[Watch live on the Law&Crime Network in the player above. For a raw feed of the hearing, see the player below]
In 1998, Gloria Williams posed as a nurse and stole a baby from a hospital, took her home, and raised her as her own child. The child, Alexis Manigo, didn’t know the truth until she was 18 years old, first meeting her biological family in 2017. Williams eventually pleaded guilty to felony charges of kidnapping and interference with custody. She will be sentenced Friday morning at approximately 10:30 a.m. Eastern Time. Watch live in the player above.
Last month, the judge heard testimony in the sentencing hearing before taking several weeks to determine Williams’ sentence. At the hearing, Williams herself spoke, saying that she had been in a physically and verbally abuse relationship, and when she became pregnant, her boyfriend Charles Manigo was happy. She said Manigo hoped having a child would help with his own stability. Then Williams had a miscarriage, leading to her stealing a baby instead.
“I don’t know. I just . . . I was thinking about . . . maybe this baby can help Charles,” she told the court. “I thought this would bring piece to the house; the abuse would stop; the violence would stop. It didn’t.” Williams eventually left Manigo because she didn’t want to endanger the child.
Williams addressed the child’s birth parents, saying:
I know I can’t give you back the 18 years. If I could, I would. If I could give you a new heart, Ms. Mobley, I would; if I could give you a new heart, Mr. Aiken, I would. It’s not in my power. I know you hate me right now. I know I’ve done something wrong. I hope one day you can find it in your heart to forgive me for what I’ve done to y’all.
Williams faces between zero and 22 years in prison. The mother, Kamiyah Mobley, said in a victim impact statement that if it were up to her, Williams would get the death penalty.
Aaron Keller contributed to this report.
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