Law&Crime Sidebar - 9-Year-Old Charlotte Sena's Terrifying Kidnapping Case — Everything We Know

Episode Date: October 5, 2023

Nine-year-old Charlotte Sena was kidnapped from a camp ground in New York Sunday. Investigators arrested Craig Nelson Ross Jr. for the horrifying crime — after they say his fingerprint matched one left behind on a ransom note. The Law&Crime Network’s Jesse Weber reveals five major developments in the case with former FBI and CIA agent Tracy Walder. Hosts:Jesse Weber: https://twitter.com/jessecordweberAngenette Levy: https://twitter.com/Angenette5LAW&CRIME SIDEBAR PRODUCTION:YouTube Management - Bobby SzokePodcasting - Sam GoldbergVideo Editing - Michael DeiningerScript Writing - Savannah WilliamsonGuest Booking - Alyssa Fisher & Diane KayeSocial Media Management - Vanessa BeinSTAY UP-TO-DATE WITH THE LAW&CRIME NETWORK:Watch Law&Crime Network on YouTubeTV: https://bit.ly/3td2e3yWhere To Watch Law&Crime Network: https://bit.ly/3akxLK5Sign Up For Law&Crime's Daily Newsletter: https://bit.ly/LawandCrimeNewsletterRead Fascinating Articles From Law&Crime Network: https://bit.ly/3td2IqoLAW&CRIME NETWORK SOCIAL MEDIA:Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/lawandcrime/Twitter: https://twitter.com/LawCrimeNetworkFacebook: https://www.facebook.com/lawandcrimeTwitch: https://www.twitch.tv/lawandcrimenetworkTikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@lawandcrimeSee Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

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will keep you on the edge of your seat. Don't let your fears take hold of you as you dive into this addictive series. Love thrillers with a paranormal twist? The entire Oracle trilogy is available on Audible. Listen now on Audible. Rover come with relief and gratitude for this gift to all of us. A nine-year-old girl is safe in upstate New York after apparently being kidnapped. and held for ransom. But the investigation into the case of Charlotte Senna is just beginning. We're bringing you some of the biggest updates in this case and breaking it all down, including what could happen next with former CIA and FBI agent Tracy Walder.

Welcome to Sidebar, presented by Law and Crime. I'm Jesse Weber. 46-year-old Craig Nelson Ross Jr. is in custody, accused of kidnapping a child from a New York State Park. Now, I'm sure you've heard about this case because it's a story that took the nation by storm. Everybody was talking about it. So we want to break down what we know

in the case of the abduction and thankfully safe return of 9-year-old Charlotte Sena. So 9-year-old Charlotte Sennah, she was camping with her family and friends at Morrow Lake State Park. It's north of Albany, New York. And on Saturday, September 30th, around dinner time, She was riding bikes with her friends when she reportedly wanted to go around the loop one more time, but by herself.

And then she disappeared. She was last seen at around 6.15 p.m. When she didn't come back to the campsite, her family found the bike abandoned on the path. And that is when 9-1-1 was called. It was reported that law enforcement arrived on the scene about 15 minutes later. An Amber Alert was issued only a few hours after that. and a massive search by numerous law enforcement personnel ensued, including the FBI.

Reports indicate more than 400 personnel were involved in the search, including volunteers and private agencies. Now, they covered 46 miles. You see, these rescue crews, they scoured the over 6,000-acre park on the ground and in the air, but they couldn't find Charlotte. But however, according to New York Governor Kathy Hokel,

law enforcement staked out the Senate family home, and they spotted someone on Monday at around 4.20 in the morning leaving something in the mailbox. It turns out that it was an apparent ransom note. Governor Hokel said during a news conference Monday night, this was the suspect's downfall. That he literally drove up to the family's mailbox, assuming they were not home. 4th, 20 in the morning opens the mailbox and inserts the ransom note

leaving a critical piece of evidence behind his own fingerprint. And authorities identified Craig Ross Jr. as that suspect. And you just got to hear how they were able to track him down. So he had apparently been arrested way back in 1999 for a drunk driving incident. And he had his fingerprints taken at the time. It was put into a database.

Well, they matched a fingerprint off of the ransom node to the fingerprints in that database. So police tracked him down. They tracked him down to a camper that he was living in later that day. It was located about 17 miles away from the park where Charlotte was taken. And it's a property that's owned by his mother. In fact, the camper that he was living in was behind his mother's home. And thankfully, law enforcement found Charlotte alive inside. She was in what has been described as a cabinet.

