El Paso mom convicted of daughter’s kidnapping gives up parental rights in exchange for probation

In an unusual move, a woman convicted of the aggravated kidnapping of her daughter proposed a sentence ahead of the punishment phase of her trial, which was scheduled to start on Monday morning.

Both the defense attorney for Erika Quinones Wolff and the prosecution team agreed on the proposal that Quinones serve 10 years of supervised probation and relinquish all parental rights to her 6-year-old daughter.

Quinones was facing 5 years to life in prison after being found guilty on Friday of aggravated kidnapping. She was accused of taking her young daughter to Mexico in the middle of a contentious divorce and custody battle with her husband, William Wolff.

Wolff was shot to death in Dec. 2015. An investigation by El Paso police revealed that Quinones took their daughter to Mexico in March of that year. According to testimony, she was living in Ensenada, Baja California, with her daughter as well as her parents, Javier and Guadalupe Quinones.

All three were arrested upon reentering the U.S. in January 2016. Javier Quinones was charged with Wolff’s murder and convicted in Oct. of 2017. He is currently serving a sentence of life in prison.

James Montoya, an assistant District Attorney handling the prosecution of the case for the state, told Judge Angie Barrill on Monday morning that he was approached by Quinones’ attorney, Troy Brown, to discuss a resolution to the trial.

Montoya said that typically, the felony charge of aggravated kidnapping can only be sentenced by the jury and cannot be issued by the court, but that the Wolff family agreed to the terms posed by the defense.

When questioned by the judge about whether she understood that she was waiving her right to a punishment by jury, and whether she was entering the plea voluntarily, Quinones simply and quietly responded, “Yes.”

According to Brown, Quinones now lives in Oregon, which is where she will serve her probation.

Along with serving 10 years probation and relinquishing parental rights, Quinones was also ordered to serve 500 hours of community service.

According to court records, Quinones’ mother Guadalupe is charged with interfering with child custody. Her case is scheduled to go to trial in September.