It was the first time an infant had been abducted from a New York hospital, and no one knew how it had happened. Relatives told CBS station WCBS that White was raised in an abusive home in Connecticut and then later moved to Georgia. ABC News' Kaitlyn Folmer contributed to this report. Then, in a quest to find some answers, Netty turned to the internet. And though this reunion brought cathartic closure, White soon struggled to navigate her new life after living while unwittingly trapped in a lie for so many years. White recognizes that she caused her biological family pain when she pulled away after meeting them, but she was overwhelmed by the media attention and felt guilt about abandoning the family who raised her. There was no paperwork to follow her such as a birth certificate or social security card. Carlina Renae White was born in the Harlem neighborhood of New York City on July 15, 1987. The Connecticut Post reports that Pettways sister Cassandra Johnson helped White reach out to NCMEC in December 2010. Even before the DNA analysis was complete, with all three feeling certain it would be a match, White began talking to Joy and Carl on the phone, and flew to New York to meet them in early 2011. At Manhattan Federal Court, the judge said that what Pettway did was "not a crime of greed or vengeance, but was a crime of selfishness. "It was wrong," Pettway told the judge when she entered her guilty plea today in a New York courtroom. She "looked like the world was lifted off her shoulders looked a bit relieved because she had been running," Daniels said. According to records from the Federal Bureau of Prisons, Pettway is still serving her sentence in New York, but she won't be serving all 12 years of it. She was declared an absconder Friday and put into a national law enforcement database. Carlina White said she became skeptical of her past after Pettway could never provide her with a birth certificate. A US woman who stole a baby from a New York City hospital in 1987 and raised the child as her own has pleaded guilty to kidnapping. Pettway served her sentence in the Federal Correctional Institution, Aliceville in Alabama until she was released on April 14, 2021. He said his birthday is Oct. 18, 2004, which matches Timmothy's date of birth. Pettway did not enter a plea at her arraignment at the U.S. District Court for Southern New York in Manhattan, where she faced between 20 years and life in prison for kidnapping. White was raised as Nejdra Nance. [15] On July 30, 2012, Judge P. Kevin Castel sentenced Pettway, who was then 50 years old, to 12 years in prison. "I'm not really satisfied with the sentence because I figure Ann Pettway should have received 23 years in jail because Ann took 23 from me," said White's biological father, Carl Tyson. Jessica O'Connor is a public historian focusing on Deep South Black History with degrees from Winston-Salem State University and the University of North Carolina at Greensboro. It was magic.. To secure medical assistance from the state, she had to provide her original birth certificate. As reported by New York magazine, Tyson dropped his girlfriend at her house and returned home to try to get some sleep. The BBC is not responsible for the content of external sites. Do Not Sell or Share My Personal Information. Biological family of Carlina White doesn't believe confessed kidnapper is sorry. Pettway boarded a train for her home in Bridgeport, Conn., and told friends and family member the baby was her child. For the next few weeks, White was in constant contact with her birth parents, but she sometimes struggled to form a relationship with them. According to records from the Federal Bureau of Prisons, Pettway is still serving her sentence in New York, but she won't be serving all 12 years of it. Charges against Ann Pettway were filed after it was determined what had occurred, and in July 2012, the New York Times reported that she had been given a 12-year prison sentence at 50. night with a high fever. Get browser notifications for breaking news, live events, and exclusive reporting. Even in the beginning of the year, with all the drama and stuff, I was kind of cloudy. They rushed her to the hospital, where doctors discovered White had an infection from swallowing fluid during her birth. In her plea agreement, Pettway told the court how she had caught a train from her home in Bridgeport, Connecticut, to New York, where she snatched the 19-day-old from Harlem Hospital, after the baby was brought there with a fever by her parents. Carlina keeps in touch with her birth parents, but they are not. Johnson is a member of the FBI's Crimes Against Children Squad. NEW YORK (CBS/AP) Ann Pettway, the woman believed to be responsible for the kidnapping of Carlina White, who at 19-days-old was abducted from a New York hospital and then was finally reunited. For the next twenty-three years Carlina's parents continued to search for their daughter. By subscribing to this BDG newsletter, you agree to our. Daniels said that the Pettway family is well known in the area and that his own sister had been friends with Pettway. But the lack of a birth certificate, Social Security card, or the missing resemblance to Pettway led White to question her identity when she was in her late teens. A few days later, Pettway confessed that she was not White's birth mother, but claimed White had been abandoned by her parents at birth. Johnson is a member of the FBI's Crimes Against Children Squad. 