She was taken to the hospital. Reports are that she seems to be in good physical health with no outward injuries, and she was reunited with her family. Hey there, everybody. I want to talk to you right now about Palm, which is the next generation of pepper spray. You see, Palm's formula provides you with the necessary range and capacity that can give you and your loved ones some peace of mind.

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if Ross had any connection with the family or Charlotte, or if this was just a crime of opportunity. CNN has been reporting that Ross may own a property that's a mere 1,400 feet from the SENA home. Lieutenant Colonel Richard Allen with the New York State Police spoke with News Nation about the unusual circumstances of this case. It is very rare. I've been doing this for 34 years. almost 34 years. This is the first case I've ever worked with an actual abduction like this where there was a ransom note left to try to get money to get the child back.

And I'm sure it gave you a sense of urgency, but also a sense of hope that if the guy was holding out for something, maybe he would keep her alive. And sure enough, he did. And is it true that she was found hidden in a cabinet and that she had different clothes on than when she disappeared? She was found hidden in a bedroom closet in the camper, which it's a camper. So it's more like a cabinet, it's smaller. It's not what you would see in a normal bedroom. And yeah, she was in different clothing.

She was in a sweatshirt, which was not the clothing she had on when she was taken. And Alan also said that police are interviewing Ross's mother to determine if she knew about the abduction before, during, or after. Now, of course, that could mean potential charges if she had some involvement. but we aren't at that point yet. We also have to think about the fact that if Ross had Charlotte for only a few days and he was maybe keeping her hidden, after all, as I said, she was found in a cabinet, that maybe his mom didn't know anything.

I got to say, truly fantastic police work here because reports indicate that it took only four hours between identifying the fingerprint and finding Charlotte alive. That is pretty amazing. But we are learning some new, details about Ross as well. According to the Albany Times Union, a local newspaper, Ross was recently accused of sexually abusing a 12-year-old acquaintance.

The alleged abuse happened more than a year ago, but the outlet says that it was only reported to police this summer. Ross apparently denied these allegations, and it was reported that the state police ended up closing the investigation without filing charges. However, New York State Police spokeswoman Stephanie O'Neill said that, quote, we have no history of arresting Craig and Ross Jr. for any sexual-related crimes. But I should also tell you that Fox News reported that Ross was arrested in 2017 on a domestic violence incident after he allegedly, quote, applied pressure to someone's throat during a physical altercation.

It seems he was arrested on a charge of criminal obstruction of breathing. It's a misdemeanor charge, but he was released and we're not really sure what came of it because local officials say they have no record of the case. just an interesting development to say the least. Well, for now, Ross was arraigned in a charge of first-degree kidnapping, punishable by a minimum of 15 to 40 years in prison or a max of life in prison if convicted. And by the way, it seems that it is because he left that ransom note that he was hit with this incredibly serious A-1 felony charge, because in New York, if you abduct someone

with the intent to coerce someone to pay ransom, that is first-degree kidnapping. So not only did him allegedly leaving that note track police to him, it's what caused him to get charged the way that he did. But state police say more charges are likely or at least possible. And that makes sense because what he did to Charlotte or attempted to do or said to her could all factor into other crimes. Ross is currently being held at the Saratoga County Jail without bond. A lot to talk about. I'm joined right now, though, by a very special guest. I'm joined by former special agent for both the CIA and the FBI, Tracy Walder, who is a news nation contributor, and she is also the author of The Unexpected Spy.

Tracy's so good to see you. Thanks for coming here on Sidebar. Thank you so much for having me, Jesse. So I have to tell you, I cover so many of these cases, unfortunately, and unfortunately, many do not have this outcome. The outcome is so much worse. you have i don't know if you've had an opportunity to speak about this but what are your overall thoughts on the resolution of this case well first of all what's interesting is this is truly good old-fashioned police work that that went on here you know we talk a lot and a lot of

the cases that have been you know at the top of the news lately coburger and all of that we talk a lot about genealogical DNA and all of these you know scientific advancements right in catching killers but this is fingerprinted This is as old as police work, really, in terms of identifying people. And so the fact that the police put surveillance on the SENA family home is actually excellent police work. Sometimes that's done. Sometimes that's not done. And the fact that they did that, in my opinion, really is what ultimately cracked the case.

