US Marine stationed in South Korea was told by his wife that their baby had died...she lied!
A US soldier in South Korea was left devastated when his wife informed him that their child had died at birth.
But Sgt Steven Garcia, 24, only found the truth later which was equally devastating: the baby was alive and had been allegedly sold to another couple by his wife.
He received yet another blow when it was revealed that he was not the biological father.
According to a report by Daily Mail, Garcia had to go through an ocean of revelations before he was left fighting for his baby boy's custody. His estranged wife, Marina Garcia, has now pleaded guilty to a felony.
In January, Garcia -- who is a patrol officer in Seoul, South Korea-- was told that Marina, 31, had given birth to a baby girl who died during the birth.
"When my sister called me about that, it was pretty emotional,' Garcia told KVOA. "We cried quite a bit together over the phone. It was devastating."
But the baby -- who was born on February 2 in Arizona -- was alive and a boy!
Marina had given the baby to her old friends Leslie and Alex Hernandez.
The truth came to light when the couple with the illegitimate child was apprehended by an Arizona highway patrolman for overspeeding while they were going back home to Texas with the baby boy.
The trooper told investigators that the couple seemed nervous and he questioned them about the baby.
After questioning them, he learned that they were not the biological parents and baby was only three days old then.
Alex Hernandez later confessed that he had committed a fraud by signing the boy's birth certificate as the father and intended to take the child with them. Garcia's parents who named the baby boy as Leo claim that Marina had sold the child to Alex and Leslie Hernandez.
There is no evidence about the money deal between the couple and Marina and the Cochise County Attorney is still investigating the matter.
However, Marina has claimed that they were no money involved.
Alex and Leslie Hernandez have pleaded guilty to conspiring to commit forgery and both have been sentenced to four years under supervised probation.
Marina pleaded guilty to a felony count of an attempted fraudulent scheme and will be sentenced next month.
Prosecutors have recommended that she should be sent to prison for her act. "The only thing on [Marina's] mind was getting rid of this child," said Cochise County Attorney Brian McIntyre.
"This 'problem' in her life. What scares me is that if it hadn't been the Hernandez', if the couple hadn't been willing to step forward, then what person off the Internet might have been next?"
While the charges on the people involved have been settled the fight for the custody has begun.
Leo is currently under foster care with the Arizona's Department of Child Safety.
Investigators found Marina in Sierra Vista where she was living with her Army Specialist boyfriend. She told the investigators that she was not sure who the father of the baby boy was and claimed that she was sure it was not Garcia.
The statement left Gracia shocked, and he told detectives he last had sex with his wife in May 2017 - around the time of conception - before he left for South Korea.
Text messages between Marina and Garcia also proved that she knew her husband was under the impression that he was the father. Garcia who has filed for a divorce has spent thousands of dollars flying from South Korea to Arizona to visit Leo, sadly he has not yet got custody of the child.
Ever since his cousin has started a GoFundMe page to finance Garcia's legal and travel fees. Garcia who is also an adopted child is not concerned about not being the boy's biological father.
"My adopted father completely changed my life," he said. "Without him, I would not be where I am today. The opportunity to do that for someone else, I believe it's important. It could change the child's life and give him a better future. I believe that's the right thing to do," he said.