Milwaukee daycare van stolen with kids inside; 27-year-old woman accused

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Katelyn Librizzi

MILWAUKEE - A 27-year-old Milwaukee woman is accused of stealing a running daycare van that had four young children inside. The accused is Katelyn Librizzi – and she faces the following criminal counts: 

• Operating a motor vehicle without owner's consent
• Abduction of a child

Case details

What we know:

According to the criminal complaint, a Milwaukee police detective responded around 4 p.m. on Tuesday, Dec. 16 to an abduction investigation near Appleton and Burleigh. A 911 call came from the owner of a daycare center indicating that a woman "jumped into her van and pulled off with her children inside," the complaint says. That second person was later identified as Katelyn Librizzi, the defendant.

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A short time later, Milwaukee police conducted a high-risk traffic stop. The defendant was the driver and was arrested. The complaint says four young children were seated inside the van.

When police spoke with the daycare owner, she said she called 911 from the daycare because her personal cellphone was in the van that had been stolen.

Inside the recovered van, police found medical documents listed to the defendant, the complaint says. Investigators also used the daycare owner's cellphone to get geolocation data, which showed the van's path.

On Dec. 17, a detective interviewed the defendant who "indicated she had mental health issues," the complaint says. The detective also reported Librizzi "was making statements and comments that are not typically mentioned in interviews," the complaint says. Librizzi also told police "she had been driving and saw little kids in the back of the vehicle. The defendant also reported that the police pulled her over. She reported that the can had been running in front of a daycare," the complaint says.

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What's next:

Librizzi appeared in Milwaukee County court on Sunday, Dec. 21. Cash bond was set at $10,000. The court also ordered Librizzi to undergo a competency examination.