The man accused of kidnapping 9-year-old Charlotte Sena at an upstate New York park and holding her for ransom was reportedly after her late grandfather’s fortune, according to his ex-girlfriend.
Craig Ross Jr., 46, was charged earlier this week with kidnapping the young girl, who was found in a closet inside his trailer after she vanished on a bike ride while camping with her family.
Charlotte’s grandfather, Patrick Sena, had successfully sued the small town of Greenfield, New York in 1998 for a sledding accident and was awarded $2.2 million, the Daily Mail first reported.
He died in 2015.
Ross’ former partner, 33-year-old Amanda Preece, told the outlet she believes that Ross demanded $50,000 from the Senas because he knew about the settlement money — as it was common knowledge among many residents living in the Saratoga area.
“I think that’s why he held her ransom, he was hoping to get some of the money because he’s struggling financially,” she said. “That kind of money would set him up for around four or five years.”
“He’s never wanted to work. He’s always wanted to find people to mooch off of whether it be girlfriends or making his mother feel bad because his MS is so bad,” she added, referencing his multiple sclerosis.
Ross had reportedly fallen behind on tax payments for a property less than two miles from Charlotte’s home, forcing him to move back onto his mother’s property where he lived in the trailer.
Preece said that Ross was “evil” and believes he followed Charlotte and her family, planning the snatching for some time.
“He had been following her family, he knew where they lived,” she said.
“He put up tarp over the windows a few months prior, so I feel like he had been planning it for a while,” added Preece. “He has the patience for messed up things like that.”
“To go to the campsite where they were at, to know where they lived, and to go to the park when they are there. He definitely had this planned,” she told the paper. “He’s the type of person where he pre plans and it can be months ahead to do something.”
Preece was granted a restraining order against Ross in 2017 after he “grabbed her by the throat with both hands” and threw her across a room, according to court documents obtained by the Daily Mail.
She claimed he “terrorized” her while they were together.
Ross was also the subject of a recently closed investigation of sexual abuse of a 12-year-old girl, police sources told the Times Union.
The investigation concluded with no charges being filed.
Since his arrest on Monday, police are looking for any connections between Ross and other major unsolved cases in the vicinity — including the decades-old abduction and slayings of 18-year-old Jennifer Hammond and 19-year-old Christina White, according to the Saratoga County Sheriff’s Office.
Ross was busted after his DNA was matched to fingerprints on a ransom note he left in the Sena family’s mailbox.
He is charged with first-degree kidnapping with the intent to collect ransom during an arraignment early Tuesday morning. More charges are expected, authorities said.
Ross is currently being held at the Saratoga County Jail without bail. His next court date is scheduled for Oct. 17.
