The baby snatcher who tried to kidnap a seven-month-old girl – and the devastating effect it had on her victim’s distraught mother
The mother of a baby girl who was nearly abducted in broad daylight now keeps her baby ‘chained’ to her five months after the terrifying ordeal.
The woman, who was only working in Blackpool that day because of staff shortages, had briefly stepped inside to pay for a delivery when Nicolette Goldrick struck.
The 51-year-old, while concealing her identity with a mask and sunglasses, boldly approached the pink pram, took the brake off and began wheeling the seven-month-old girl away.
Thankfully another member of staff alerted the mother to the situation, allowing her to chase after the crook before she vanished with her daughter.
Now friends of the parents, who can’t be named for legal reasons, have told the Daily Mail that they are struggling to cope since the incident as their ‘terrified’ of letting the baby out of their sight.
‘The poor girl has been struggling since this happened. She’s been really down on life. She didn’t go back to work for ages.
‘She now connects the pram to her belt with a chain because she is just so terrified.’
Another friend added: ‘They keep a tracker on the kid at all times. It is so sad really because they wanted a baby and then something like this happens.
‘I just hope they can move forward soon, she [Goldrick] is gone now.’
The mother, who was only working in Blackpool that day because of staff shortages, had briefly stepped inside to pay for a delivery when Nicolette Goldrick (above) struck
Nicolette Goldrick ‘brazenly’ walked up to the seven-month-old baby in her pram as her mother was inside the store
The couple questioned in court what would have happened if Goldrick had managed to get away, including fears that she might have tried to ‘kill’ or ‘sell’ the baby.
New footage released by Lancashire Police captured the terrifying moment Goldrick actually returned to the same spot later that day.
Despite being dressed in different clothes, she was luckily recognised by the baby’s father and the police were then able to arrest her.
Goldrick, who has a history of mental illness, including bipolar disorder and spent time in a psychiatric hospital earlier this year, spat at and hurled abuse at the officers when she was arrested.
She had been on police bail at the time of the abduction for a separate incident where she went into a bakery in Blackpool and waved a knife at a customer after shouting ‘a life for a life’.
Her barrister told the court that she had suffered two bereavements in the lead-up to the offences and that her mental health had significantly deteriorated.
The judge was also told that on other occasions Goldrick, whose own children had been taken into care, had been seen with a doll in a pram pretending it was her son – she had even asked neighbours to babysit him.
One neighbour told the Daily Mail: ‘She had been struggling a lot. She has a lot of mental challenges and was put in a mental hospital earlier this year.
‘I think she tried to take the baby because she lost a child of her own quite recently. But she has issues – she wouldn’t have meant any harm.’
She was sentenced to 12 months in prison and handed a five-year restraining order at Preston Crown Court on Tuesday.
In a victim impact statement read out in Preston Crown Court this week, the parents described it as ‘the worst day of our lives and something we will never get over’.
The mother said: ‘When it was happening, I was in shock. I couldn’t believe what was happening under my nose, in front of my eyes and all I could think about was getting my baby back from her.
‘Are people right when they say that I should have beat her to a pulp? Believe me, until you are in that situation you will never know.’
Goldrick pleaded guilty to child abduction and assaulting an emergency worker at Preston Crown Court
She added: ‘This thing has ruined our lives in an unspeakable way. She’s ruined our daughter’s life because my daughter will suffer in later life due to restrictions that I now place on her to protect her because we have been traumatised by what’s happened.
‘Nicolette Goldrick is not only a danger to the public in general but a serious danger to children generally.’
The Crown Prosecution Service said the case had encapsulated ‘every parent’s worst nightmare’.
‘Nicolette Goldrick’s brazen actions caused unimaginable terror as she attempted to abduct a baby,’ said Senior Crown Prosecutor Tom Snape.
‘Her abuse to the officers upon arrest suggests she has little remorse. We hope this sentence brings some comfort to the family as they try to move forward.’
DC Ian Peachy, of Blackpool CID said: ‘Nicolette Goldrick saw an innocent baby sat in her pram that day and brazenly walked up and tried to take her from her parents, in what must have been a terrifying moment for them.
‘They have shown real strength throughout the proceedings, and you will have heard in the baby’s mum’s victim personal statement how much of an effect this has had on their lives.
‘She then left the scene, and attempted to evade our officers, before spitting in their face upon arrest. This type of behaviour will not be tolerated in our county.
‘It’s not for me to comment on the sentence passed, but I do hope that the baby’s family can now begin to move forward in their lives knowing Goldrick has been brought to justice.’
