She would defend the kidnapper to me. It was. Nobody saved me. Kamiyah Mobley is a popural American woman. News accounts put the total at more than 2,500 since 1998. The child was left on her own to have a child, and 8-pound Kamiyah was born the next morning. Then Miss Gloria just broke down and told her, This is why right here, you cant do this. They said Alexis was both well-mannered and well-read. But at around 3 p.m., she told the 16-year-old that she had to take the baby out of the room to check her temperature. When Mobley learned Alexis was alive, on Jan. 13, 2017, she likened the joy to giving birth all over again: It was one of the happiest days of my life.. There was no social mediano Twitter, Facebook or Amber Alerts to inform the publicjust TV, radio, print media and a fledgling Internet. Mobley starred on a nationally syndicated talk show named Iyanla: Fix My Life which airs on Oprah Winfreys OWN Network. Mobley refused. But always, there was a cake with candles and shed make a wish or two. Needless to say, the baby wasnt found.. She was scared. 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. Growing up in Walterboro, South Carolina, Manigo went to school, attended church, and spent time with her mother, Gloria Williams. When asked if he forgives Williams, Aiken responded, Thats a hard question., I feel nothing towards her. She had no way of knowing that the hang-up phone calls she received in 2015 were made by her then 17-year-old daughter. But no one would know what happened to her for 18 years. If you tried to fast forward or reverse it, it scrambled the picture. Until she was 16 years old, Alexis Manigo led a normal life. The Shoneys manager asked Alexis to provide her Social Security card. She expected her daughter would return. Investigations that lead to change. They scoured every building in the hospital complex, including the parking garage. Sometimes, it wasnt so splashy. Im only, true enough, Im only 16 years old but I have feelings, too. Mobley told the judge she thought Williams should get the death penalty. If you feel any sympathy for me, let her go, please., Black News and Black Views with a Whole Lotta Attitude. Did she always talk this way, or be this funny and laugh? Gloria Williams stole Kamiyah Mobley from a Jacksonville hospital in July 1998. 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. ABC News' Doug Lantz, Julia Jacobo, Rachel Katz and Amanda Maile contributed to this report. There are monitors placed on children now in many facilities. Her feelings toward Gloria arent something I would find surprising, says the NCMECs Lowery. Mobley declined to say anything to the press, but Aiken was exuberant. That was 1998, Schoenfeld says. Kamiyah was raised by her loving and caring parents Craig Aiken (father) and Shanara Mobley (mother). Mobleys nickname is Starr. The kidnapper, according to news reports, was dressed in a blue floral smock and green scrub pants. When interacting with the family, she impersonated a nurse. Her attorney told the Washington Post that Williams always kept Alexiss doctors appointments and provided her with the braces she wears today. During the show was hosted by an inspirational speaker, lawyer, New Thought spiritual teacher, author, life coach, Iyanla Vanzant. For a while, she stood and looked at the babies in the nursery. A JSO arrest warrant identifies a witness who said Manigo was told about her false identity a year and a half ago. Once those are lifted, Aiken plans to visit Williams with Mobley at the prison in Brooksville. Alexis, whose interview appeared on Good Morning America, told an ABC News reporter that Gloria Williams would always be Mom. She also said that she owed her biological parents a meeting, and was very interested in getting to know them. But though Shanara and Aiken had gained their daughter back, Kamiyah Mobley had lost the woman she saw as her mother. Oh man, I was ready to go, Shanara told USA Today. Until now.. And if thats taking me to talk to the enemy, thats what I would do to build a relationship with my daughter, Aiken said. JSO said her suspicions were sparked when she tried to apply for jobs, and she ran into I.D. "I need her away, far away, where she cannot contact my baby, where my baby cannot get to her, she said. What is a good kidnapper? Authorities found Williams, and DNA tests proved the girl she called Alexis Manigo was, in fact, Kamiyah Mobley. She volunteered for veterans groups, and for Habitat for Humanity, which built her Walterboro home. The baby was taken hours later by Gloria Williams, a woman posing as a nurse. God always gives me what my heart desires, Mobley said. Im still hurting, Shanara said. Write CSS OR LESS and hit save. Alexis Manigo was really Kamiyah Mobley. She pled not guilty on April 5. When she went to school, she went to Eugene Butler Middle. In March 2022, she even wrote a letter asking for Williams early release. Nine days later her water broke. And Gloria Williams trial revealed the tension and deep pain that existed across the two families. Mobleys biological mother Shanara Mobley had three other children. "I still feel the same way about her," she told CNN in the summer of 2018. As for Williams, Shanarawho readily acknowledges that she hates the kidnapperis hoping that the woman will let her daughter go. Her abductor was a stranger who waited patiently, even interacted with the babys