CHARLOTTESVILLE, VA (CVILLE RIGHT NOW) – The three Americans who fled to Scotland following an alleged 2018 attempt to kidnap five Old Order Mennonite children and execute their parents were arraigned in Charlottesville federal court on Wednesday.
Alleged ringleader Valerie Hayes and co-conspirator Jennifer Amnott each pled not guilty. Both face life in prison, as does Gary Reburn, who will be arraigned on Thursday.
During explanation of the charges against them, Judge Joel Hoppe outlined the alleged conspiracy: to take two children from one house and three from another. The parents would then be killed.
The plan was foiled when the mother at the first home was able to escape and call 911. Her husband, meanwhile, was taken to the basement where he was restrained and held at gunpoint. Frank Amnott was found and detained by a Rockingham County deputy. Amnott has pled guilty to all of the charges against him and is expected to be a primary witness.
The trial date was set for Jan. 5, 2026, but assistant U.S. attorney Sean Welsh said it may take a year or more before a trial would begin.
