Publicity-hungry mom who got stranger jailed over child abduction 'lie' suddenly changes her tune
A Georgia mother who went on camera to detail a Walmart shopper's alleged abduction of her child has now fallen silent as doubts grow over her story.
Caroline Miller, 26, went on a media tour last month after alleging 57-year-old Mahendra Patel tried to kidnap her infant child in the aisles of a Walmart store in Acworth, Georgia in March.
Patel then spent months in jail after he was arrested for the alleged child abduction.
He was freed Tuesday as a judge set his bond at $10,000 but still faces charges including assault and battery and attempt to commit kidnapping.
In previous media appearances, Miller claimed that she and Patel were in a 'tug of war' over her two-year-old child in the Walmart.
However, footage released by Patel's attorneys disputed this claim as they insisted it shows Patel calmly asking Miller where the Tylenol was, before reaching down to stop her child falling from a motorized shopping cart she was on.
Patel's attorneys maintain that he was only trying to stop the child falling, with the footage also appearing to show another man reached down to help the infant.
In his first remarks since being released, Patel told reporters on the courthouse steps that he was overjoyed to finally be out of custody after almost two months behind bars.
'I'm a positive guy, so you got to take it one day at a time. Lot of ups and downs,' he said. 'But I knew we had a team outside helping me. One day we'll see the light, and then we see today.'
But while Patel was elated to speak with the media, Miller has since gone silent after her previous appearances, and refused to attend his hearing on Tuesday as a family member told CNN she is declining to comment further.
When he left the courthouse on Tuesday, Patel said he was excited to get back to his family despite still facing serious criminal charges.
He said he was not focused on that, and was instead looking forward to having a home cooked meal with his loved ones.
'I'm picky about food, but I told my daughter and wife, I said, 'I don't care. Better than what I got over there,' he said.
In his bond hearing, Patel's attorney Ashleigh Merchant told a judge that when he reached out to grab Miller's child, he was 'acting like a father.'
She pointed to a litany of supporters Patel had in the courtroom who attested to his character, and a loud cheer was heard as the judge ruled that the father would be released on bond.
A family friend previously told DailyMail.com that they 'automatically' knew there 'had to have been a mistake' when they saw the news of his arrest, and said he has been maligned through no fault of his own.
'There's just like absolutely no way like he would ever do something like that,' they said.
The friend also blasted Miller for the media tour she went on after accusing Patel, questioning: 'How many interviews can this person do?'
Patel had remained behind bars for months following his arrest before he was released this week, and told reporters that he was looking forward to a home cooked meal with his family
It comes as Patel's attorneys showed footage of his interaction with Miller in court on Tuesday, which showed Patel walking up to Miller as she drove her motorized shopping cart with her son and four-year-old daughter.
It is unclear why Miller was using the cart, as she is able to walk.
After pointing him toward the Tylenol, Miller then spoke with another shopper and was seen smiling and laughing with them, moments after she alleged that she fought to save her child from a kidnapping.
The other patron also helped Miller's children as they fell from her mobility scooter - which she mother was using despite not being disabled - just as Patel said he had done.
The footage showed no such struggle that Miller had described, and even showed Patel walking back past her and appearing to show her the Tylenol that he eventually found as he left the store.
Miller reported Patel to a Walmart employee five minutes after the alleged snatching attempt, but did not call the police until later.
In court on Tuesday, Marchant said a Walmart staffer found it strange that Miller did not scream or call for help during the alleged kidnapping attempt, and initially appeared reluctant to call police.
Despite the video footage and his claims, the Acworth Police Department told DailyMail.com before Patel was released that it was standing by the arrest, saying the 'video released by the attorney does not show the entire incident.'
'It seems to have been edited... it's not the video we have,' the department said, but declined to share their footage.
'I have no idea if they showed the video or not [to the grand jury]. But if you see the entire video, it's very clear what's happening. I mean, there's really no mistaking it,' Patel's lawyer Merchant said.
When asked why Miller would make up such horrific claims against an innocent name, Patel's lawyer pointed out that Miller has previously been involved in litigation against companies.
In 2021 she filed a lawsuit against Lyft saying she had been raped by a driver. The lawsuit is ongoing.
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