Yes, that letter and the fingerprints led them to Ross. But the fact that they sat on the home really ultimately was the nail on the coffin for him. And so I'm very impressed by the, I guess, good old-fashioned police work that really took place here, particularly by the fingerprint identification. And it's our understanding the family wasn't home because they were searching for Charlotte. So, you know, it raises a ton of questions about how he knew where they live. Now, he apparently he owns this property that's near to the home, which makes me wonder, is that how he knew about her? Is that, was he planning this? Was he tracking her?

Now, of course, from a legal point of view, he's innocent until proof. But again, we're trying to understand what was his connection to Charlotte. So it seems to me that while it's maybe not as random as it might be. You know, Jesse, I actually completely agree with you. This statistics show, yes, of course, he's innocent until proven guilty. But the statistics recently released by the FBI and the Center for Missing Exploited Children really show that kidnappings by strangers are very rare, actually. So the reality is he may have been a stranger to the Senate.

family, which I think he may have been, but I don't think that Charlotte was necessarily a stranger to him, meaning I think he knew who she was. Perhaps he had been stalking her. Perhaps he had been following her because he had to have known that she would be on that loop by herself because she had repeatedly been through that loop with her friends. So again, I could be wrong. I'm just hypothesizing at this point. However, I believe that this was not necessarily random. However, I don't think that the Sennah family necessarily knew the Ross family. Yeah, that's a good point because, again, knowing where she was, knowing where the family lived, I mean, those are kinds of indicators that he probably had a familiarity with who she was or who the

family was. And also the ransom note, right? Assuming you're asking this family to pay money, again, in so many cases I cover, we don't see ransom notes. We see people grabbing children for all different sorts of reasons. The ransom aspect, I think, is very fascinating as well. Yes, ransom notes are rare in and of itself. Really, the last major case that we saw was with the Zodiac killer, quite frankly,

back in the 70s when he was submitting those to newspapers and things like that. So typically we don't see, you know, ransom notes, but what's even more interesting in this day and age with technology, maybe the family had a ring camera as well. And so, you know, caught him coming up there to put. So that's very brazen on his part. But again, I'm not sure that he's necessarily thinking clearly and thinking about, you know, the consequences of that action. But that also tells me to maybe he watched the house. Maybe he knew that this was a family of means.

And maybe he knew this is a family that was able to pay. But that really goes back to his motive. Was his motive about money or was the motive per? Is he a pedophile? Which I, you know, hate to bring up? But really, that goes to motive. Which one was his motive? Or was it both in this case?

But yes, the ransom note is very, very brazen, but also tells me that perhaps he had knowledge of this family. And how quickly police were able to work this through, Tracy. I mean, we have them able, and by the way, we cover so many cases now with genetic genealogy, going back to old-fashioned fingerprints, that that's a way to identify somebody and how quickly they got the print and were able to track him.

What do you think was happening behind the scenes? You know, it's funny, just a little anecdote at Quantico, when you're at the FBI Academy, you're doing forensics, fingerprinting is actually the very last thing you learn because they kind of assume that it's, I guess, sort of this dying forensic, you know, thing. And so I find it fascinating that this is how he was ultimately found. And so I think this is an individual, in my opinion, who didn't, I want to say he didn't plan this through because I believe that he was stalking Charlotte. But I don't think he had the capacity to fully understand

the law enforcement system, the fact that you wear gloves and don't leave fingerprints and the fact that you came at 4.20 in the evening and there could have been a ring doorbell camera and perhaps, you know, officers were sitting at the house. This is not someone who thought those things necessarily through. However, I think it was a huge benefit for law enforcement and the fact that this all occurred and they mobilized really within, I mean, we have to think about it probably two hours is what I think because it takes time to put a tactical team together. They may dynamic entry into the home. You have to get there. You have to plan. So that piece also probably took two hours. So my guess it was probably two hours until when they identified him by fingerprint and then made entry into the home. All right. I want to talk to you right now about the already gone podcast in case you haven't heard about it. So this is hosted by Ambie Award winning Nina Instead. And this is a true crime podcast that's focused on the lesser known cases from Michigan, the Great Lakes, and beyond. Recent stories include the street. strange death of Todd Sturmer, the Brown's Chicken Massacre, the murder of eight-year-old

Jeannie Singleton, and the killing of the Brendel family. You can find Already Gone on your favorite podcatcher or visit already gonepodcast.com to learn more. Tracy, I want to ask you about this reporting, for my view, it seems to be coming again from the Times Union where it seems that a state trooper is now questioning. for not arresting Ross at the time he dropped off the note. Now, again, it's my understanding that this trooper or at least officers, they put out an APB on this vehicle.

