Grandparents Who Took Grandchild Face $150,000 Bill
By Jon Frank , The Virginian-Pilot

The grandparents who abducted their grandson and were fugitives in Costa Rica for 11 years were ordered Wednesday to pay almost us$150,000 in restitution to the child’s father.

Orpheus L. Woodbury, 72, and Sonja D. Woodbury, 60, were ordered to pay us$149,240 to their former son-in-law and his family as compensation for expenses incurred resulting from the abduction.

The father was granted sole legal and physical custody of his son in March 1993. That same year, the Woodburys took their grandson to Costa Rica.

The father and his family spent thousands of dollars trying to get the child back. They financed their efforts with loans and personal gifts, according to a press release from the Commonwealth’s Attorney’s office.

Numerous unsuccessful attempts also were made to extradite the Woodburys.

In October 2004, after their grandson turned 18, the Woodburys returned to the United States and turned themselves in to authorities.

Earlier this year, they pleaded guilty to one count each of child abduction and were sentenced to five years in prison, with all but six months suspended.

On Wednesday, Circuit Judge Patricia L. West ordered the restitution be paid within 90 days.

After the hearing, the Woodburys’ attorney, Mark T. Del Duca, said his clients don’t have the money and will explore all possibilities to appeal the ruling.

“The judge has reinstituted debtor’s prison,” Del Duca said.

“It is a very bad precedent as to the type of restitution that was awarded.”

The 90-day time limit, he said, “is the part that irritates me the most.”

The father, Clayton Saunders, made numerous trips to Costa Rica to retrieve his son after the abduction.

He persuaded at least one television show, “20/20,” to tell his story in a national broadcast.

The Woodburys said they moved to Costa Rica to retire, but admitted that they also were tired of dealing with Saunders in visitation battles.

Ultimately, courts in both countries ordered the Woodburys to return their grandson to his father.

While in Costa Rica, where Orpheus Woodbury spent much of his youth, the grandparents and their grandson lived in a rented house on a coffee farm.

He attended a European-style school and received good grades.

In an interview in 2004, they said they returned to the United States for several reasons.

Their grandson wanted to attend an American college, and they wanted to have Orpheus Woodbury’s Navy pension reinstated. It was terminated after the abduction.

The Woodburys have been released from custody and now live in Virginia Beach. Their grandson, who has not been identified to preserve his privacy, attends a Virginia college.