Carlina White was snatched from a Harlem hospital as an infant in 1987 and raised as "Nejdra Nance" by her kidnapper Annugetta Pettway, who claimed to be her mother. (opens in new tab)The boys were abducted from the same Harlem playground just three months apart in 1989, when they were 2 years old and 19 months old, respectively. Pettway, 51, was arrested last year after the victim,. She did not believe she would ever be able to be a parent," a court document filed by FBI Special Agent Maria Johnson, who interviewed Pettway, stated. A North Carolina woman accused of snatching a newborn from a New York hospital more than two decades ago has been indicted on a kidnapping charge. 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. DNA tests last year confirmed her as the daughter of Joy White and Carl Tyson. At that point, Pettway confessed to not being her biological mother, but claimed White's mom had abandoned her. For this, she required her birth certificate, something that Ann was never able to produce. 24/7 coverage of breaking news and live events. Pettway acquired a forged Connecticut birth certificate, which White attempted to use as proof of identity so she could obtain the health insurance, but the officials told her the document was forged. Before she boarded her plane, she was stopped by a police detective who told her that her DNA results had come back and that Joy White and Carl Tyson were indeed her biological parents. But no one ever came forward, and the parents had to wait 23 years before gaining some closure. 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. "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. According to court documents, when White asked Pettway for her birth certificate, the woman lied, saying she didn't have one because White had been given to her by a woman who used drugs. [3] The baby disappeared during the early morning, around 2 am when the shifts were changing. Even in the beginning of the year, with all the drama and stuff, I was kind of cloudy. [19] As of 2014, she continues to have a relationship with her biological parents.[19][20]. Carlina White's father said he thought the sentence was too lenient and that Pettway should've received the amount of time as she'd kept his daughter, 23 years. Read about our approach to external linking. 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. A US woman who stole a baby from a New York City hospital in 1987 and raised the child as her own has been sentenced to 12 years in prison. For the next year, White kept pressing Pettway for more details about her birth mother, but Pettway claimed she couldnt remember anything. White asked Pettway for the document, but she couldnt provide it. Plus, flyers with her photos and information had been circulated nationwide. She was placed on intravenous antibiotics to fight the infection, and Joy White and Carl Tyson waited anxiously for news of their daughters condition. 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. All the nudity of porn, but with the plot and storylines of mainstream film. If they don't accept it, it's understandable. Johnson is a member of the FBI's Crimes Against Children Squad. Pettway offered an emotional apology in court, saying it was understandable if the family didn't accept it. Please enter valid email address to continue. It's what I gave myself." Netflix has, thankfully, rebooted a show that we could never get enough of in the first place, and were sure the same is the case with true-crime buffs. On Aug. 4, 1987, Joy White and Carl Tyson rushed their newborn daughter, Carlina White, to the hospital due to a fever. Biological family of Carlina White doesn't believe confessed kidnapper is sorry. Fast forwarding to 2005, she had graduated from high school and was pregnant with her first child. 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. So how exactly was the mystery solved? As reported by New York magazine, Tyson dropped his girlfriend at her house and returned home to try to get some sleep. They told him his daughter was missing while his girlfriend screamed in the background. White, who had been brought to the hospital with a fever by her concerned parents at 19 days old and was hooked up to an IV. Pettway went on the run after the kidnapping and reunion of White with her biological family made headlines, police said. Pettway's attorney, Robert Baum, plans to obtain her hospital records and review her medical history. The case made headlines internationally and solved a mystery that had baffled police for more than two decades. Carlina Renae White was raised as Nejdra "Netty" Nance by Annugetta "Ann" Pettway in Bridgeport, Connecticut, just 45 miles from where her parents had lived. Upon being reunited with her biological parents, Carlina White's attorney advised her to ask them about the cash settlement from the hospital. In July 2012, she was sentenced to 12 years in prison. 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 revelation was not entirely surprising to White as she had begun to notice that she did not share physical traits with Pettway. 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 . In 2005, White became pregnant. New York CNN . Pettway was ultimately sentenced to 12 years in prison. You took somebody's child, so this ain't no remorse. Her parents were thrilled about the new addition to their family, but when White was just 19 days old, she developed a high fever. It was wrong.''. [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. "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. Rajasthan News: . 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. In 2010, she noticed that a photo of a missing child in a database looked like her own daughter Samani, according to the Chicago Tribune. Soon, she got in touch with her biological family. 2023 Cinemaholic Inc. All rights reserved. 2011 CBS Interactive Inc. All Rights Reserved. Carlina Renae White was born in the Harlem neighborhood of New York City on July 15, 1987. Joy White told reporters afterwards that Pettway should serve 23 years in jail, one for every year she had been separated from her daughter. Carlina keeps in touch with her birth parents, but they are not. The mysterious nurse from the hospital was Annugetta Ann Pettway of Bridgeport, Connecticut. She then allegedly told an FBI agent she stole White after. Future US, Inc. Full 7th Floor, 130 West 42nd Street, Lt. David Daniels was the point person from the Bridgeport Police Department who helped arrange the surrender. 24/7 coverage of breaking news and live events. Prosecutors agreed to recommend a sentence of 10 to 12.5 years. [15] On July 30, 2012, Judge P. Kevin Castel sentenced Pettway, who was then 50 years old, to 12 years in prison. Johnson is a member of the FBI's Crimes Against Children Squad. [1] Joy White later stated that there had been a falling out over the issue of the money. The Associated Press contributed to this report. Growing up, White sometimes wondered if Pettway was her real mother. Carlina White described Pettway to the New York Post last year as an abusive mother who would throw things like shoes at her. Before her verdict, she wrote an apology letter that read: I went to the hospital. Ann Pettway, who pleaded guilty in February to . 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. The Whites had brought their 19-day-old infant, who had a high fever, to Harlem Hospital in Manhattan on August 4, 1987. 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. Sentencing is scheduled for May 14, 2012. "It was wrong," Pettway told the judge when she entered her guilty plea today in a New York courtroom. I took a child. [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. "[5], Pettway turned herself in to the FBI office at Bridgeport on the morning of January 23, 2011. Where Are Carlina Whites Biological Parents Now. However, she lied to Netty by saying that the actual parent was a drug addict who abandoned her when she was just a child. "If I had all that anger in me it would be me who would suffer and it would stop me from living.". She began to think about Pettway, who at the time was on the run from the FBI. "Now I have two moms and two dads and my life is richer now because of that," White told the outlet, noting that she was writing to Pettway in prison. 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. National Center for Missing and Exploited Children. Carlina White's real mother, Joy White and her father Carl Tyson describe their feelings about Ann Pettway. "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. Daniels said that Pettway had a relative contact the authorities through Facebook. She apologized to White's real family during her court appearance, but they weren't exactly in a forgiving mood. Pettway told federal investigators that she kidnapped White after enduring several miscarriages because of the stress over whether "she would ever be able to be a parent." There was no paperwork to follow her such as a birth certificate or social security card. Pettway is on parole in North Carolina until June 2012. 2023 CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved. DNA testing was performed to confirm that Carlina White was indeed their child. "You hurt me so bad. 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