Police: Braddock woman kidnapped boy from pool to convince boyfriend to start a family

An 18-year-old Braddock woman accused of kidnapping a boy from a North Side swimming pool Wednesday evening told police she did so to convince her boyfriend to start a family with her, according to a criminal complaint.

The 9-year-old boy told police he had been swimming at the Sue Murray Swimming Pool on Cedar Avenue. He and friends went to a convenience store with the woman to buy snacks, because she offered to pay for them. The woman, later identified as Karastine Muyango, paid for the food and they returned to the pool, the boy told police.

Police said the boy told investigators he left the pool by himself and sat down in a lot because his foot was hurting when Muyango grabbed him by the arm and led him to a bus stop. They boarded a Port Authority of Allegheny County bus and the boy told police Muyango called her boyfriend and told him she would be bringing the boy to Braddock, according to the complaint.

When they were on the bus Muyango told people he was a family member, the boy told police. They ended up riding a bus back to near where they boarded initially, he said.

He walked toward the pool and was met there by concerned friends, family and police, according to the complaint.

Multiple witnesses told police Muyango had been trying to talk to kids who were at the pool, police said.

One girl told police that Muyango offered her $20 if she would accompany her to Braddock, according to the complaint.

Muyango admitted to police that she took the boy, the complaint said. She told investigators she wanted to take him to her boyfriend’s house in Braddock to convince the man to start a family with her, according to police. Once they were on the bus, Muyango told police she called her boyfriend and he told her he wasn’t home and she shouldn’t bring the boy there, according to the complaint.

They boarded another bus and returned to the North Side, she told police.

The boyfriend hasn’t been charged, according to a search of court records.

Police filed a kidnapping charge against Muyango and she is in Allegheny County Jail in lieu of $100,000 bond.