Found Alive FL - Kamiyah Mobley, newborn, Jacksonville, 10 July 1998 *guilty*

[cricket]

I feel so bad for this young lady. She must be on an emotional roller coaster. I hope she has unbiased folks in her life to help her through this.

When I Iook at the sketch of the abductor released at the time of the abduction and the pix of what she looks like now, I am wondering if the sketch was really off or if she maybe had a nose job, so she wouldn't look like the sketch.

 

[Lauranyc83]

I wonder how the last name of Manigo came about. I see several friends on FB with that last name. I wonder if other children were taken?

I'm hoping they do a DNA test for her "biological"children

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[Lauranyc83]

A tragic twist to this case is that her abductor probably gave her a better quality of life than her birth parents :/ Such a complex case in so many ways but ultimately comes down to the fact that it's inexcusable to abduct a child

How do we know this? We don't. My Aunt was a 16 year old single mother and raised my cousin perfectly. I believe she could of had a loving family and wonderful life with her birth mother and her family. Just moo.

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[tlcya]

Williams had suffered a miscarriage about a week before she drove the three hours from South Carolina to Florida and abducted baby Kamiyah, Walterboro Live reports


[...]

The news came as a shock to neighbors who have only ever known Kamiyah to be Williams' daughter. They say Williams seemed like a normal person who was employed as a social worker, volunteered and attended church every Sunday.

'She wasn't an abused child or a child who got in trouble. But she grew up with a lie for 18 years,' Joseph Jenkins, who lives across the street, told the Associated Press.

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/art...rolina-18-years-kidnapping.html#ixzz4VlGdShj5

 

[Dogface]

Ah, that is another sad facet of this story. I can't imagine the heartbreak of a miscarriage and what that may have done to her mindset. And I do feel for her, I know when I was expecting, the amount of excitement and love for my child I had were so great. Having that taken away must truly be devastating, but she had no right to transfer that heartbreak to another family, who have been left to wonder what had happened, not knowing if she was okay or not. This is a sad story all the way around.

 

[Betty P]

'I love you mom': Crying 18-year-old reaches through barred jail window to hold hands with the woman who abducted her as a baby and raised her as her own, as her real parents prepare to meet her

Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/art...ys-goodbye-kidnapper-court.html#ixzz4VkeWYB9F

According to this article, the lovely home they lived in was built for them by Habitat for Humanity. Considering her record of convictions for passing bad checks, it seems the kidnapper "mom" has always wanted others to pay for the things she wanted.
If she couldn't have a baby, she stole one. If she couldn't afford nice clothes and other things, she wrote bad checks to get them. If she wanted a nice new house to live in, she got a charity to provide it for her.

I'm picking up a vibe for a narcissistic sociopath here. Good at presenting a great impression to friends and the community, but selfish and dishonest inside. It could also explain their frequent moves in recent years. Once she's scammed enough people in one community, she picks up and moves to a new one with a fresh group of people to exploit. It will be interesting to see how many different aliases she had for herself and her child/children and how many people come forward with stories of how she stole from them.

Narcissistic sociopaths are very good at manipulating others to create the illusion of being a good, honest, kind hardworking person in order to exploit others.

 

[Indy Anna]

According to this article, the lovely home they lived in was built for them by Habitat for Humanity. Considering her record of convictions for passing bad checks, it seems the kidnapper "mom" has always wanted others to pay for the things she wanted.
If she couldn't have a baby, she stole one. If she couldn't afford nice clothes and other things, she wrote bad checks to get them. If she wanted a nice new house to live in, she got a charity to provide it for her.

I'm picking up a vibe for a narcissistic sociopath here. Good at presenting a great impression to friends and the community, but selfish and dishonest inside. It could also explain their frequent moves in recent years. Once she's scammed enough people in one community, she picks up and moves to a new one with a fresh group of people to exploit.

Ah, yes. Sounds so familiar.

Things I am wondering about:

1. Was Manigo GW's maiden name? I tried searching marriage records for Colleton County and surrounding counties, but came up empty or was required to sign up/pay to view records. Was GW with her current husband when she pretended to give birth, causing him to believe the baby was his, or did her current husband believe she had a child from a former relationship? I'm thinking the latter, esp if GW's maiden name was Manigo. Maybe someone with better sleuthing skills than myself will look into this.

