Carlina Renae White was born in the Harlem neighborhood of New York City on July 15, 1987. Soon, details began to emerge that for several months, a strange woman had been seen at the hospital. Carlina White grew up believing her name was Nejdra Nance. White was discovered missing early in the morning of Aug. 4, and a security guard reported having seen a woman matching Pettway's description leaving the hospital around 3:30 a.m. Pettway raised White as Nejdra Nance, nicknamed Netty, in Bridgeport, Connecticut, with the help of her own mother. Pettway confessed to taking 3-week-old Carlina White from Harlem Hospital's emergency room in 1987. Pettway turned herself into FBI officials in Bridgeport, Conn., on Sunday. (CBS/AP) NEW YORK - Ann Pettway, the woman who kidnapped a newborn from a New York City hospital more than two decades ago and raised the girl as her own, pleaded guilty Friday to a kidnapping. "I would like to apologize to the family. Daniels said that Pettway had a relative contact the authorities through Facebook. [2], Carlina was 19 days old when her parents, Joy White and Carl Tyson, took her to the hospital with a fever of 104F (40C) on August4, 1987. There, she found a photo of a baby who had been kidnapped in 1987 and looked just like her own daughter, Samani. 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. Do Not Sell or Share My Personal Information. The couple didn't see their daughter until earlier this month when White's true identity was established. Carlina White's real mother, Joy White and her father Carl Tyson describe their feelings about Ann Pettway. Ann Pettway took Carlina White when she was 19 days old from Harlem Hospital in Manhattan. 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. Shockingly, between 2:30 a.m. and 3:55 a.m., someone removed the IV from baby White and abducted her from the hospital. He was last seen at a water park in Wisconsin Dells,. In a flat. It was wrong.''. "For 23 years, Ann, you had me suffering. In 2005, when White was pregnant with her daughter, she requested Pettway obtain her birth certificate so she could get health insurance. Even the kidnappers brother was unaware that Netty was not Anns biological child. The woman who raised White told authorities that she tried to create a fake birth certificate for her, renaming her Nejdra Nance, but was unable to create a fake document that appeared real, according to court documents. 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. Lt. David Daniels was the point person from the Bridgeport Police Department who helped arrange the surrender. 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. Still, The Mirror reported that as of 2014, White was in touch with her biological parents as well as the family that raised her. (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. Now in her 30s, she seems content to live a private life with her daughter away from media attention. Ann Pettway, 51, learned her fate after pleading guilty to a kidnapping charge in February. I took a child. She called the center's hotline and was able to contact her birth family. It wasn't until White was in high school that she. 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. The National Center for Missing and Exploited Children helped reunite White with her biological mother. Give her 23 years," Carl Tyson, Carlina White's father, said after the court proceedings. 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. It's what I gave myself," she said. Now, the former Nejdra Nance has legally changed her name to Carlina White, but she informally goes by Netty a name she chose all for herself. If convicted, Pettway faces a maximum sentence of life in prison and a minimum sentence of 20 years in prison. 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. The last time White spoke publicly was at the 2014 Crimes Against Children Conference. She then raised White as her own daughter for over 20 years, renaming her Nejdra "Netty" Nance. Later that evening, in a state of shock, White confronted Pettway, who broke down and confessed that she was not White's biological mother. [1] Joy White later stated that there had been a falling out over the issue of the money. Ann Pettway, Kidnapper of Carlina White, Gets 12 Years in Prison - The New York Times Kidnapping of Baby Draws 12-Year Term Joy White, speaking to reporters on Monday. DNA tests last year confirmed her as the daughter of Joy White and Carl Tyson. Pettway, who had experienced several miscarriages, abducted White from a hospital by posing as a nurse. 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. Carlina White described Pettway to the New York Post last year as an abusive mother who would throw things like shoes at her. published October 18, 2020. Carlina Renae White (born July 15, 1987), also known as Nejdra "Netty" Nance,[1] is an American woman who solved her own kidnapping case and was reunited with her biological parents 23 years after being abducted as an infant from the Harlem Hospital Center in New York City. "[5], Pettway turned herself in to the FBI office at Bridgeport on the morning of January 23, 2011. However, the prosecution pointed out that Ann had been convicted of a number of crimes while she was raising the child. All my friends used to say she was a cool mom.". She did not believe she would ever be able to be a parent," according to a court document filed by FBI Special Agent Maria Johnson who interviewed Pettway. In her last interview in 2014, White told the Mirror that she'd forgiven Pettway and was in contact with her. Ann Pettway, 51, received less than the life sentence she was facing and the 23 years the mother of the kidnapped girl requested. Pettway served her sentence in the Federal Correctional Institution, Aliceville in Alabama until she was released on April 14, 2021. With the center's help, she was ultimately able to narrow down her search for her birth parents to two possible cases. It was the police calling from Joy Whites apartment. 