Charlotte Sena Kidnapping Suspect Targeted Little Girl Because of Grandfather’s Wealth, Ex-Girlfriend Claims

The man accused of kidnapping Charlotte Sena took her in hopes of getting part of her late grandfather’s fortune, an ex-girlfriend of Craig Ross claims.

Amanda Preece, 33, told the Daily Mail that she thinks he was attempting to get a $50,000 ransom because of his financial struggles.

“That kind of money would set him up for around four or five years,” Preece told the paper.

In 1998, Patrick Sena won a $2.2 million lawsuit against the town of Greenfield, NY, after he was seriously injured in a sledding accident. He died in 2015.

Ross was reportedly behind on tax payments for a property less than two miles from Charlotte's home and was forced to move back in with his mother due to money problems, according to the paper.

Preece said was “evil” and even his own children felt he was a “monster.” 

Preece claims Ross may have moved into a trailer on his mother’s property so he would have a place to keep Sena after he kidnapped her.

“He had been following her family, he knew where they lived,” she said.

Preece claimed that Ross could have met Charlotte while taking his own daughter to softball games in the area.

He would also take his own children camping in Moreau Lake State Park, swimming and biking with his family.

"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 says she had a restraining order against Ross after he attempted to choke her in 2017.

“He always terrorized me and anybody he encounters where he feels that he is mentally stronger than them he will terrorize them,” she told the Daily Mail.

Ross had also been the subject of a recently closed investigation into the sexual abuse of a 12-year-old girl.

That case against Craig N. Ross, Jr. was closed without any charges being filed, sources told the Times Union.

The incident was alleged to have involved a female family acquaintance more than a year ago, according to the paper.

Ross was arrested Monday in connection with the abduction of Sena.

The 9-year-old was the subject of an Amber Alert after she vanished while riding her bike in Saturday.

Hundreds of searchers had scoured a nearly 50-mile search area in the frantic hunt for Sena.

Police ultimately found her after searching multiple residences where Ross was known to live, including one located roughly 13 miles south of where Sena lived in the hamlet of Porters Corners.

Gov. Kathy Hochul said Monday night during a news conference that investigators were able to identify a fingerprint from a ransom note allegedly left by Ross.

He was charged with first-degree kidnapping with the intent to collect ransom during an arraignment early Tuesday morning.

Ross is being held at the Saratoga County Jail without bail. He is due back in court on Oct. 17.