TLDR
The criminal case against Utah mother Shannon Tufuga grows out of a neighborhood dispute that both families say began with bullying. Prosecutors describe a deliberate abduction. The boy’s family calls it terrifying. Tufuga’s attorney frames it as a flawed account from a struggling child.
Tufuga, 40, faces one count of child kidnapping and one count of aggravated child abuse in Provo, according to charging documents described by Law & Crime and Cowboy State Daily. The filings allege she seized an 11-year-old boy in September 2025 because she believed he was bullying her children, and local outlets report that her next court hearing is scheduled for April 30th and that she has not appeared on the county jail roster.
Alleged Confrontation After Months of Tension
According to the boy’s mother, Amberlee Collazo, tension between the families had built over two years, as reported by KSL. She said Tufuga’s daughter had a crush on her son, that the attention became overwhelming, and that after he responded with a negative comment and without any prior discussion between the mothers, Tufuga allegedly began targeting him.
An affidavit obtained by Cowboy State Daily and KUTV states that on September 17th, 2025, Tufuga drove through the neighborhood looking for the boy, identified in documents only by initials. After finding him riding his bicycle, she allegedly pulled her vehicle into his path, compelled him to get inside, and drove him to her home without his parents’ consent.
Affidavit Describes Coercion, Threats, and Emotional Harm
Inside the house, investigators say, Tufuga forced the boy to apologize to her daughter for alleged bullying, according to the affidavit summarized by Law & Crime. The documents state that after he apologized, she threatened to have her husband beat him up and told him he was lucky she had not run over his bike.
Collazo told KSL that when her son was inside the home, Tufuga’s husband stood nearby with a gun on his hip, and that her son eventually ran back home after being told to leave. The affidavit, however, records that Tufuga later drove the boy home herself, and KUTV reported that the Provo City School District declined to comment on the underlying bullying claims, citing an ongoing investigation.
Defense Cites Bullying Allegations and School Response
In Collazo’s account to KSL, her son had “got fed up with the fact that she doesn’t leave him alone” before the incident, and the confrontation left him fearful. The affidavit states he experienced “serious emotional distress” and “high anxiety” that significantly altered his daily routines.
KUTV reported that Tufuga was working as a city crossing guard but is no longer employed following the allegations, and that she told the station her children, some with disabilities, had been bullied by the boy and that school officials did not adequately respond. Tufuga’s attorney, Pona Sitake, in a written statement to KUTV, said, “We respectfully deny the allegations made in the charging document filed this week” and argued that the claims stem from a troubled child and are not accurate, saying the defense plans to present evidence about repeated bullying of Tufuga’s children and the school’s response.
A 40-year-old American mother, Shannon Tufuga, has been charged with child kidnapping after allegedly forcing an 11-year-old boy accused of bullying her autistic son into her car last September.
On September 17, 2025, Tufuga reportedly spotted the boy biking in their… pic.twitter.com/tdPIkFq3YN
— Abdikarim Hussein (@AbdikarimHusse) March 25, 2026
The case now sits at the intersection of school bullying concerns, parental frustration, and strict criminal laws governing contact with children. As the prosecution builds its case and the defense challenges the affidavit, upcoming hearings will determine which version of events a Utah court ultimately accepts.
