Pettway told officials that she is "truly sorry," according to the criminal complaint filed Monday. 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. I just always believed that she would find me. In July 2012, Pettway was sentenced to twelve years in prison. While "Carlina White" is her legal name, as it appears on official documents, she says that she will continue to go by "Netty" in public since it was neither the name her biological parents gave her nor the name given to her by the woman who raised her, but rather is "[the name] I gave myself. Finally, more than 23 years after her kidnapping, White was reunited with her parents in 2011. 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. By subscribing to this BDG newsletter, you agree to our. 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. White was not present at today's hearings. "We say listen, the Whites, we're sorry this happened, but at the same time too, have some compassion for our relative," Brian Pettway, a cousin of Ann Pettway, said. When Pettway could not produce White's birth certificate, the young woman began searching missing person Web sites and eventually contacted the Center for Missing and Exploited Children. 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. Future US, Inc. Full 7th Floor, 130 West 42nd Street, Pettway confessed to taking 3-week-old Carlina White from Harlem Hospital's emergency room in 1987. Shell be crowned alongside her husband King Charles at the Coronation. She has reconnected with her biological parents but admits that she still has love for the woman she called Mom for the first 23 years of her life. She spent her childhood in Bridgeport, Connecticut, before she and Pettway moved to Atlanta, Georgia. "She lied to Carlina, to law enforcement and state authorities for 23 years," the prosecutor said. Biological family of Carlina White doesn't believe confessed kidnapper is sorry. Netty graduated from Warren Harding High School, following which, Ann and her moved out to Atlanta for a while. The Whites had brought their 19-day-old infant, who had a high fever, to Harlem Hospital in Manhattan on August 4, 1987. Copyright 2023 CBS Interactive Inc. All rights reserved. I'm here to right my wrong."[17]. 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. Joy White said she remembered Pettway, posing as a nurse, consoling her before picking up the baby and waking away. NCMEC reached out to Joy White and Carl Tyson through email just before Christmas 2011. Pettway was convicted of five crimes while Ms White was in her custody, according to a probation department, and had used cocaine from 1983 to 2005. Carlina White grew up believing her name was Nejdra Nance. "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. Since Netty needed to get health insurance, she needed her birth certificate. As documented in Unsolved Mysteries, White was abducted from a New York hospital in 1987 when she was just 19 days old. It wasn't until 2010, when she was 23 and living in Atlanta, that she decided to try expanding her search outside of Connecticut, and found a photo of a baby who had been abducted in 1987 and looked just like her own young daughter on the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children's website. For her part, Pettway turned herself in to authorities in Jan. 2011 and pleaded guilty to the federal kidnapping charge,The New York Timesreported (opens in new tab)at the time. That sounded like a bold request for the biological family of Carlina White. The hospital had video surveillance, but at the time it was not working. White was portrayed by Keke Palmer in the Lifetime film Abducted: The Carlina White Story. But now I know who I am. Ms White traced her true mother after finding a photo of herself on the website of the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children. There was no way of knowing what the woman in white looked like except for the description given by Joy White and Carl Tyson. Her biological parents, Joy White and Carl Tyson, said they left the After a quick visit, White returned to the airport to catch her flight back to Atlanta. 2011 CBS Interactive Inc. All Rights Reserved. DNA tests last year confirmed her as the daughter of Joy White and Carl Tyson. "It was wrong," Pettway told the judge when she entered her guilty plea today in a New York courtroom. When Netty was 10 years old, Ann gave birth to a son, and the children were raised as siblings. The case made headlines internationally and solved a mystery that had baffled police for more than two decades. Joy White and Carl Tyson had brought their newborn daughter to the hospital after she developed an infection and high fever; within a few hours, she was smuggled out of the hospital by Ann Pettway. Pettway and White later moved to Atlanta, Georgia. 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. For this, she required her birth certificate, something that Ann was never able to produce. A family member worked with authorities to arrange Pettway's surrender. Pettway finally had to confess to White that she wasnt her biological mother. So how exactly was the mystery solved? In another interesting turn of events, Ann turned herself in to the FBI on January 23, 2011. Netty's not what the Pettway family gave me or what the White family gave me. Authorities issued a warrant for Pettway's arrest for violating her parole in a North Carolina embezzlement case. Pettway confessed to taking 3-week-old Carlina White from Harlem Hospital's emergency room in 1987. It was magic.. One day, Ann confessed that she was not the biological mother. 