In a Facebook status posted after the baby was born, Dulap wrote: 'That feeling that you're not sure if this is really your child'

The U.S. woman accused of trying to 'smuggle' a six-day-old baby out of the Philippines concocted a bizarre scheme to pose as his aunt with the help of the baby's mother, a teenage wannabe reality TV star, DailyMail.com can reveal.

Jennifer Talbot presented documents to Filipino authorities to back her claim as she tried to take the newborn on a flight to the U.S. from Manila last Wednesday – and told them she was taking him to meet a non-existent dying great-grandmother in Ohio.

DailyMail.com can also reveal the baby's mother is 19-year-old who dropped out of school and had posted on Facebook about her baby, whom she had named Andrew, just before she gave him up.

Maricris Dulap, who came from a remote and poverty-stricken mining area of the Philippines, had apparently connected with Talbot, 42, while she was pregnant.

She provided a sworn legal statement that Talbot was the baby's aunt.

The affidavit was not signed by Dulap. It also stated the child, named Andrew, was going to Utah to to 'receive a name and blessing' and membership of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints and to receive American medical vaccines'

Talbot, a mother of five from Sandy, Utah, was carrying Dulap's affidavit as she attempted to 'sneak' baby Andrew onto a Delta flight from Manila to Detroit on Wednesday.

In it, Dulap allegedly provided three reasons for her child's trip to the States: one to 'receive a name and blessing' and membership of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints, two to receive American medical vaccines and three, 'to meet his Great Grandmother before she passes on.'

The affidavit purportedly written by the 19-year-old Filipino described Andrew's great-grandmother' as 'on end of life care.'

'To meet his great grandmother, my son will travel to Ohio first then to Utah with his aunt,' it stated.

'Tentative dates of travel are as soon as possible as my son's great grandmother is about to pass at any time. She is on "end of life" care.'

Despite this claim Talbot, who is originally from Ohio, has no surviving grandparents on either her mother or father's side.

Talbot, whose five children include two adults from her first marriage – Spencer Holder, a serving U.S. Navy sailor, and Alexis Crabtree, a married mother of one – does have family ties to Ohio but has lived much of her adult life in Utah, and now lives in Sandy with her third husband Kirk Talbot.

There is no signature on the document from the baby's mother and investigators have not yet been able to trace Dulap who was born in Mt Diwata, a village in the Compostela Valley province known for small-scale gold mining. It is unclear if they are actively looking for her.

But DailyMail.com has learned that the unmarried teen mom, who goes by the nickname Jham, is a wannabe reality TV star who once applied to be part of Pinoy Big Brother, the local franchise of the reality TV show.

In her application she gave her talents as 'dancing, singing, acting and joking.'

She admitted that she had dropped out of school and 'lost her way' due to the bad influence of friends and claimed that her parents once told her she was 'worthless.'

In social media posts, a troubling image emerges of a young girl who has struggled with depression and threatened to kill herself on more than one occasion.

In one post, on May 3 of this year, she wrote: 'I think it's time to say goodbye to myself.'

In another apparent cry for help later that same day she stated: 'I need someone to bring me back and believe in myself again.'

In another post on August 30, the day after her son's birth, Dulap posted a picture of her sleeping baby and wrote: 'That feeling that you're not sure if this is really your child,' - a possible nod to the fact that she was due to hand the child over to Talbot in a matter of days.

Talbot reportedly connected with Dulap online before traveling to the Philippines on several occasions.

Most recently Talbot arrived on August 6 and again on August 19. She arrived in the city of Davao more than a thousand miles south of Manila on August 21.

It was there that Dulap gave birth to her baby boy eight days later on August 29.

n an alarming and unexplained Facebook post just two days after giving birth the child's mother wrote: 'God help us.' The comment 'Why what happened?' went unanswered.

Similarly she did not reply to the question, 'Why did you give up your son?' posted in response to video uploaded on September 2.

The footage appears to show baby Andrew, sleeping peacefully, tucked up in a hooded onesie and cradled in what appears to be his mother's arms.

Two days later the child was discovered 'concealed' in Talbot's carry-on sling bag as she attempted to take him out of the country without government approval or the mother's signed sanction.

On Monday the child was still in the care of the country's Department of Social Welfare and Development.

The baby's mother has been charged with neglect of a child but have not been arrested.

Talbot has been charged with human trafficking - which carries a possible life sentence - and according to the NBI has allegedly violated at least two other laws on child abuse, kidnapping and illegal detention.

She also faces a fine of between $38,500 and $96,200 if found guilty.

She is currently is in custody and it is not known if she has appointed an attorney, though a U.S. Embassy official confirmed that she has been provided with a list of law offices to contact.