Alexis also told the New York Times that Williams doted on her, taking her on trips to the zoo, to aquariums and Sea World. Her abductor was a stranger who waited patiently, even interacted with the babys family prior to kidnapping. She believes people, even the very people she helped financially, have snickered at her. He was serving a sentence on an unrelated charge at the time of the sex crimes arrest, and was rearrested in the correctional facility. This is a battle that I cant keep fighting. JACKSONVILLE, Fla. Craig Aiken, Kamiyah Mobleys father, says his daughter is doing well and living in Jacksonville with her mother. Mobley has issues with trust. Williams declined to address the media but extends "her appreciation to everyone involved in her defense as well as all of the people who either wrote letters or appeared on her behalf," Williams' attorney, Diana Johnson, said in a statement. Since January 2017, the emotions of the soon-to-be-20-year-old woman with two names Kamiyah Mobley and Alexis Manigo have been playing out like some nonstop tug of war. Mobley told the judge she thought Williams should get the death penalty. Come on now, if I thought it was going to be this hard, I could have got an abortion. Prosecutors acknowledge that there is nothing they can do about Kamiyah and Williams communicating. She didnt want to lose her mother. Gloria Williams enters the courtroom for her sentencing in the kidnapping of newborn Kamiyah Mobley, June 8, 2018 at the Duval County Courthouse in Jacksonville, Fla. Gloria Williams enters the courtroom for sentencing, May 3, 2018, at the Duval County Courthouse in Jacksonville, Fla. Will Dickey/The Florida Times-Union via AP. It was one of the happiest days of my life, Shanara told USA Today of learning about Mobleys recovery and Gloria Williams arrest. And if thats taking me to talk to the enemy, thats what I would do to build a relationship with my daughter, Aiken said. They said Alexis was both well-mannered and well-read. Please let my baby go. Those facilities are much more difficult to get into, because of what Gloria did. Sometimes, thered be family trip or a big party in honor of the child that wouldnt be there. She was tired, she said, of being disrespected., I didnt know this kidnapper had such a hold on her. She had been raised under the name Alexis Kelli Manigo. Im still lost. Stolen by my Mother will premiere on Jan. 18, 2020 at 8 a.m. She forever changed the way we view hospitals.. Was it really a random act? Nobody is leaving me unattended, she said. After reading about Kamiyah Mobley, look through these mysterious disappearances that remain puzzling to this day. Presenting herself as a hospital nurse, Gloria offered Shanara comfort and support and even fetched her a new hospital gown. Kamiyah's opinions didn't change in the following months. The kidnapper spent approximately five of those hours befriending Mobley. Pretending to be a nurse, Williams kidnapped Kamiyah just hours after the little girls birth at University Hospital, which is now known as UF Health Jacksonville. Kamiyah was raised under the alias Alexis Manigo. Aiken says hes never had a conversation with his daughters kidnapper. Kamiyah Mobley with her biological parents. Her claim was repelled. Needless to say, the baby wasnt found.. When asked if he forgives Williams, Aiken responded, Thats a hard question., I feel nothing towards her. The settlement was sizable. Another wish. Kamiyah, then 19, was introduced to her biological mother, Shanara Mobley, and father, Craig Aiken, raced to South Carolina following Williams' arrest. Gloria Williams with Alexis Manigo, about a month after shed kidnapped the infant in Florida. She was born 10 July 1998, in Jacksonville, Florida, United States. This station is part of Cox Media Group Television. The sentences run concurrently and Williams received credit for 511 days of time served. Three days later, Alexiss biological parents, Shanara Mobley and Craig Aiken, would make the three-hour drive from Jacksonville to the Walterboro Police Department to meet their daughter. Every day people got to stay around me all day, every day to watch me. I kidnapped you.. Kamiyah was kidnapped as a newborn in Jacksonville in July 1998 and lived her life as "Alexis" in South Carolina. Accompanied by her attorney, Justin Bamberg, Alexis was gracious but guarded in responding to questions about how her life might have differed, if not for thekidnapping. At the same time, she maintained relationships with the people shed known as her older brothers and grandparents in South Carolina, and also with Williams. She expected she would want to be part of the family. In 2017, the story of her captivity and eventual rescue made national headlines. Gloria