Trial begins in federal court for Kristen Smith, accused of kidnapping her newborn nephew

MADISON (AP) — The trial has begun for a Colorado woman accused of kidnapping her newborn nephew in Wisconsin and abandoning him in freezing temperatures.

Kristen Smith, of Aurora, Colorado, faces one count of kidnapping in federal court. She could be sentenced to life in prison if convicted by a jury in Madison, Wisconsin.

Prosecutors argue that Smith kidnapped days-old Kayden Powell from the Town of Beloit home where his parents were staying in February. Police arrested her at a gas station in West Branch, Iowa, later that day, but the infant wasn't with her.

The West Branch Police chief discovered Kayden the next morning hidden in a crate behind another gas station about 500 yards from the one where Smith was arrested. The infant was unharmed.