2. GW seemed to target SM in the hospital, so I wonder if she had a connection to the Mobley or Aiken family and heard about SM's pregnancy. Seems esp suspect since she drove 3 hours away to abduct a baby. But, that was part of the scheme that enabled her to go undetected for 18 years. I wonder, too, if she had assistance in the plot -- a get-away driver, and someone to falsify records. Since GW worked as a social worker, she may have had access to records so as to falsify docs herself.

3. If GW did indeed target SM to abduct her baby, perhaps she tried justifying it to herself with the thought she could provide better for the baby than a teenage girl and young man who was still a teen himself (and in jail at the time). Of course, SM and CA could have provided just as well and even better than a woman who was constantly on the lam and fleecing others. My heart breaks for what SM and CA went through all these years in searching for their child.

JMO

 

[Pamela_Brewer]

Williams had suffered a miscarriage about a week before she drove the three hours from South Carolina to Florida and abducted baby Kamiyah, Walterboro Live reports


[...]

The news came as a shock to neighbors who have only ever known Kamiyah to be Williams' daughter. They say Williams seemed like a normal person who was employed as a social worker, volunteered and attended church every Sunday.

'She wasn't an abused child or a child who got in trouble. But she grew up with a lie for 18 years,' Joseph Jenkins, who lives across the street, told the Associated Press.

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/art...rolina-18-years-kidnapping.html#ixzz4VlGdShj5

She was employed as a social worker? I wonder if that is how she found out about a newborn of a 16 yo in Florida.
Did she know the bio dad was in jail and that she could easily get to this new mom amd steal the baby??

 

[Indy Anna]

She was employed as a social worker? I wonder if that is how she found out about a newborn of a 16 yo in Florida.
Did she know the bio dad was in jail and that she could easily get to this new mom amd steal the baby??

.
As a social worker, would she have access to databases in other states, though? I don't think so, but I could be wrong.

Also, it is reported KM is defending her abductor and reported as saying:

'My mother raised me with everything I needed and most of all everything I wanted,' she wrote. 'My mother is no felon.'

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/art...rolina-18-years-kidnapping.html#ixzz4VlGdShj5

Stockholm Syndrome, IMO. It will be difficult to overcome after 18 years.

 

[tlcya]

this young lady has discovered the only mother she has ever known and who she loves committed a crime and perpetrated a lie her entire lifetime. I would be shocked if she did not defend Ms. Williams. To her Ms. Williams is mom.

It is completely understandable to me that she would still love and feel protective of her.

I feel so deeply for Kamiyah. Her life has been completely upended. Everything she thought she knew has been torn asunder. Gloria Willams committed a horrible crime and deprived Shanara Mobley of her child and the opportunity to raise, know and love her own daughter. That does not negate 18 years of love and affection Kamiyah says she experienced with her. At least not in Kamiyah's mind.

I am glad that Kamiyah now has the truth and the chance to know and build a relationship with her biological family. I am glad that Williams will now finally be made to pay for her crime against them. But my heart hurts for Kamiyah and the position she is in. She must be so conflicted and confused about all of this.

 

[Indy Anna]

She was employed as a social worker? I wonder if that is how she found out about a newborn of a 16 yo in Florida.
Did she know the bio dad was in jail and that she could easily get to this new mom amd steal the baby??

In re to the social work angle: I wonder where GW earned her social work degree. It's possible she had a friend, perhaps from school, or a former coworker who was employed in FL where he/she had access to a database with SM's info. Doubly horrible to think another party could have facilitated/abetted this crime, but again they may have tried to rationalize it with the idea they were doing something commendable. JMO

 

[Wyle_E_Coyote]

At the same time, the drive to have a child is powerful & it's possible that the kidnapper's criminal history would have prevented her from adopting. The kidnapping could have come from desperation of wanting a child and not being able to have one, possibly biologically as well as through the regular adoption route due to criminal history; NOT trying to excuse her actions, just trying to understand.

The uncomfortable possibility is that the kidnapper could have been a great mother who does love Alexis a lot... apart from the kidnapping part. So I don't think it's as cut and dry as labeling someone as a monster without the facts. She obviously did something terrible to another family but reality usually exists in more shades of gray so I'm withholding extremely strong pronouncements until more facts come in.

BBM

Mmmm... no. She ruined the girl's life. She ruined the bio mom's life. She ruined the bio dad's life. She damaged the grandparents, aunts, uncles, siblings... everyone who loved this baby. And she damaged her own family, her husband, parents, etc.

She deserves every day in prison that she gets.