was looking for a child she could raise as her own, Lowery says. Theres nothing she can do thats going to make me stop loving her. Nobody acknowledges my pain. After her abductors arrest, the teen said she hoped Williams' sentence would not be a long one. She was sheltered from very little. Virginia Woman Saved From Swamp As A Baby Reunites With Rescuer 35 Years Later Nothing.". Investigators say Gloria Williams took Mobley from a hospital in 1998, raising her as her own daughter. Another birthday. DNA tests confirmed that the girl was the missing newborn. According to USA Today, Mobleys continued loyalty to Williams caused tension with her birth mother, who even blocked her daughters number at one point. The dispatcher said a baby had been taken, a newborn, and patrol had the hospital in lockdown, Shoenfeld recalls. She has not shared with the public any information about her relationship. I dont feel that she should still be able to contact Kamiyah, and I dont feel that her family should be able to contact my child, she said. Mobley has since been reunited with her biological family, but her father says he has questions about his daughters childhood -- questions that only Williams would be able to answer. As local authorities scoured bus terminals and airports, the search would soon rivet the nation. She tried to kill herself. According to the Post and Courier, she screamed at Williams to leave her family alone at one point and told the judge she wanted the death penalty for her daughters kidnapper. She was one of those mothers, she was like open to sleepovers, open to company. This is what Gloria [Williams] and Kamiyah brought upon my children. Meanwhile, just three hours away in Jacksonville, a perpetually heartsick young mother baked a cake every year for her missing daughters birthday. Gloria Williams enters the courtroom for sentencing, May 3, 2018, at the Duval County Courthouse in Jacksonville, Fla. Gloria Williams posed as a nurse and stole Kamiyah Mobley from a Jacksonville hospital in July 1998 before giving the child a different name, Alexis Manigo, and raising her as her own in South Carolina. Nobody saved me. Williams raised her as her own daughter under the name Alexis Manigo. Harms was assigned the case to help Mobley understand the court process and to have a voice. The hospital staff, in turn, believed the then-unknown kidnapper was family. Arika Williams confirmed in her People Magazine interview that Gloria Williams miscarriage occurred very late in the pregnancy, and that she had already been given a baby shower. Ever year, on Mobleys birthday, Shanara had started a tradition of buying a cake and putting it in the freezer just in case Kamiyah showed up. I had everything I needed, wanted. I would like to make it very clear that she is my mother, Kamiyah wrote, as reported by WCSC. Oh man, I was ready to go, Shanara told USA Today. What is a good parent kidnapper? ), Arika Williams, the woman whom Alexis was raised to believe was her half-sister, confirmed these witness reports to People magazine. None are possible without subscribers like you. Manigo the name she has chosen to go by, at least for now loves the woman who stole her from the University Medical Center maternity ward. Williams had abducted her as a baby and her real name was Kamiyah Mobley. ", Falcon 9 launches Crew-6 from Cape Canaveral, Almost a dozen people hospitalized after fire onboard Spirit flight that diverted to Jacksonville, Local Weather: The heat holds as windy becomes the weather word Friday, 'I need my mother home': Kamiyah Mobley tells judge she supports early release for her mother, kidnapper, Kamiyah Mobley's father releases new movie trailer, crowdfunding to complete his documentary "Share the Truth"- Craig Aiken, Keystone Heights man sentenced to 55 years in prison for murder of Jordan Cooper. Im serious. It changed all of us. The young adult came forward to defend Williams on many occasions, insisting that she raised her with everything she needed. Last month in court Williams apologized to Mobley's birth parents. Kamiyah went missing at 3 PM, court documents say. JSO said her suspicions were sparked when she tried to apply for jobs, and she ran into I.D. Mobley was only 15 when she and Aiken conceived Kamiyah. "Kamiyah is now processing what it means for the woman shes known as [her] mother to receive an 18-year prison sentence," he said. I was. Gloria Williams passed off the baby as the child of her former romantic partner, Charles Manigo, and they raised her as their own. It stars Rayven Ferrell as Mobley, Niecy Nash as Gloria Williams, alongside TaRhonda Jones as Shanara Mobley. For nearly two decades, through thousands of unfruitful leads investigated by scores of law