Woman Writes Letter In Support Of Reducing Sentence Of Kidnapper Who Raised Her
A woman asked a court to reduce the prison sentence of the convicted kidnapper who raised her from infancy, pleading that “she is my mother.”
“I had a well-rounded life; and I am an independent, college educated, and deeply spiritual person, because of all my mom gave me. I am fully aware of how our lives came to be, what they are, and how my mom came to be my mom,” Kamiyah Mobley, 23, wrote about the woman who raised her, according to a court filing obtained by the local Jacksonville, Fla. station WJAX.
In December, Gloria Williams filed a motion in Duval County, Fla. to have her 18-year prison sentence cut in half, local Jacksonville station WTLV-WJXX reported. Williams’ filing included a handwritten letter dated Sept. 30, 2021, from Mobley.
Authorities said Williams befriended Mobley’s 15-year-old mother and, posing as a nurse, abducted Mobley in July 1998 from a Jacksonville hospital hours after she was born. Williams raised Mobley as her own daughter in South Carolina under the false identity Alexis Manigo.
In 2017, investigators caught up with Williams in Walterboro, S.C. After her conviction, a Florida judge sentenced her in 2018 to 18 years behind bars on kidnapping and interfering with custody charges.
Despite the crime, Mobley has a strong bond with Williams.
“I would like to make it very clear that she is my mother,” Mobley wrote. “She raised me, and not only provided for my needs, but she loved me unconditionally. I understand that none of this modifies the truth of the past, nor does it justify my mom’s actions in any way. I ask for the court’s grace and mercy, as I need my mother home.”
Williams, who had pleaded guilty to the kidnapping, testified that she had “suffered a devastating miscarriage and was exhibiting symptoms conducive to postpartum depression” before abducting Mobley.
After discovering Mobely’s whereabouts, authorities reunited her with her biological parents. Mobley's biological father, Craig Aiken, is less sympathetic than his daughter when it comes to the possibility of Williams’ early release.
“I’m not happy about it. There is no such thing as a good kidnapper,” Aiken told WTLV-WJXX. He believes the 18-year sentence is appropriate because Williams kept his daughter away from her biological family for 18 years.
