Pair took girl hostage over mother's debt, say Pa. police

PITTSBURGH - Police say a man and woman held a girl hostage whose mother owed them money, reports CBS Pittsburgh.

Aiesha Jones, 28, and Osiah Funkhouser, 21, allegedly lured the girl by asking her to babysit in Beaver Falls, Pa. about 30 miles west of Pittsburgh.

According to the station, it's unclear how much money the mother owed Jones and Funkhouser, but police say that prior to taking the girl hostage, the two argued with her mother over the debt.

After the three came to some sort of understanding, Jones and Funkhouser asked if the girl could babysit.

When the girl showed up at their home, she had a friend with her. But police say Jones and Funkhouser made the friend leave and that's when they forced the woman's daughter to stay against her will, reports the station.

Police say Jones and Funkhouser threatened the girl with a gun and some kind of stun gun, told her she would have to sleep in a closet and eventually told her they planned to beat her and kill her, as well as her mother, if the money wasn't paid back.

According to CBS Pittsburgh, the girl's friend told her mother what had happened, and the woman then called police.

Police found the girl in the apartment and charged Jones and Funkhouser on numerous counts, including kidnapping for ransom, false imprisonment and conspiracy.

They are both in the Beaver County Jail.