Evidence reveals more details of Kamiyah Mobley kidnapping case

Documents show when kidnapped girl learned her true identity

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – Prosecutors released letters and photos Monday afternoon in the case of a 1998 infant abduction from a Jacksonville hospital that made national headlines.

The evidence reveals who tipped the police off to where the kidnapped young woman was living and indicates that she appeared to know her true identity before police came calling.

IMAGES: Kidnapped baby's upbringing as Alexis Manigo

News4Jax has been following the case since hours-old infant Kamiyah Mobley was taken from what was then University Hospital.

According to the Jacksonville Sheriff's Office, Gloria Williams kidnapped the baby and raised her as Alexis Manigo.

News4Jax first reported in January 2017 that the two had been found living in Walterboro, South Carolina, after a tip was called in to the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children.

Among the documents is information that the person who phoned in that tip was a high school friend of Manigo. A second tip was called in to the NCMEC by Arika Williams, the daughter of Williams' husband and Manigo's stepsister. When police interviewed her, she provided key information that helped them move forward with the investigation that led to Williams' arrest.

According to the court documents, Manigo first learned who she was when she was hired for a job at Shoney’s and the manager asked for a Social Security card and driver’s license. Gloria Williams told Manigo that she didn’t have them, and then explained why. 

The evidence shows Manigo even carried a screen grab of the composite baby image that the Sheriff's Office circulated when Kamiyah Mobley was abducted in 1998.

The State Attorney's Office also released photos of Manigo and Williams. The images also include Manigo's high school graduation announcement, her high school diploma and the South Carolina home where she was raised.

One of the photos shows a hospital birth announcement card, identifying Manigo as the last name of a baby girl and "Gloria" as the mother. Prosecutors said Williams altered the card.

After Gloria Williams was arrested last year, Manigo told Jacksonville investigators, “We knew this day was coming. We just didn’t think this soon,” the documents show.

When Jacksonville investigators first interviewed Manigo, she was defiant and told them they would have to get a warrant to make her submit to a DNA swab. 

When that was done, she said, “My mom is not a kidnapper, and ain’t nobody gonna tell me that,” according to the documents.

Letters exchanged

Gloria Williams and Manigo have sent multiple letters back and forth since Williams was arrested. 

In a letter from Feb. 16, 2017, not long after Williams was taken into custody, Manigo wrote that she was scared for her “Ma” and that she feared every day would bring bad news.

WATCH: New evidence includes letters sent between Manigo and Williams

“I just miss you so much and it kills me so much that I can’t even see you,” she wrote. “I just want everything to go back to normal. I want you home. I need you home. Yeah, I have a mom out here, but I need my mother, someone who knows me. I need you.”

She said she felt stuck and didn't know how to move forward.

In a letter written in March 2017, Manigo told Williams she would always love her and believed they would be a family again.

“I’m by your side no matter what, a hundred percent,” she wrote. “I know this is the beginning stages of (excuse me but 'hell') I am preparing.”

In a letter from March 28, 2017, Williams wrote, “I just want you to know, you will always be my daughter and BabyGirl. Once you get your I.D. I want you to register for college, because (it's) so important that you go.”

For a long time, Manigo wasn’t able to visit Williams in jail because she didn’t have an ID. 

Now that Manigo has a Florida ID, News4Jax checked the jail visitor logs to see if she's been to visit Williams, but we were told that information would have to come from the records department, and they have not yet provided it to us. 

Manigo was recently in Jacksonville spending time with her biological father, but she is now back in South Carolina.

Jury selection for Williams' trial is scheduled to start Feb. 12. 

News4Jax is expecting more evidence in the case, including recorded interviews with Manigo and Williams, to be released soon.


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