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. They rushed her to the hospital, where doctors discovered White had an infection from swallowing fluid during her birth. But I can appreciate what she did for me.. Pettway, 51, was arrested last year after the victim, Carlina White, discovered she had been kidnapped. 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. Ann eventually gave birth to a son. In 2012, Ann pleaded guilty to federal charges of kidnapping. 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. Before her verdict, she wrote an apology letter that read: I went to the hospital. By Andrea Park. She apologized for her crime at her sentencing hearing in 2012, when her lawyers reportedly argued that she "was motivated not by greed or desire to do harm, but by a desperate desire for a child, combined with depression and grief over her failed pregnancies and significant mental illness.". They specifically challenged the defence's contention that Pettway had provided a "stable, loving and happy home", for Ms White for 23 years. The last time White spoke publicly was at the 2014 Crimes Against Children Conference. On this Wikipedia the language links are at the top of the page across from the article title. Daniels said that the Pettway family is well known in the area and that his own sister had been friends with Pettway. Dressed like a nurse, Pettway reportedly told Mrs. White, "Don't cry . Relatives told CBS station WCBS that White was raised in an abusive home in Connecticut and then later moved to Georgia. Though the hospital had a surveillance system, it was not working at the time of the abduction, and there were few potential witnesses. "We say listen, the Whites . White asked Pettway for the document, but she couldnt provide it. [3] The baby disappeared during the early morning, around 2 am when the shifts were changing. Carlina White's biological father, Carl Tyson, doesn't believe that Pettway is sorry. According to her parents, she does not have a relationship with either of them. Ann Pettway abducted baby Carlina White from Harlem Hospital on August 4, 1987, and raised the child as her own. [10][11] White stated, "I just hope that the officials be able to get her in their hands, so we can just hear her side of the story now. After White pressed her about it for several days, Pettway finally gave her the birth certificate but when White tried to submit it, officials said it was a forgery. "If I had all that anger in me it would be me who would suffer and it would stop me from living.". A woman who admitted to stealing a 19-day-old infant from a Manhattan hospital in 1987 was sentenced Monday to 12 years in prison. Nejdra Nance was very suspicious of who she was and what family raised her, Lieutenant Christopher Zimmerman of the New York Police Department later told ABC News. Her release date is set for April 14,. 2023 BDG Media, Inc. All rights reserved. Ann Pettway, 51, received less than the life sentence she was facing and the 23 years the mother of the kidnapped girl requested. In her late teens she became suspicious of who she was.. Carlina White solved her own kidnapping case in 2005. The National Center for Missing and Exploited Children helped reunite White with her biological mother. In this article, we take a look at a woman who kidnapped a child only 19 days after her birth. The Mountbatten-Windsors have been recastagain. 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. She began to think about Pettway, who at the time was on the run from the FBI. Do Not Sell or Share My Personal Information. The center quickly contacted Joy White and Carl Tyson to inform them their long-lost daughter was found. Pettway is on parole in North Carolina until June 2012. She "looked like the world was lifted off her shoulders looked a bit relieved because she had been running," Daniels said. [13] On February 17, 2011, a federal grand jury indicted Pettway on the kidnapping charge. At that point, Pettway confessed to not being her biological mother, but claimed White's mom had abandoned her. White's parents, Joy White and Carl Tyson, had taken their feverish daughter to the hospital 23 years ago. According to The Mirror, the ensuing press attention became too much for White. Pettway, the woman who White called Mom while growing up, has several aliases as well as a criminal history that includes charges of embezzlement, forgery, theft and drugs. 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. Joy White (Sherri Shepherd) confronts Ann Pettway (Aunjanue Ellis), the woman who kidnapped her baby girl and raised her as her own, in this scene from Abduc. North Carolina officials saying they believe she's actively fleeing authorities. It was wonderful, she didnt even seem like a stranger, she just fit right in, Whites biological grandmother Elizabeth White said. Lt. David Daniels was the point person from the Bridgeport Police Department who helped arrange the surrender. 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. The defense pointed to Pettway's suffering, including miscarriages and three still births. Read about our approach to external linking. In 2005, when White was pregnant with her daughter, she requested Pettway obtain her birth certificate so she could get health insurance. Andrea Park is a Chicago-based writer and reporter with a near-encyclopedic knowledge of the extended Kardashian-Jenner kingdom, early 2000s rom-coms and celebrity book club selections. However, several months later, she contacted both of her biological parents individually, having had a bit more time to process the situation; she later publicly stated that the issue over settlement funds was "just a misunderstanding." Pettway was ultimately sentenced to 12 years in prison. 