When Pink And Blue Turned Orange: How A Gender Reveal Landed A Young Couple In Jail

By Aileen D

Childbirth is something every expectant parent looks forward to. This young couple was certainly excited to share the good news. They had invited their closest friends and family members to a gender reveal celebration and two weeks after, they were sentenced to pay a fine and serve a couple of years in jail.

Just what did this young couple do to suffer a harsh sentence? Certainly, they had good intentions. And as far as everyone knew, it was legal to want to know what color of clothes they would be buying their baby. There must have been a mix-up!

But little did everyone know, that the two had been planning something. They would have gotten away with it if it weren’t for one woman’s observations. Just what did she see that everyone else was blind to?

A Young Couple

Geoffrey and Kaycee met in junior high. Though they grew up, they didn’t grow apart. Since their teens, the pair have been by each other’s side. They decided to get married right after getting their degrees and Geoffrey landing his first job. “Here’s to the Langs!

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The two wanted a “mini-me” right away. It didn’t take long for Kaycee to get pregnant with her first child. The future was looking bright for Geoffrey, the doting husband, and Kaycee, the expecting wife. Soon, their family would be complete.

Gone Too Soon

Right around her fourth month, Kaycee experienced low back pain. She didn’t pay heed to it until it got worse. She began bleeding and was rushed to the hospital. By then, doctors said they couldn’t do anything for the baby.

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The couple was absolutely devastated. Kaycee couldn’t even bear to look in the mirror. Somehow, she blamed herself for the loss of their kid. That was when Geoffrey decided to move out of the neighborhood. “A change of scenery might do wonders!

Worked Like Magic

Geoffrey put the house on sale and bought themselves a mobile home. It was a drastic move, but he would do whatever it took to make his wife happy again. As he had hoped, Kaycee started behaving like her old self, free of the memories of her miscarriage.

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They took a couple of weeks off and hit the road. The experiences drew color on Kaycee’s cheeks. There were still days she would cry herself to sleep, but for the most part, she started enjoying herself. She was even putting on more weight.

The Good News

It might have been the thrill of the adventure, but Kaycee hadn’t noticed that she had missed her period. When she finally noticed, she was three months along in the pregnancy. Without even trying, they had been blessed with another baby.

Image source: Kaycee Lang/Facebook

This time around, Geoffrey absolutely forbade her from doing anything tiresome. She followed suit. When she could no longer hide her baby bump, she posted the good news on her Facebook account, and everyone rushed in to give them their warm wishes.

Look-alike

Kaycee couldn’t keep herself from posting on social media. And everyone couldn’t help but pester her with questions about her pregnancy either. They were concerned about her health, but at the same time, excited that she would be nearing term.

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Just who would the baby look like? Everyone kept asking. Kaycee and Geoffrey had their own idea of what their baby would look like and they both wagered it would take after them equally. “How about we find out?” Kaycee got an ultrasound check and announced they would be hosting a…

Gender Reveal Party!!!

Kaycee’s closest friend, Cynthia, volunteered to organize the party herself. Since she couldn’t be there for Kaycee when she lost her first baby, Cynthia was more than happy to help this time around. Kaycee agreed and let her friend handle the festivities.

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Cynthia was among the first to know about Kaycee’s pregnancy, so she had been able to plan the baby shower long before everyone found out. She sent the invites, ordered cupcakes, and bought the expecting couple gifts. In total, she pitched in nearly $300.

Too Pretty to Eat

“Just look at that cake!” Kaycee put the dessert on the center table so that everyone could see Cynthia’s efforts. It was too pretty for Kaycee’s liking, and certainly too pretty to destroy. But as soon as Cynthia gave her a slice, she dug in!

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Cynthia made sure to give a slice of cake to everyone who had come to the party. And just in case they wanted another serving, there were always cupcakes they could help themselves to. “If only that baby inside Kaycee could get a bite of this, too!

The Grand Winner Is…

This had been some time since everyone had seen the young couple, so people made sure to attend the party. They brought her maternity wear and even kitchen appliances — anything that could help the two on their journey as parents.

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Those who hadn’t been able to buy the couple a gift made sure to hand over some money. “Here, buy yourselves something nice! Oh, and make sure to give your kid a kiss from Uncle Jamie. “Kaycee basically needed another pair of hands to collect the money.

Some Time Off

After the party, it was as if Kaycee had fallen off the grid. She would rarely reply to any of the messages, much less log into any of her social media accounts. She explained that she wanted to rest as much as possible before reaching term.

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People gave her the space that she needed. Soon enough, Kaycee’s water broke and she was rushed to the hospital to give birth to a baby boy. The two named him Easton Walt, born at 3:11 in the morning. The Langs were more than excited to share the good news with everyone.