2023 CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved. All the nudity of porn, but with the plot and storylines of mainstream film. "I'm not going to say she was the best mom ever, but she did what she had to do to make me who I am," she said. Pettway finally had to confess to White that she wasnt her biological mother. Dis friends have said she referred to the doctor as the love of her life.. Fugitive in $18 million COVID fraud scheme extradited to U.S. Where things stand in the Alex Murdaugh double murder trial, Alex Murdaugh testifies 4 years after fatal boat crash involving son, Ex-Georgia star Jalen Carter was racing in deadly crash, arrest warrants allege, January 20, 2011 - Carlina White: Kidnapped Girl Finds Her Mother After 23 Years. Her release date is set for April 14,. As part of a plea bargain, prosecutors agreed to recommend to the judge a prison sentence of 10 to 12 years. White asked Pettway for the document, but she couldnt provide it. In fact, many of the other staff members even believed that Ann was a part of the team (despite not being employed by the facility). After reading about the kidnapping of Carlina White, read about the Ariel Castro kidnappings and how his victims escaped 10 years of abuse. The revelation was not entirely surprising to White as she had begun to notice that she did not share physical traits with Pettway. She had swallowed fluid during her delivery and had an infection. White's father, Carl Tyson, expressed his disappointment, saying . 24/7 coverage of breaking news and live events. [3] The baby disappeared during the early morning, around 2 am when the shifts were changing. In this article, we take a look at a woman who kidnapped a child only 19 days after her birth. White was separated from her parents from 1987 until 2011, making hers the longest child abduction case to be solved in the Center for Missing and Exploited Children's history, as well as the first in which the kidnapping victim led the reunification efforts, the center's Bob Lowerytold (opens in new tab)theConnecticut Postin 2011. All the dance numbers! The actress opens up about the surreal process of playing the Lark in the Netflix fantasy prequel. Carlina White's father, Carl Tyson, insinuated the punishment was too lenient and felt as though Pettway should receive prison time equivalent to the years his daughter was kept away from him. Kates coat was a Catherine Walker rewear; Diana wore her Moschino suit numerous times. "I'm pissed. Like Christopher Dansby and Shane Walker, White was kidnapped in New York when she was a child in the '80s. In 1987, Pettway told her friends she was pregnant, and a friend later said Pettway left town for a while before returning with a child. The case represents one of the longest known gaps in an abduction in which the victim was reunited with the family in the United States. They specifically challenged the defence's contention that Pettway had provided a "stable, loving and happy home", for Ms White for 23 years. Daniels said that Pettway had a relative contact the authorities through Facebook. Here's everything we know about White's miraculous case, from her shocking kidnapping to her triumphant reunion with her birth parents. White's parents sued the city and with the money they won established a trust fund for their daughter in the event of her return. Well, we need to go back to 2005. In a letter ahead of the sentencing hearing, Pettway apologised and said the kidnapping would have never occurred if she had sought professional help after her failed pregnancies. Staggering snowfall in California mountains leaves residents trapped for days, SpaceX launches new crew on flight to space station, Garland testifies before Senate panel amid ongoing special counsel probes, Colon cancer rates rising in younger age group, study finds, Firefighter dies battling blaze in downtown Buffalo, mayor says, Several hospitalized after Lufthansa flight diverted to Dulles due to turbulence, Explosive found in checked luggage at Pennsylvania airport, feds say, Prosecution wraps its case at Alex Murdaugh murder trial, Top McCarthy aide, House Oversight chair each met with Ashli Babbitt's mother. A woman posing as a nurse later revealed to be Ann Pettway took White and raised her as her own child, renaming her Nejdra "Netty" Nance. Pettway, who had been loitering around the facility for at least a few weeks, if not months, before the abduction, police toldThe New York Times (opens in new tab), had been dressed as a nurse and interacted with White's parents upon their arrival at the hospital. She knew something was wrong but when Netty confronted Ann Pettway, the woman who raised her, Pettway told her that her mother was a crack addict who deserted her and never