2023 BBC. [14], On February 10, 2012, Pettway pleaded guilty to a federal kidnapping charge. / CBS New York. She called the center's hotline and was able to contact her birth family. It was the police calling from Joy Whites apartment. She has been incarcerated since surrendering to Bridgeport police in January, ending a several-day manhunt that began in North Carolina. She contacted the agency and finally learned the truth in 2011. Though White didn't appear at Pettway's trial, her birth parents gave emotional testimonies at the sentencing. Though White distanced herself from her birth parents for some time after their initial reunion due to the overwhelming media attention and her complicated feelings for the family that raised her, she toldNew Yorkin late 2011 that they were on good terms and spoke occasionally on the phone. The Connecticut Post reports that Pettways sister Cassandra Johnson helped White reach out to NCMEC in December 2010. She "looked like the world was lifted off her shoulders looked a bit relieved because she had been running," Lt. David Daniels of the Bridgeport Police Department said. 2012 CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved. Her release date is set for April 14, 2021, and she's reportedly been moved to a New York program to facilitate reentry into the world. 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. NEW YORK (CBSNewYork) -- The woman who snatched a newborn baby from a Manhattan hospital more than two decades ago and raised the child as her own was sentenced to 12 years in prison on Monday. Pettway, 50, could have been sentenced to life in prison or a mandatory minimum of 20 years in prison had she chosen to stand trial. White was abducted from New York City's Harlem Hospital Center in Aug. 1987, when she was just 19 days old. He had just managed to doze off when the phone rang. 135 Likes, 3 Comments - Angelin Ann (@anngelinan) on Instagram: " As Eris finally decided to open the pyxis her mother left behind for her 21st birthday." All my friends used to say she was a cool mom.". This was when Netty was pregnant and needed health insurance. This also included an attempted embezzlement charge from 2010. 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. The parents spared no effort in trying to locate their child. [citation needed] At age 23, White used websites such as the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children, where she found that the images of the kidnapped Carlina resembled infant photos of herself as Nejdra and those of her daughter, Samani. 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. "[5], Pettway turned herself in to the FBI office at Bridgeport on the morning of January 23, 2011. White explained, There was a part of me that wasnt even there, and now I feel whole. She has been incarcerated since surrendering to Bridgeport police in January, ending a several-day manhunt that began in North Carolina. Even the kidnappers brother was unaware that Netty was not Anns biological child. / CBS News. Tyson also went on to talk about all the things he never got to experience with his daughter. He said that she was relieved to confess. [8], In 1987, New York City Police Department detectives questioned a woman in Baltimore, who witnesses had identified as having been seen in the hospital, without apparent result. White ultimately discovered that she had been kidnapped as a baby by searching missing children web sites, and earlier this year was finally reunited with her real family. Later, Carl Tyson recalled that a woman wearing a nurses uniform directed them upon their arrival, and he saw her again while looking for a phone to update Whites grandparents on her condition. Add to this the fact that Netty had noted that she looked different than most in her family, and suspicions were at an all-time high. I can take your bike and give it back to you the next day, you are okay, but not a child," Shannon Tyson, the uncle of Carlina White, told the Associated Press. White was raised as Nejdra Nance. White ultimately discovered that she had been kidnapped as a baby by searching missing children web sites, and in early 2011, was finally reunited with her real family. She graduated from the Columbia School of Journalism in 2017 and has also written for W, Brides, Glamour, Women's Health, People and more. Give her 23 years," Carl Tyson, Carlina White's father, said after the court proceedings. (There is always the possibility that the infant was hiding in Anns smock). 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. Could get health insurance, she requested Pettway obtain her birth family today in a New York 's! York City 's Harlem hospital in 1987 incarcerated since surrendering to Bridgeport police in January, ending several-day! Years ago smock ) `` she lied to Carlina, to law enforcement and state authorities for 23 years.! Suspicious of who she was not working Daniels was the point person from the article.... Member worked with authorities to arrange Pettway 's trial, her birth certificate, something Ann... Disappeared during the early morning, around 2 am when the phone rang through email before. 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