So they were looking for the vehicle. But why he wasn't immediately arrested after he's putting something in the mailbox, do you think that's a justifiable criticism? You know, I read that to you as well. In my opinion, no, I'm just going to be honest. And I know some people may disagree with. And I know some people may disagree. with me. But the fact of the matter is, yes, we obviously know that Ross, he's accused now

of committing this crime. But at the time, they needed to figure out who he was. Putting something in someone's mailbox may not necessarily be an arrestable crime. Okay, maybe you could arrest him on tampering with mail, you know, federal mail, but that's a pretty weak charge. And so I think it took them some time to figure out who this individual was. Perhaps he was up to no good and put the pieces of the puzzle together. So in my opinion, it's not a justifiable criticism. But I do understand, you know, this is a nine-year-old little girl that's around the same age as my own daughter. I get that. We want to recover her as soon as possible. But I don't think the police were negligent in not arresting him at the time. I'm glad you said that because I think

it's important for people to have understanding about what police work is and not what it is on television and really understanding. I mean, look, at the end of the day, they were able to recover her. And it makes me wonder, you know, what kind of defense he's going to mount? It'd be one thing if, you know, they had his fingerprints and they never got, they never recovered Charlotte, but they find Charlotte at his home. And not only that, there are reports now that they've analyzed the cell phone pings to see if he was at the park. They're looking at the park records to see, you know, if visitors came in, if they paid an entrance fee. So they're gathering all of this evidence. What else do you think that they're gathering or what do you think is going on behind the scenes

to definitively prove that he is the one who kidnapped her. Because I guess, again, I'm wondering what a defense could be if they say, look, she might have been in his home. He might have put the ransom, though, but he didn't kidnap her. Again, I just, that seems tough. But it's, what do you think they're doing behind the scenes to definitively prove he's the one who took her, took her? You know, Jesse, you're right.

You're as an FBI, a former FBI agent, one of the things we always think about is what's the defense going to come with, right? How can we kind of mitigate that in our collection of evidence and our building of the case? This is going to be a real tough. one because she was found in a cupboard against her will in his camper. And so that's going to be really difficult. I do think one of the things that they're doing behind the scenes,

they had his fingerprints on file, as you mentioned from that 1999 arrest. I'm not certain though that they had his DNA on file. Now they obviously do. However, in New York, and you can correct me on this, I think you would need to be convicted before they can compare your DNA because I know that that's going on right now with the Gilgo Beach killer. If they are able to obtain his DNA, then what they're probably doing right now

is comparing it to other missing children cases and seeing if he's connected to any of those. I think that's gonna be an important piece of the puzzle as well. The only thing, I'm really struggling to try to find a defense for him at this point because this is what I would consider to be a slam dunk from a law enforcement perspective,

but maybe they can negotiate down the charges from first degree or not life, But I really don't think that that's something that's going to happen because the prosecution has an airtight case. They don't need to accept a plea in this case. And even if she wasn't harmed, the very fact of taking the child would be very hard, I think, for prosecutors to work out some sort of deal. We talked about potentially other charges. And it's really based on what else he did to her, what he said to her, what he attempted to do. And what do you think could be potential other charges that he might be facing?

You know, as a mom of an almost nine-year-old, that's a difficult thing to think about because my mind goes to places that are very uncomfortable in terms of things that he may be facing. I'm looking at potential sexual abuse charges depending on, you know, what was done to her, or as you mentioned, said to her or the way that he made her feel any type of assault charges if she was physically harmed in any way, shape, or form. I think those are the additional charges that they would be adding. But that is going to take some time. My guess is they're probably bringing in a forensic psychologist as well at this point to talk with Charlotte, you know, when she's ready and able to talk about her ordeal. But that's going to be a very delicate process. Yeah, I was going to ask you, again, it seems right now they're not talking to her about what happened. They're giving her time to recover, but then they will bring in trained forensic interviewers who work with these kinds of minor victims.

