Charges filed in Idaho newborn-for-trade case

WALLACE — Two Silver Valley women are facing felony charges after authorities uncovered an agreement involving the custody exchange of a newborn.

Bobbie Sharp, 43, and Eden Gray, 31, have both been charged with conspiracy to sell or barter a child for adoption, a felony under Idaho law. 

According to court records, Gray and her boyfriend, Trevor Kinnear, conceived a child with the intention of giving the baby to Sharp. In a probable cause affidavit, Shoshone County Sheriff’s Detective Josey Stemrich said Sharp treated Gray like a surrogate, providing her with financial support throughout the pregnancy, including car insurance, food and other necessities. 

Capt. Seth Green said the investigation began a year ago following reports that a pregnant woman was carrying a child for another person outside a formal surrogacy or adoption arrangement. 

Both the Sheriff’s Office and the Idaho Department of Health and Welfare received multiple calls about the situation, many of them related to both women’s living conditions. 

Eden Gray was living in a trailer near Big Creek, the same trailer where her other children were removed from her custody the previous summer. 

According to court records, concerns about Sharp’s home were raised by a neighbor. At the time, Sharp was living with two teenagers, one of whom has special needs and the other teen was reportedly being moved into a remodeled shed to make room for the baby. 

A search of Sharp’s phone reportedly revealed messages between the two women agreeing to deny any exchange of compensation if questioned, court records said.

Sharp also hired an attorney to draft a memorandum of understanding, signed by Sharp, Gray and Kinnear, granting Sharp full custodial rights, court records said.

During the initial investigation, Gray was arrested for felony injury to a child. That charge was later reduced to a misdemeanor, and she was sentenced to unsupervised probation and six months of suspended jail time. At the time of Stemrich’s interview with Sharp, Gray’s children were still in state custody. 

The baby was born in April and was immediately placed in the care of child protective services.

According to Green, the investigation is ongoing.

If convicted, Sharp and Gray each face up to 14 years in prison. Neither woman is in custody, but both are scheduled to appear in court Aug. 20.