came back. The father remembered that the culprit had said, The baby dont cry for youyou cry for the baby. He found this method of assuring someone a bit weird. She then allegedly told an FBI agent she stole White after. Well, she had on a nurses uniform that night, and prior to that, she had spent 2-3 weeks in the hospital. By subscribing to this BDG newsletter, you agree to our. White's case is featured in Unsolved Mysteries Volume 2. [3] A guard said a woman matching the suspect's description left the hospital at 3:30am, and that no infant was visible, although the baby could have been concealed in the heavyset woman's smock. In 2005, White became pregnant. She recalled, The mom had that mother instinct. The indictment against Ann Pettway was. Sentencing is scheduled for May 14, 2012. Pettway changed White's name to "Nejdra Nance" and raised her in Bridgeport, Conn. White said she had long suspected Pettway wasn't her biological mother becausethey didn't look anything alike and Pettway could never provide her with a birth certificate. Ann Pettway, 51, learned her fate after pleading guilty to a kidnapping charge in February. Pettway confessed to taking 3-week-old Carlina White from Harlem Hospital's emergency room in 1987. If convicted, Pettway faces a maximum sentence of life in prison and a minimum sentence of 20 years in prison. It was the same woman who had given Tyson directions earlier. From hair trends to relationship advice, our daily newsletter has everything you need to sound like a person whos on TikTok, even if you arent. The security guard stated that a heavyset woman (matching the description the parents had given) did leave around 3:30 am, but she did not have a child with her. Curtis Cousin Eddie Smith Claims Alex Murdaugh Made Him A Fall Guy, Morgan Doughty Filed A Lawsuit Against The Murdaugh Family, Buster Murdaugh Testified For The Defense At His Fathers Double Murder Trial, TikTok Star Bel Priestley Teases Boundary-Breaking 'Heartstopper' S2, Get Even More From Bustle Sign Up For The Newsletter. It wasn't until White was in high school that she discovered her birth certificate was fake and confronted Pettway about it, per New York Magazine. She contacted the agency and finally learned the truth in 2011. Netflix owes us answers after that ending. Ann Pettway faces at least 20 years in prison. She was released in April 2021, after serving her time in Alabama. A security guard had seen someone matching the womans description leave the hospital around 3:30 a.m. She didnt have a baby with her, but he believed it was possible that the missing infant had been hidden in her smock. She was placed on intravenous antibiotics to fight the infection, and Joy White and Carl Tyson waited anxiously for news of their daughters condition. As the stolen infant's real mother wept in the federal court in . Feb. 10, 2012— -- A woman who snatched an infant from a New York City hospital 24 years ago and raised her as her daughter pleaded guilty today to a federal kidnapping charge and faces at least 10 years in prison. PICTURES: Missing Children, Where Are They? In 2012, Ann pleaded guilty to federal charges of kidnapping. "She took [Carlina] for 23 years. She claimed that White was abandoned by her mother at birth. The National Center for Missing and Exploited Children helped reunite White with her biological mother. It wasn't until White was in high school that she. [5] DNA profiling confirmed in January 2011 that she was the missing Carlina White. But they soon came to a dead end, and the case of Carlina Whites kidnapping went cold. White spent the next several years searching for her birth parents. According to the Chicago Tribune, this was partly due to the press attention, but also because White wasn't able to sue New York state for what happened to her. Her parents were thrilled about the new addition to their family, but when White was just 19 days old, she developed a high fever. [4][5] The baby had been receiving intravenous antibiotics when, between 2:30am and 3:55am, someone removed the IV line and abducted her. Though it's been more than 30 years since they last saw their children, however, Dansby and Walker's parents are still holding out hope that they'll be reunited with their sons, bolstered by the story of another Harlem native, Carlina White, who essentially solved her own kidnapping case after 23 years in her abductor's custody. [13] On February 17, 2011, a federal grand jury indicted Pettway on the kidnapping charge. January 21, 2011 / 6:45 PM I took a child. For this, she required her birth certificate, something that Ann was never able to produce. Upon discovering her kidnapping and her biological parents, she kept her legal name as Carlina White. It wasnt until 2010 that she visited the NCMEC website and expanded her search outside of her home state. Finally, more than 23 years after her kidnapping, White was reunited with her parents in 2011. It was wonderful, she didnt even seem like a stranger, she just fit right in, Whites biological grandmother Elizabeth White said. 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