Amber Alert suspect clutches photo; Father allegedly kidnapped 3-year-old girl daughter.

• Author: Ring, Kim
• Position: Local

Byline: Kim Ring

EAST BROOKFIELD -- Clutching a photograph of the daughter he is accused of kidnapping from her home in Delaware, a crying Michael A. Trotta Sr. was arraigned Wednesday morning on a charge of being a fugitive from justice.

Mr. Trotta, of 810 East Basin Road, Apt. C5, New Castle, Delaware, is facing charges in New Castle, where he allegedly assaulted his daughter's mother and then fled with 3-year-old Elinor Trotta in her mother's car, triggering a nationwide Amber Alert as police feared for the child's safety. On Tuesday, the father and daughter were found in Spencer leaving a house at 12 Lincoln St., police wrote in their report.

Spencer police, along with state police and FBI agents were watching the Lincoln Street house after learning Mr. Trotta might be headed there.

A man named Joseph Trotta lives at that residence but declined to comment in a telephone interview on Tuesday night.

About 3 p.m., officers saw a vehicle leave the house and stopped it on Pleasant Street. According to a statement of facts from Spencer Detective James J. Murray, he and Trooper Amy Waterman found Mr. Trotta crouched in the back seat of the car. He reached for his pocket, where police later found a razor knife, the report states.

The child was also in the vehicle.

Mr. Trotta told police he had "kidnapped his daughter but didn't hurt her,'' the report says. During an interview with an FBI agent, Mr. Trotta allegedly said he wanted to kill himself and was attempting to do that when police stopped the vehicle.

After the arrest, the little girl was tended to by members of the Spencer Rescue Squad. She was later seen leaving the Spencer police station with two workers from the state Department of Children and Families so she could be reunited with her mother, Dawn Barkus.

As events unfolded before the alleged abduction in New Castle, Delaware., on Monday Ms. Barkus took to social media, accusing Mr. Trotta of using a phony Facebook page to post photographs of her. Friends posted a screen shot of a page on a...