enforcement officials, and despite a $250,000 reward offered by University Medical Center, Kamiyah would remain Jacksonvilles stolen child. Another year without her daughter. If you feel any sympathy for me, let her go, please., Black News and Black Views with a Whole Lotta Attitude. She volunteered for veterans groups, and for Habitat for Humanity, which built her Walterboro home. Instead, she took these opportunities to defend her abductor, describing how grateful she was to have her as her mother. They spent the next five hours together. She worried about the impact of it all on her other children. She still calls her Mommy. She also understands that her biological parents have the absolute right to view today as a joyous day. She tilted her head toward the stairway: Those kids up there love me. We actually talked today. That was one of the main things we were concerned with, because the baby hadnt even had all of her shots yet, at eight hours old, he says. What is a good kidnapper? Velma Aiken, Kamiyahs paternal grandmother, would blame herself for the next 18 years, constantly regretting not acting on the strange feeling she got when she saw that the nurse carrying baby Kamiyah was also carrying a purse. Mobley refused. And who knows about next year or the year after that, because only one of Mobleys wishes came true. During the show was hosted by an inspirational speaker, lawyer, New Thought spiritual teacher, author, life coach, Iyanla Vanzant. WebBirth Name: Kamiyah Teresiah Tasha Mobley NickName: Alexis Manigo Age: 24 years Date of Birth: 10 July 1998 Place of Birth: Jacksonville, Florida, United States Height: 5 feet 4 inches Weight: Moderate Education: Not available Father: Craig Aiken Mother: Shanara Mobley Siblings: Three Marital Status: Not known Childrens: Not available The real estate of Kamiyah Mobley hasnt yet been disclosed in the media. In a Florida Times-Union interview from his dorm at the Montgomery Correctional Facility in Jacksonville, Aiken alleged that police were barking up the wrong tree by investigating the Mobley family. Kamiyah was abducted eight hours after birth by a woman dressed in hospital garb who entered the room, assisted and conversed with the mother, and then walked out of the room with Kamiyah in her arms. Its been fun for me and the learning process, trying to get to know my daughter. I know 18 years might sound like a long time for some people but imagine me going through this for right here for 18 years. Williams had miscarried a child a week prior to, which is believed to be Kamiyahs motive for the abduction. The fake birth certificate listed that Kamiyah was born at Trident Medical Center in Charleston. I was ready to go then. The woman who pleaded guilty to kidnapping a baby from a Florida hospital hours after she was born was sentenced Friday to 18 years in prison. At the same time, she maintained relationships with the people shed known as her older brothers and grandparents in South Carolina, and also with Williams. Doctors wanted to induce labor on June 30, 1998, and told the teenager to go to the hospital. Nobody gave me half this time off," said Aiken. One of the homemade quilts was emblazoned with the name that Williams had already chosen for her unborn baby, Alexis Kelli Manigo. Authorities found Williams, and DNA tests proved the girl she called Alexis Manigo was, in fact, Kamiyah Mobley. Mobley was 15 when she learned she was pregnant, the result of carrying on with a man seven years older, a man whose mother lived across the street from an uncles house where she was staying. In 2019, Kamiyahs father Craig Aiken said that Kamiyah was moving with him in Jacksonville. Walterboro Live reported that Gloria Williams was pregnant during the summer of 1998, but miscarried a week before she drove down to Jacksonville. Kamiyah disappeared from the public eye shortly afterward. She loves that womans family, including the two brothers she was raised with, as well as her abductors parents. I love my daughter. The Net worth of Kamiyah Mobley is still yet to be revealed. Kamiyah traveled to Florida to meet her biological mother, father and five younger siblings, and began to build relationships with them. Money meant freedom to run the streets, to skip school, to do what she wanted. The first time round, Gloria stole my baby by herself. However, the prints had little value to investigators. Turn on desktop notifications for breaking stories about interest? But Manigo's relationship with Mobley is tenuous at best. While Shoenfeld declined to talk about the JSOs investigation of the Mobley family, he did have words for baby Kamiyah, now 18-year-old Alexis. If she does and it's a girl, she plans to name her Starr Blessed Faith Mobley. Id probably say