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‘I just wanted to feel loved': Magee kidnapper sentenced to jail

PITTSBURGH — The woman who kidnapped a newborn baby from Magee Women’s Hospital two years ago was sentenced on Tuesday.

Channel 11’s Brandon Hudson reported that Breonna Moore was sentenced to 30-to-60 months in jail, with credit for time served.

A judge also ordered Moore to register as a sex offender under Megan’s Law for life.

Moore pleaded guilty to kidnapping charges earlier this year. Allegheny County prosecutors said Moore -- who was 5 feet 4 inches and 230 pounds at the time -- told friends she had given birth before buying hospital scrubs and pretending to be a nurse at Magee-Womens Hospital of UPMC on Aug. 23, 2012.

Police said Moore walked into a new mother’s room and said she was taking the 3-day-old baby “for testing.”

Officials said Moore then placed the baby in a duffel bag and walked out of the building. Baby Bryce was found with Moore about five hours later, unharmed.

Bryce’s mother sent Channel 11 News an updated photo of the boy, now almost 2 (see left). She says he’s “doing good.”

During Tuesday’s hearing, Moore  read a statement saying, “I hope you know I never meant to have you worry about baby Bryce. I had a ton of love inside of me and I just wanted to feel loved.”

Moore’s attorney Blaine Jones said the sentence was reasonable and he’s pleased with the outcome.

“We’re very pleased with today’s sentence. It was very reasonable,” Jones said. “She was remorseful from the moment she was able to get mentally better. She was apologetic from her heart. In my professional opinion, it means a tremendous amount."

Hudson reported that Moore has already served 22 months in jail, so she could be released in eight months.

The family of the boy Moore abducted did not attend the hearing, but said through Deputy District Attorney Janet Necessary that he is fine. Necessary asked for more jail time than what the judge doled out, contending it was a well-planned and thought-out kidnapping.

“This was not an impulse or a spur of the moment thing,” Necessary said. “The defendant made a detailed plan.”

In the months leading up to the kidnapping, Moore told friends she was pregnant and went to Magee to have a Caesarean section. On the day of the abduction, she bought a uniform and posed as a nurse. When she left the hospital, she changed clothes she hid near a Dumpster, took a bus Downtown and later posted photos of the boy on Facebook.

Moore's mother, Lisa Woodbury, said her daughter graduated from Brasheer High School in June 2012 and was planning to attend Edinboro University “until the mental health took over.”

In January 2012, Woodbury said she overheard Moore telling friends that she was pregnant, despite Moore's inability to have children. When Woodbury tried to confront her about it, Moore ran away to live with friends.

Still, Woodbury asked the judge for a lighter sentence for her “sweet” daughter.

“She's not a bad child,” Woodbury said.

Todd, a father of four, said he could “only imagine what the parents went through that day.”

He said that while the kidnapping was pre-meditated, Moore cooperated almost immediately after she was caught.

“I just can't let you go and put the public at risk,” he said. “I hope you turn your life around.”

Channel 11's news exchange partners at TribLIVE contributed to this report.

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