FOREST HILLS, Texas – Days after her kidnapper was sentenced, authorities released video of officers bursting into a Texas hotel room to rescue an 8-year-old Fort Worth girl who had been snatched away from her mother in May.
Michael Webb, 51, was sentenced to life in prison last Thursday, according to a news release from U.S. Attorney Erin Nealy Cox. It took a jury less than 10 minutes to convict the 51-year-old after a two-day trial in September.
On the evening of May 18, Webb ripped the girl away from her mother as the pair walked down 6th Ave. in Fort Worth just after 6:30 p.m.
Acting on a tip, officers responded to Webb’s hotel room around midnight but failed to find the girl hidden in a laundry basket and left, according to the release.
A couple hours later, a family friend called police after spotting Webb’s Ford sedan. Investigators found blood on the front passenger seat, according to the release, and returned to the Forest Hills hotel.
Dramatic video shows the officers banging on the door and ordering Webb to open up.
“I’m getting dressed!” Webb can be heard saying from inside the room as police use a ram to force the door open.
“Hands! Let me see your hands!” an officer yells as the door swings open. “Step out.”
Webb emerges naked and police immediately arrest him.
At first, there is no sign of the girl. Then one of the officers spots her buried in the laundry basket and says “Got her! We got her. We got her.”
Webb later admitted to police he threatened the girl to keep her quiet.
“We believe that justice has been served in this case. And we are thankful for and agree with the Judge’s decision to sentence him to life in prison. My hope is that this family and this community will find solace in knowing that he will never be able to harm another little child again,” said U.S. Attorney Erin Nealy Cox.
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