09-06-2025
Bill to keep child kidnap and murder plot trio in Scots jail hits £1m
They are still within the Scottish prison after losing a last-ditch appeal against their extradition to the US, after the FBI identified them as being behind a twisted scheme to kidnap five children and kill their parents.
Three US citizens wanted over a child snatch murder plot have racked up a £1million bill for taxpayers as they remain in Scotland seven years later.
Valerie Hayes, Gary Reburn and Frank Amnott were found living in Glasgow in 2018 after the FBI identified them as being behind a twisted scheme to kidnap five children and kill their parents.
They are still within the Scottish prison estate more than two years after losing a last-ditch appeal against their extradition to the US.
So far they have cost the public purse at least £205,278 in legal aid fees and an estimated £750,000 to £800,000 in prison costs.
Scots Tory community safety spokeswoman, Sharon Dowey, said the huge bill would spark fury.
She said: 'The Scottish public, who are footing the bill, will demand this case is brought to a swift conclusion.'
US prosecutors say ringleader Hayes fled to Glasgow after botching an abduction plot, which 'read like a script from a bad horror movie'.
They say the mum duped childless couple Frank and Jennifer Amnott into believing she was a government agent before convincing them to help her carry out the abduction in return for a child of their own.
The US Attorney's Office claim Hayes, who was living in Maryland with boyfriend Reburn, fed the couple lies that she was in intelligence and three of her kids had been kidnapped and were being held by two families in the Old Order Mennonites community in Dayton.
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Prosecutors say Hayes, Reburn and Frank Amnott planned to enter the first house and hold the parents at gunpoint.
After Hayes secured the two kids, Reburn and Frank Amnott would kill the parents before driving to the second house, force entry, and perform a similar murder.
A Department of Justice affidavit said Hayes was disguised as a Mennonite when a parent opened the door and was held at gunpoint. Another parent fled and dialled 911 and, when cops arrived, found Frank Amnott holding the parent hostage.
Prosecutors say Hayes and Reburn fled to Maryland to meet Amnott's wife before all three fled to Scotland, where they were later arrested.
In 2019, Frank Amnott pled guilty to conspiracy to kidnap, conspiracy to kill witnesses and firearm offences. He said Hayes was central to the July 2018 plot.
But Hayes says she was in the UK having been granted temporary asylum as a victim of 'systematic torture' at the hands of a US intelligence officer.
Their appeals against extradition were thrown out of the Appeal Court and the Supreme Court in London.
In 2023, the case was sent to the European Court of Human Rights, a last chance at avoiding extradition.
Hayes and Reburn, listed in court papers as being held at HMP Edinburgh, and Amnott, listed as HMP Polmont, have complained that their extradition would violate their rights because there is a risk they would receive a mandatory sentence of life imprisonment without parole if convicted in the US.
Interim measures have been granted by the ECHR to prevent their extradition pending a determination.
The Scottish Legal Aid Board said: 'Extradition cases can result in higher costs because of their international nature but we work with legal teams to ensure these are managed effectively.'
The last ECHR update said it was being 'communicated to the Government for observations' in July 2023.
The US Attorney's Office, in the Western District of Virginia, said it does not comment on pending extradition matters. The Scottish Government said it would be 'inappropriate' to comment.