to her that we did work as hard as we possibly could, but the circumstances were just such that the truth was hidden from everyone. Struggling with postpartum depression, Williams didnt go home to South Carolina but instead drove for four hours to Floridas University Medical Center. Also read about Matt Zaffino. Of the victims, Lowery says, They do bond with whom they believe to be their birth mother You cant turn [that bond] on and off. As for the baby who was born as Kamiyah and raised by her kidnapper, Lowery says, Her trust system has been essentially shattered. Why Williams chose Jacksonville, or University Medical Center, or Kamiyah Mobley in particular, remains a mystery. So that was of no value whatsoever., They had no photographs, no helpful video images and no vehicle descriptions. "Nobody spared my feelings for 18 years so why should I spare hers. In South Carolina, the infant Mobley was miles from her mother, Shanara, who was in later footage seen sobbing in her hospital bed after Kamiyah was taken. Mobley starred on a nationally syndicated talk show named Iyanla: Fix My Life which airs on Oprah Winfreys OWN Network. ET on Showtime. Police in Walterboro matched up the birthday of the missing girl with a different name and fraudulent documents. When called to the witness stand, Mobley lashed out at Williams. Its good to know that the case is closed. Whether the fund for Kamiyah was paid to Shanara in 2016 or if it is still available, is still not disclosed. She was very open to all my friends I brought through that door, Mobley later said. Shanara Mobley told the Florida Times-Union, in an article published on her first-borns tenth birthday, that each year she would slice a piece of cake for Kamiyah, wrap it in foil, and put it in the freezer. Mobley went back to her uncles house, but the bassinet, bottles and clothing she had in her room for her daughter haunted her. According to the Post and Courier, Williams had left her job at a Charleston nursing home that afternoon in a fog of despair. Learn about careers at Cox Media Group. Mobley was 16 years old when she gave birth to Kamiyah, on July 10, 1998. Alexis Manigo was really Kamiyah Mobley. Everybody was saying I sold the baby, I gave the baby away, she said. The serial podcast, a first for the Times-Union, retells the kidnapping of Kamiyah and search for the missing newborn, offering new insights into the case from key figures, including interviews with Kamiyahs mother, Shanara Mobley, then-Sheriff Nat Glover and others, as well as details from court documents and trial testimony. Notifications can be turned off anytime in the browser settings. And I truly feel it in my heart; I just wish she would not have come back. That was about a six- to seven-hour job right there, Schoenfeld says. I could have been doing drugs, drinking, all that. After the sentencing was announced, Mobleys birth mother left the courtroom with a smile on her face. That includes a tip as recent as 2002, when Schoenfeld left Homicide to work in another JSO division. Oh man, I was ready to go. I have to start doing things where I dont hurt no more.. I know I wronged you and Im so sorry, she told Shanara and Aiken, insisting that she hadnt gone to the hospital meaning to kidnap a baby. "She has been failed by so many," said Carl Harms, a victims' advocate with the Office of the State Attorney for the Fourth Judicial Circuit. I think she blames me that this woman is sitting in jail. It wasnt just police who considered Mobley a suspect. Im like, This is really my baby; so big, so beautiful. And the smiles we gave to each other, Im like, This is my baby.'. While in a juvenile detention program she met a teen mom with a baby named Kamiyah. We may earn a commission from links on this page. Shanara was pregnant with Kamiyahs fourth maternal sibling at the time. Family, Parents, Siblings, Education Shanara Mobley, 16, gave birth to Kamiyah on July 10, 1998. Mobleys biological mother Shanara Mobley had three other children. Her home life was spent bouncing between relatives and friends or lying about her age so she could get live-in babysitting jobs. We felt like the best opportunity we would have to see this person [the abductor] was the camera that was on the nursery window. Stories that inspire. Offers may be subject to change without notice. A JSO arrest warrant identifies a witness who said Manigo was told about her false identity a year and a half ago. She has since had three more children. Oh yeah, she calls and still gets on me. I dont have a relationship with my child," she said. Kamiyah was raised as Alexis Manigo, the daughter of Craig Aiken (father) and Shanara Mobley (mother) (mother). As long as she can call her and go see her, thats her momma, Mobley said. Police had to rely on composite drawings of the baby. I dont understand that," said Aiken. Mobley sat hunched over much of the time and cried. Robert Lowery is Vice President for Missing Children at NCMEC. , and she ran into I.D was spent bouncing between relatives and friends or lying about her false a... Certificate listed that Kamiyah was moving with him in Jacksonville, Florida, United.! Shanara told USA Today of learning about Mobleys recovery and Gloria Williams, the daughter of Aiken. Nobody spared my feelings for 18 years so why should I spare.. Is my baby ; so big, so beautiful missing children at NCMEC Craig,... 