what is that conversation like to get more details about what happened? So what I can speak from firsthand experience, my daughter's own teacher, was arrested on pedophilia charges as serving 20 years in prison. And so she went through that process as well. And so basically, typically the parents are going to accompany the child to that. It's going to be a highly trained, highly skilled forensic psychologist who this is all they do, is work with children who have been. victims of these kinds of crimes. It's going to be a long process, though. It's going to be

something, they're not going to get full answers to add additional charges anytime soon. I think that that's going to take probably over a year. I mean, my daughters happened five and a half years ago. We're still going through things. And so I would imagine that will be the case for her as well. The first thing that they're probably going to do is ask law enforcement, what are you looking for to get out of this so that they can add those additional charges. But that's not going to be a quick process. Yeah. And it seems I think also local reporting suggested that it's possible Ross may have forced Charlotte

to write her own ransom note, which would just be another bizarre detail. And again, maybe can't be confirmed at this point. There is also reporting that Ross hasn't been cooperative with authorities. He may have, you know, he received minor injuries that it's also being said. So I'm curious if he resisted arrest in any kind of way, but it seems that he's not cooperating and maybe admitting to the kidnapping. I did want to ask you about the mother. So you heard what I said. I mean, we have to take this also with a grain of salt.

If Charlotte was kept in there for months or a year, I would say it would be really hard for the mother not know. They're obviously interviewing her, but he took her for, you know, only two or three days. if she maybe was possibly hidden, it does make me wonder how much the mother knew about what was happening. They are interviewing her. That's our understanding. What do you think that conversation's like? Look, I think it's appropriate and reasonable that they are interviewing her. I think they want to know what she knew, when she knew it, if she knew anything at all. And I think also, too, they're wanting to know any behaviors that they've seen, that she's seen, excuse me, of Ross and unusual activities that she's seen. My gut tells me, again, I'm just hypothesizing.

that she most likely did not know, given the short period of time that Charlotte was there and the fact that he is not physically on her actual home, but behind her home, I think it probably would have been relatively easy for her to have not necessarily known that Charlotte was there. So I don't believe charges will come against her, but my hope is that she's being cooperative. Yeah, it's an interesting development about what she'll know and have to say, and it seems, again, there's been reporting, I think, by TMZ that Ross's own family has basically turned against him and are definitely not defending him. Before I let you go, I wanted to ask you about how they were able to enter the property. So it seems they had a

coordinated effort of law enforcement, tactical vehicles, they jump in. I don't remember if I read correctly that there was yeah there was a i think flash grenades what do you think went into actually apprehending ross to make sure again they didn't know i would imagine where charlotte was so they have to be very careful what goes into that yeah so that's actually a very delicate dance that they had to do which is why i do think that he like was identified earlier in that four hours because the reality is is you want to minimize violence as much as possible in a situation like that if the child is in there and still alive. You don't want this to then turn into a hostage situation. That's really important as well because she should be there. So delivering the flashbangs

is a way of disorienting him. It probably disoriented her as well, but it's enough to disorient him to get him somewhat complicit with them being able to apprehend him. So in my opinion, that was the best possible thing to do. However, I think they also needed to make that dynamic entry which they do a lot of times. They did this one in broad daylight, which doesn't typically occur. Typically dynamic entries happen in the dark. And that is we don't do that typical FBI knock and announce

that I think people are used to sing in movies and things like that. That is going to someone's home with the element of surprise and taking them off guard, which I think in this case was done again to minimize violence against perhaps Charlotte and then also to disorient him and really make him complicit quickly. And I just have to say, once again, before we finish this conversation, that it is a miracle that this ended this way. And we are so happy and so thankful that Charlotte is safe,

that he has been apprehended and that this is no longer a case of a missing person or a lot worse. So great work by law enforcement and all the volunteers and everybody who helped resolve this case in the best way possible. Tracy Walder, the unexpected spy. So good seeing you. Thanks so much for coming on. Thanks for having me, Jesse. All right, everybody. That's all we have for you right now here on Sidebar.

Thank you so much for joining us. Please subscribe on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, YouTube, wherever you get your podcast. I'm Jesse Weber. I'll speak to you next time. You can binge all episodes of this long crime series ad free right now on Wondery Plus. Join Wondery Plus in the Wondery app, Apple Podcasts, or Spotify.