Arkansas couple pleads guilty after attempting to sell baby for $1,000, pack of beer

An Arkansas couple who attempted to sell their infant child to a stranger for $1,000 and a pack of beer have pleaded guilty, according to court records.

22-year-old Darien Urban and 21-year-old Shalene Ehlers reached separate plea agreements last week stemming from their arrests in September of last year. Under the deals, Urban was sentenced to prison time while Ehlers avoided incarceration and was placed on probation.

The couple was arrested after Benton County Sheriff’s Office deputies received a tip that they had signed over custody of their baby to a man at a campground. According to court documents, a witness observed the interaction and used a phone in the campground manager’s office to contact police.

Investigators said the couple signed a handwritten document at the campsite transferring custody of the child. The letter stated, “I, Darien Urban and Shalene Ehlers, are signing our rights over to [Cody Martin] of our baby for $1,000 on 9/21/24.”

After signing the letter, the couple added a disclaimer that read, “After signing this there will be no changing y’all two’s minds to never contact again.” 

Prosecutors initially charged both Urban and Ehlers with endangering the welfare of a minor and attempting to accept consideration for relinquishment of a minor. Urban later pleaded guilty to attempted accepting compensation for adoption. Prosecutors dropped the endangering the welfare of a minor charge as part of his plea agreement. He was sentenced to three years in the Arkansas Department of Corrections, with an additional three-year sentence suspended, according to the New York Post.

Meanwhile, Ehlers pleaded guilty to attempting to accept compensation and endangering the child’s welfare. Under the terms of her plea deal, the judge suspended the charges and placed her on state-supervised probation for six years.