Crime

Woman pleads not guilty to kidnapping newborn nephew

/ CBS/AP

MADISON, Wis. - A woman accused of abducting her newborn nephew in Wisconsin and abandoning him outside a gas station in Iowa has pleaded not guilty to a federal kidnapping charge.

Prosecutors say Kristen Smith of Aurora, Colo., kidnapped four-day-old Kayden Powell from the town of Beloit home where the boy's parents were staying earlier this month.

Police arrested her at an Iowa gas station hours later and discovered the baby in a crate

Kayden Powell CBS affiliate WDJT
outside another nearby gas station the next morning. The child was alive and well despite being left in frigid temperatures for more than 24 hours.

A federal grand jury indicted her on a kidnapping count last week. She pleaded not guilty to the charge on Wednesday.

U.S. Magistrate Judge Stephen Crocker scheduled her trial to begin on June 23. If convicted, Smith faces life in prison, reports CBS affiliate WISC.

First published on February 27, 2014 / 2:26 PM EST

© 2014 CBS Interactive Inc. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. The Associated Press contributed to this report.

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