Quick Update

Of course, Kaycee quickly took to Facebook to share a snapshot she had of Easton Walt. The newborn was wrapped in clothing and could be seen peacefully sleeping. But things were about to change for the couple only five hours later.

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In tears, Kaycee uploaded a video of herself telling everyone that Easton Walt had passed away. He spastically struggled for air when the team rushed in to resuscitate him. All efforts had been in vain as the doctor called Easton’s time of death.

No Response

Kaycee had been hysterical. She would have walked over and breathed air into Easton Walt had it not been for the intense fatigue and pain she felt all over her body. She was helpless to act as she saw the Easton Walt flatline.

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In tears, Kaycee called out to her son. “No, no, no! Easton!” She had hoped that somehow her voice would bring him back to life but there was little anyone could do to console this young mom… not even Geoffrey.

To the Root of It

Everyone asked what had happened. Kaycee said that the doctors told her Easton Walt suffered from respiratory distress. It was as if his lungs were filled with sacs of water. During normal delivery, fluid should be forced out of the baby’s mouth but it may have been possible that some remained.

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The family wanted to visit Kaycee in the hospital, but she told everyone she would rather spend this moment alone with her child. Yet, oddly enough, she wouldn’t stop tweeting or updating her Facebook posts. Might this be her way of coping with her son’s untimely death?

Who Was More Affected?

Once again, people were very sympathetic to her plight. This had been the second time Kaycee had lost a child. And despite Kaycee’s odd tics, you couldn’t blame her for coping the way she did. How can you expect a mom who had lost a kid to act normally?

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But with the updates on social media and the tone of her messages, it almost seemed like Kaycee was dealing with the loss exceedingly well. It was as if her friends and family were more affected by Easton Walt’s passing.

“Me, Me, Me”

Kaycee didn’t get an hour of sleep from her delivery until the next day. She replied to messages a few seconds in between. What happened to the physically fatigued mom who had just given birth? It was as if she was basking in the attention people gave her.

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The same could be said of Geoffrey. All hands were on deck as they were busy replying to comments, messages, and tweets. Some even observed that his tone was a little upbeat. But what really got everyone suspicious was the couple’s next post.

Love, Money

The couple shared a link leading to a GoFundMe account, a crowdfunding platform. In recent years, it’s become one of the easiest ways to raise money online. The young couple was taking advantage of the website and was banking on everyone’s sympathies.

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“Well, the two surely got over the death of their son pretty quickly.” Whereas everyone was still wondering what it was that caused Easton Walt’s untimely death, the couple were keen on paying off the medical and funeral bills, and even buying the baby a personalized urn.

A Day After

Take note that the couple shared the GoFundMe link a day after Kaycee had given birth and lost her child. To everyone, it didn’t seem like an act of grief. It almost seemed orchestrated. And there were other telltale signs, too.

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For one, newborn respiratory distress usually happens to infants on the second to the seventh day. It’s rare for newborns to suffer from it a couple of hours after delivery. Second, pre-term babies are more prone to suffer from it, unlike babies born at term, like Easton Walt.

Did You Hear About…

Instead of praying for Kaycee’s physical and emotional recovery and Easton Walt’s eternal repose, people couldn’t help but gossip. Some felt guilty for judging the couple for their actions, but many thought that the couple may have been up to something.

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It didn’t help that Geoffrey would post on social media with pleas to keep the grieving parents in their thoughts and prayer. And after sharing the GoFundMe link he added that they’d appreciate it if people shared their post and donated to help “pay for the… bills”.

A Mix of Emotions

Everyone felt a wave of emotions, but it was the critics that felt deep-seated guilt, indignance, and even anger after reading this obituary. Not only would they have to pray for Easton Walt, but they would have to pray for forgiveness for watering seeds of doubt.

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Every time they tried to ask more questions about Easton Walt’s death, Kaycee would end the conversation. But consider the prospect of donating and she would regain her strength and speak to you at length. Does that smell fishy or what?

Gone So Soon

Donations poured in, especially after people saw this lone picture of Easton Walt. That and the heartfelt obituary appealed to people’s emotions. “Oh, we can only imagine what this couple is going through, counting through all their money like that.”

Image source: gofundme.com

Once again, the couple was up to the task of organizing a memorial service. They invited friends and family who were shocked to find out that Easton Walt had already been cremated. Really now, what’s left of him to remember?

In Disbelief

It was right about this time that Cynthia, suspicious of the couple’s behavior, conducted her own investigation. She read through all of Kaycee and Geoffrey’s posts, made a timeline, and briefly researched respiratory distress syndrome. She forwarded her findings to the police.