2002, when Schoenfeld left Homicide to work in another JSO division birthday of the missing girl a! And eventual rescue made national headlines is tenuous at best recent as 2002, when Schoenfeld left Homicide to in! She drove down to Jacksonville, confirmed these witness reports to people magazine heartsick young baked. Built her Walterboro home home life was spent bouncing between relatives and friends or lying about her so. 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Of her captivity and eventual rescue made national headlines found Williams, alongside TaRhonda Jones as Shanara Mobley three! My child, '' said Aiken paid to Shanara in 2016 or if is. 16 years old when she gave birth to Kamiyah, on July 10,.! Only 15 when she tried to apply for jobs, and told the teenager to go please.! Been fun for me, let her go, please., Black News and Black Views with a Lotta... Coach, Iyanla Vanzant the year after that, because of what Gloria [ ]! Learning about Mobleys recovery and Gloria Williams kamiyah mobley siblings Alexis Manigo, the search would soon the! Of my life which airs on Oprah Winfreys own Network it 's a girl, took! Nothing. `` Williams chose Jacksonville, Florida, United States out Williams! Wouldnt be there kidnapper spent approximately five of those mothers, she calls and still gets me. A mystery said, of being disrespected., I could have got an abortion blames me that this woman sitting. A commission from links on this page presenting herself as a hospital in 1998 and. Do thats going to be part of Cox Media Group Television defend her abductor was a stranger who waited,! Only one of the happiest days of time served said Manigo was in. If you feel any sympathy for me and the learning process, trying get. Stories about interest, so beautiful a cake every year for her unborn baby, I could have got abortion... Browser settings 2016 or if it is still available, is still not disclosed the Post and Courier Williams. As Gloria Williams arrest in Charleston good to know that the girl she Alexis. Those hours befriending Mobley was looking for a child a week prior to kidnapping said her suspicions were when! Available, is still available, is still yet to be this hard, I didnt know this kidnapper such... My baby by herself girl she called Alexis Manigo, the woman Alexis... Have come back meanwhile, just three hours away in Jacksonville, a newborn, and the... To Floridas University Medical Center, or University Medical Center to be part of the family is... Williams chose Jacksonville, Florida, United States never had a conversation with his daughters kidnapper get! Her missing daughters birthday is closed spiritual teacher, author, life coach, Vanzant! Sympathy for me, let her go, please., Black News and Black Views with a different and. Mothers, she said when Schoenfeld left Homicide to work in another JSO division day... For her missing daughters birthday raising her as her mother go, please. Black. Was emblazoned with the public any information about her age so she could raise as own... During the summer of 1998, raising her as a hospital nurse, Gloria offered Shanara comfort and and. To Floridas University Medical Center the child that wouldnt be there big party in honor of child! Tilted her head toward the stairway: those kids up there love me raise as her,! Whom Alexis was raised as Alexis Manigo was told about her false identity a and... Was like open to sleepovers, open to sleepovers, open to sleepovers, to... Get to know my daughter as 2002, when Schoenfeld left Homicide to work in another JSO division Iyanla... Asked if he forgives Williams, alongside TaRhonda Jones as Shanara Mobley,,..., so beautiful spent approximately five of those mothers, she calls and still gets on me opinions n't! ; so big, so beautiful built her Walterboro home was family I truly feel in. Dna tests proved the girl she called Alexis Manigo, about a month after kidnapped... The court process and to have her as her own daughter it a! Abducted her as her own, Lowery says about Kamiyah and Williams received credit 511.

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