family prior to kidnapping. She was molested at age 9, and it continued for two years. Who is Fuquan Johnson? You couldnt see what you wanted to see. Aiken says Mobley has plans to go to college and that shes been traveling frequently back and forth from South Carolina to Jacksonville. No call. "Though the sentence imposed today was more than we had hoped for, we appreciate the time and attention Judge Aho took to fully consider this matter," Johnson added. Sitting at her large kitchen table, Mobley began to cry. 2023 Cox Media Group. After the sentencing was announced, Mobleys birth mother left the courtroom with a smile on her face. On Mothers Day 2017, four months after Mobley learned her daughter was alive, her daughter sent two Mothers Days cards to a Duval County jail where Williams was being held pending the outcome of her case. A lot of times the motive is to preserve the relationship.. Williams is also not about to drop the mantle of mom, either. This time round, now youve got the legal system helping her to steal her all over again. This frustration has led the older Mobley to issue a heart-wrenching ultimatum to her 19-year-old daughter. The no-contact order wasnt pursued again in court. Walterboro Live reported that Gloria Williams was pregnant during the summer of 1998, but miscarried a week before she drove down to Jacksonville. For hours, the two women talked. Im being rejected for a kidnapper; how do you think that feels?. Prosecutors acknowledge that there is nothing they can do about Kamiyah and Williams communicating. It stars Rayven Ferrell as Mobley, Niecy Nash as Gloria Williams, alongside TaRhonda Jones as Shanara Mobley. Very hard-working, very hard-working.. Sometimes, thered be family trip or a big party in honor of the child that wouldnt be there. The teen also continues to live in Williams home in South Carolina, saying that she looks forward to the day Wiliams is released. Though shed since had more children, shed never forgotten her firstborn baby. "My feelings toward my mother will never change," she emphasized. That was about a six- to seven-hour job right there, Schoenfeld says. She was born 10 July 1998, in Jacksonville, Florida, United States. It was one of the most promising leads in the case. Nothing.". Her claim was repelled. By the time she was whisked away from her mother, tiny Kamiyah had not even had the opportunity to be photographed at the hospital. She shouldnt have never left outta my arms from the beginning, the distraught young mother cried. 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. Williams, for her part, expressed regret for what she had done. Instead, she took these opportunities to defend her abductor, describing how grateful she was to have her as her mother. While he would not speak specifically about the tips the organization received, he credits the unnamed individuals who called them in. Whenever I feel Im winning her back, boom, the other side pulls me down, Shanara Mobley, Kamiyahs biological mom, recently told the Daily Mail. Mobley was only 15 when she and Aiken conceived Kamiyah. The only picture of Kamiyah was a composite because she was abducted just hours after being born. ), Arika Williams, the woman whom Alexis was raised to believe was her half-sister, confirmed these witness reports to People magazine. I kidnapped you.. "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 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. She said its rare for her to have a relationship with a man that lasts longer than two years. According to USA Today, Mobleys continued loyalty to Williams caused tension with her birth mother, who even blocked her daughters number at one point. 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. Im serious. According to the Post and Courier, Williams had left her job at a Charleston nursing home that afternoon in a fog of despair. When we went to look at the video, you could only watch it in real time. "I know I wronged you and Im so sorry," Williams said. Shes not any more apart of my life. At trial, as 19-year-old Mobley quietly listened, both Williams and Shanara described the effect of the kidnapping on their lives. I mean, I feel nothing. Since then had three other children. When Williams abducted Kamiyah, she acted alone. None of us can imagine that level of pain, he says. 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. Williams had worked at a veterans hospital in Charleston at one time, possibly as a social worker or as a medical records specialist. Thats my first child.. They were part of the investigation that led to Alexiss true identity, Lowery says. She said her daughter, LaShawnye, who is heading into the 10th grade, argues with people on Facebook in defense of her mother. However, as a new Instagram post by her biological father, Craig Aiken, reveals, she moved to Jacksonville on Dec. 7, 2019. Mobley never gave up hope that her daughter was alive and would be found. Gloria Williams later forged documents to create a new identity for Mobley. Both Schoenfeld and Lowery confirm that Aiken was in the hospital room with mother and daughter when the imposter walked out with the baby. Each year shed buy a cake for the little girl she didnt know. DNA testing proved that Kamiyah was not the daughter of Gloria Williams, her abductor. This station is part of Cox Media Group Television. Mobley has issues with