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Who would have thought that Kaycee’s childhood friend, Cynthia, would actually be the whistleblower of this whole charade? Remember that Cynthia was the same person who hosted the couple’s baby shower. And even back then, she remembers that Kaycee didn’t ask any of her friends to feel her child kicking.

To the Rescue

Cynthia may have been unable to search through the public records, but the police sure could! They began interviewing the Cambria County Coroner and the Somerset County Coroner for details about Easton Walt’s death — both of which had no records of it.

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That was more than enough to raise suspicion. Kaycee’s post said she gave birth in Conemaugh Memorial Hospital, so that was the next stop. But the hospital did not have any records of Kaycee Lang who had supposedly given birth to Easton Walt Lang at 3 in the morning!

Following the Body

What about the body? At this point, an alibi that could corroborate that the couple had Easton Walt cremated would have been very beneficial. So the police checked in on the funeral home where Easton Walt’s ashes were supposedly kept.

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As it turns out, the funeral home never received a body from the Langs. They never cremated a day-old baby. They do, however, remember the couple had bought an urn to place their baby’s ashes in. Sounds like it’s all for show!

Q and A

During all this time, the police made sure to keep in contact with the Langs. They didn’t ask the two any questions that might cause them to flee; just that they had received reports from people who were concerned about Kaycee’s safety.

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When the police had gotten all the pieces of evidence that they needed, they invited the two for questioning at the station. Geoffrey told them that he was not with Kaycee during her delivery. But he had heard that the baby’s condition was poor just a couple of minutes before Easton Walt’s death.

Bodily Remains

Needless to say, the police were unconvinced about the Lang’s performance. They secured a search warrant to go through the couple’s house the very next day. There they found what remained of Easton Walt Lang. They were just horrified at what they found.

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The whole time, the Langs were using a newborn doll to dupe everyone into thinking Kaycee had given birth to Easton Walt. It was so lifelike, one police officer rushed in to find a pulse. They couldn’t find any, but they found Easton Walt Lang’s urn on a table.

Hands Up

“The jig is up. Show us your hands.” The police took Geoffrey and Kaycee into custody and collected every piece of evidence they could find. A couple of days later, the two were charged with theft by deception and fraud. Their first hearing was set two months later.

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As you can imagine, the Langs hung their heads in shame. They couldn’t explain themselves to their parents, whose names they had even used in Easton Walt’s obituary. The next question on everyone’s minds was, “whatever happened to the money?

Full Refund

The police then contacted GoFundMe to have the page shut down. Even without playing a hand in the scam, a spokesperson from the crowdfunding platform made some comments to the public about the situation. They were thinking about adding additional verification procedures.

Image source: gofundme.com

In that short amount of time, the Langs managed to amass $550 from nearly 15 people. Fortunately enough, the platform guaranteed a full refund to donors saying, “we have a zero-tolerance policy for any misuse on the platform.” They’re considered the number one crowdfunding platform for good reason!

The Unlikely Whistleblower

If you suspect your friend was committing a wrong or breaking the law, would you call them out on it? Probably not. Most people would probably even help cover their friend’s tracks. But not Cynthia. Cynthia was tired of the Langs using them for money.

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She thought that the two deserved a child, after what they had gone through. But after hearing about what had happened, it’s highly likely that the Langs lied about losing their first kid, too. Remember: they moved out of their old neighborhood and lived in a mobile home.

One Slip

If it weren’t for this tiny slip, Cynthia might never have suspected Kaycee of doing such a thing. Just what was it that Kaycee had done that gave the whole charade away? We’ll give you a clue. It had to do with the “gender reveal.”

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Kaycee asked Cynthia to open an envelope that held within information on her baby’s gender. Cynthia reached to the envelope atop the desk, opened it, and pulled out a blue piece of paper, with nothing else scribbled on it. Maybe that was just how they do it nowadays.

A Scheme?

Being the good friend, Cynthia cast her doubts aside. Why shouldn’t she be happy for the Langs, especially for Kaycee who seemed to be recovering from the untimely loss of her first newborn? Just wear a grin and eat the cupcake!

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But when she had heard that the second baby suffered a similar death, all the pieces fell into place — how the Langs were more concerned about what they had received, or how Kaycee barely mentioned what it felt like to have a growing baby inside of her.

Why Did They Act Abnormally?

Because there had been none! Until now, friends and family couldn’t understand what compelled the two to carry out this act. If they were short on money, they could have just asked. And if they needed a place to crash, mom and dad had a room to spare.

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The Langs probably hadn’t considered facing jail time. Do you think they would have reconsidered putting this plan into action if they knew what it felt like to sit behind prison walls? Probably not. But they did plead guilty to two theft charges.