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[leilarose68]

BBM

Mmmm... no. She ruined the girl's life. She ruined the bio mom's life. She ruined the bio dad's life. She damaged the grandparents, aunts, uncles, siblings... everyone who loved this baby. And she damaged her own family, her husband, parents, etc.

She deserves every day in prison that she gets.

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I NEVER SAID SHE DIDN"T DESERVE TO GO TO PRISON. Jeez.

Personally I consider a 'monster' to be someone that purposefully causes suffering and I'm not quite willing to call Williams a 'monster' just yet.

If she were a narcissistic sociopath you'd think her daughter would have some awareness of that; most older children hate their narcissist parents.

People are so quick to throw diagnoses around and I think that's really irresponsible.

 

[Rocco]

I NEVER SAID SHE DIDN"T DESERVE TO GO TO PRISON. Jeez.

Personally I consider a 'monster' to be someone that purposefully causes suffering and I'm not quite willing to call Williams a 'monster' just yet.

If she were a narcissistic sociopath you'd think her daughter would have some awareness of that; most older children hate their narcissist parents.

People are so quick to throw diagnoses around and I think that's really irresponsible.

Oh but she did purposefully cause suffering----she stole a baby!! From a hospital---where the baby needed medical care and needed her mother. She didn't rescue a baby from a crack house or an unheated home where it was lying in filth and unattended to. She STOLE a baby from her mother. There's no excuse.

 

[MiamiAnnie]

This story is so amazing. I hope that this poor young girl has the best people around her helping her.

I've searched for reactions from her real mom Shanara and haven't seen much from her. She must be in shock.

 

[Doghairrules]

this young lady has discovered the only mother she has ever known and who she loves committed a crime and perpetrated a lie her entire lifetime. I would be shocked if she did not defend Ms. Williams. To her Ms. Williams is mom.

It is completely understandable to me that she would still love and feel protective of her.

I feel so deeply for Kamiyah. Her life has been completely upended. Everything she thought she knew has been torn asunder. Gloria Willams committed a horrible crime and deprived Shanara Mobley of her child and the opportunity to raise, know and love her own daughter. That does not negate 18 years of love and affection Kamiyah says she experienced with her. At least not in Kamiyah's mind.

I am glad that Kamiyah now has the truth and the chance to know and build a relationship with her biological family. I am glad that Williams will now finally be made to pay for her crime against them. But my heart hurts for Kamiyah and the position she is in. She must be so conflicted and confused about all of this.

You are just the best person. Beautifully put. Thank you!


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[Elainera]

Wow amazing ending to this story!

Right now everyone (I mean Kamiyah and the families involved) are reacting emotionally to this unexpected twist. Happy, elated, sad, shocked, confused ... quite understandable. In time things will settle and the facts will start to sink in and need to be confronted and thought about. This will be the hard part, not a walk in the park, especially for Kamiyah/Alexis. I agree with someone else who said she probably has Stockholm syndrome, but once the truth starts to filter through it will be very confusing and painful.

Nevertheless, a good outcome for once. We don't see these often enough here, do we. I wish both the families all the best!

 

[smiley]

In re to the social work angle: I wonder where GW earned her social work degree. It's possible she had a friend, perhaps from school, or a former coworker who was employed in FL where he/she had access to a database with SM's info. Doubly horrible to think another party could have facilitated/abetted this crime, but again they may have tried to rationalize it with the idea they were doing something commendable. JMO

I wonder how she was able to become a social worker and work in that field with various charges against her and how did she get Habitat for Humanity to built a house for her. I thought that was for low income families?

 

[JaxFlaGal]

KM met her birth parents this afternoon; they drove up from Jax to SC. Big smiles in the photos
http://www.actionnewsjax.com/news/l...ital-at-birth-reunited-with-parents/484479227

 

[JaxFlaGal]

Video of GW's first court hearing in SC here at a local newscaster's page (posted Friday 1/13 4:40 PM) https://www.facebook.com/wjxt4vicmicolucci/?hc_ref=SEARCH&fref=nf
My local news did note that the 18-year old is using her given name (AM) right now, not her birth name KM. I've been undecided until now whether to use AM or KM in this confusion, but I feel it's most respectful to the young woman to use the name she identifies with. If she's going by AM, that's what I will try and use.If you see me use AM in posts, or AM/KM, it's because she is identifying herself as AM. If she changes, I'll change going forward, too.

I apologize in advance as I am sure this will confuse some, but I have to respect the young woman and the tough decisions she'll have to make as a young adult, including the name she will choose to use as she works through all of this.