trust. In January 2017, she was found alive in Walterboro, South Carolina. And thats not all. JACKSONVILLE, Fla. Craig Aiken, Kamiyah Mobleys father, says his daughter is doing well and living in Jacksonville with her mother. They showed up in Walterboro, conducted DNA tests, and confirmed the secret that Williams had tried to hide. Kamiyah Mobley/Alexis Manigo. In March 2016, Colleton County, South Carolina court records show the teen received a ticket for driving without a license, just months prior to her eighteenth birthday. Im not saying theres not a time that we can get closer, but I really should not have to compete with that woman, she explained. If you was faking a pregnancy I mean, if you just cant have no kids, I mean how do you think I feel? She also understands that her biological parents have the absolute right to view today as a joyous day. Hed barely put down his keys when the phone rang. Your email address will not be published. In a lawsuit filed in October 1998, when Kamiyah was three months old, plaintiff Sheila Mobley said the hospital took 20 minutes to call the police after the baby was deemed missing. In the end, the judge found Williams guilty and sentenced her to 18 years in prison. The Kamiyah Mobley Tale is based on a true tale in which a tiny girl named Kamiyah Mobley was taken from a Florida hospital when she was only eight hours old on July 10, 1998. Five years passed before she had another baby and got to experience motherhood for more than eight hours. Yes, she does, the teen added. Disappointed. She raised me, and not only provided for my needs, but she loved me unconditionally I am fully aware of how our lives came to be, what they are and how my mom came to be my mom., Mobley added: However, at the end of the day, I love my mother and I wholeheartedly support her! I just didnt want to be here, she said. Robert Lowery is Vice President for Missing Children at NCMEC. Then, according to AETV, Mobley found out that she didnt have a Social Security number, which she needed to get a job or drive a car. Kamiyah who was raised under the name Alexis Manigo was born to her biological mother in Florida, Shanara Mobley. Kliff was born in San Antonio, Texas to a Vietnam War veteran father Tim Kingsbury, and a soft tissue sarcoma mother Sally, who died in 2005. We got a 48-hour turnaround, which was outstanding back then. Kamiyah Mobley is asking the court to show grace and mercy in support of her kidnappers request to the judge for a reduction of her prison sentence. I dont have a relationship with my child," she said. According to USA Today, Shanara had had a tough life, and she saw her new baby as a chance to get things right. The pair argued, and Shanara cut the visit short and drove home. She still calls her Mommy. Every phone call they share, every Mothers Day card Kamiyah sends her, it just makes the pain worse. I dont understand that," said Aiken. Doctors wanted to induce labor on June 30, 1998, and told the teenager to go to the hospital. The fabricated documents, along with two tips relayed to the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children in August and November of 2016, were key to dismantling the falsehood that, by then, had stretched into its eighteenth year. On July 10, 1998, Kamiyah Teresiah Tasha Mobley was taken from a Florida hospital at the age of eight hours. As local authorities scoured bus terminals and airports, the search would soon rivet the nation. Kamiyah was Alexis Kelli Manigo. She was tired, she said, of being disrespected. DNA tests confirmed that the girl was the missing newborn. DNA tests confirmed that the girl was the missing newborn. She believes people, even the very people she helped financially, have snickered at her. I just hope she is able to move on in a positive way in her life. Kamiyah traveled to Florida to meet her biological mother, father and five younger siblings, and began to build relationships with them. I had everything I needed, wanted. Another birthday. But her imprisonment didnt heal Shanaras wounds. Im your mother.. Police had to rely on composite drawings of the baby. Schoenfeld confirms those reports. For her part, Shanara described her elation at giving birth, and deep grief at having her baby stolen away from her. CTRL + SPACE for auto-complete. She was very open to all my friends I brought through that door, Mobley later said. 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. "However, she understands Gloria had to be held accountable for her actions. 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. At age 17, most girls just want to have fun. Alexis Manigo, 18, whose real name is Kamiyah Mobley, was abducted when she was a newborn from a hospital in Jacksonville, Florida is photographed at a hotel in Columbia, South Carolina, January 18, 2017. Then maybe, just maybe, she and her daughter will have a relationship. By December 2017, the young woman began the transition period, splitting her time between Walterboro, S.C., and Jacksonville, Fla. At the time, she described her relationship with her brothers and sisters as peaceful and harmonious. Doug Lantz, Julia Jacobo, Rachel Katz and Amanda Maile contributed to report! Age 17, most girls just want to be here, she went to look at the video, cant! Cake for the little girl she didnt know say, the baby her all over.... 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