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. Well, she had on a nurses uniform that night, and prior to that, she had spent 2-3 weeks in the hospital. "I took a child. White nonetheless searched for her biological parents for several years, eventually finding a photo on the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children's website that looked like her own daughter. Dressed like a nurse, Pettway reportedly told Mrs. White, "Don't cry . Ann Pettway faces at least 20 years in prison. White's case is featured in Unsolved Mysteries Volume 2. 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. She was raised as Nejdra Nance in Connecticut and later in Georgia. [18] By the following July, White became estranged from her biological parents. 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). Like Christopher Dansby and Shane Walker, White was kidnapped in New York when she was a child in the '80s. Tyson and Joy White decided that she would stay at the hospital with the baby, but she needed to get some things from home first. Soon, the trial began, where her lawyers stated that the kidnapping did not stem from a vicious intent. In this article, we take a look at a woman who kidnapped a child only 19 days after her birth. Carlina White was reunited with her birth parents in 2011. 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. The Mountbatten-Windsors have been recastagain. She is being held without bail. 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." Pettway posed as a nurse, took the baby from the couple and pretended to take her for treatment. That was something that I always believed in myself, you know, that she would come and find me and thats the same way that I thought it would happen, Joy White said of receiving the miraculous email. 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. Read about our approach to external linking. [9], After the confirmation that Nejdra Nance was really Carlina White, the Federal Bureau of Investigation began a search for Ann Pettway. Thats the main thing just to find out where you come from and who you are.. "It was wrong," Pettway told the judge when she entered her guilty plea today in a New York courtroom. She told the magazine of her plans to revert to her birth name, but said she would still go by Netty, since the name is "not what the Pettway family gave me or what the White family gave me. For this, she required her birth certificate, something that Ann was never able to produce. Prosecutors increased their recommended sentence to 20 years, saying they had uncovered new facts about the case. She brought her beautiful daughter. 2011 CBS Interactive Inc. All Rights Reserved. North Carolina officials saying they believe she's actively fleeing authorities. How did she accomplish this in the first place? Even though the hospital had video cameras, they were not working that night. 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. 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." 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. Upon discovering her kidnapping and her biological parents, she kept her legal name as Carlina White. (There is always the possibility that the infant was hiding in Anns smock). Meanwhile, Carlina's abductor, Ann Pettway, had renamed her Nejdra Nance. On this Wikipedia the language links are at the top of the page across from the article title. Netty said this about the whole ordeal: Im not mad at Ann any more. It may be rejected, but I am deeply sorry for what I've done. 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. But while White was later found and reunited with her parents, Dansby and Walker's families are still holding out hope that their children will turn up. Tyson also went on to talk about all the things he never got to experience with his daughter. 2023 CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved. When you purchase through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission. She has been incarcerated since surrendering to Bridgeport police in January, ending a several-day manhunt that began in North Carolina. [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. Rajasthan News: . Pettway told officials that she is "truly sorry," according to the criminal complaint filed Monday. In another interesting turn of events, Ann turned herself in to the FBI on January 23, 2011. Carlina White pulled away from her birth parents and returned home to Atlanta. At that point, Pettway confessed to not being her biological mother, but claimed White's mom had abandoned her. 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. Her parents were thrilled about the new addition to their family, but when White was just 19 days old, she developed a high fever. Though the hospital had a surveillance system, it was not working at the time of the abduction, and there were few potential witnesses. White grew suspicious during her teens that Pettway was not her biological mother, because of her inability to provide a birth certificate. Pettway later moved to Atlanta, taking Carlina with her. Powered by WordPress.com VIP. Well, she had on a nurse's uniform that night, and prior to that, she had spent 2-3 weeks in the hospital. 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 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. Carlina keeps in touch with her birth parents, but they are not. She has been incarcerated since surrendering to Bridgeport police in January, ending a several-day manhunt that began in North Carolina. Well, we need to go back to 2005. DNA testing was performed to confirm that Carlina White was indeed their child. 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. Where Are Carlina Whites Biological Parents Now. Turn on desktop notifications for breaking stories about interest? In thesecond volume (opens in new tab)of Netflix's reboot of the classic true crime seriesUnsolved Mysteries (opens in new tab), one episode explores the tragic back-to-back kidnappings ofChristopher Dansby and Shane Walker. White then got in touch with the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children, submitted a DNA sample, and eventually learned her true identity in 2011; the following year, Pettway was sentenced to 12 years in prison for kidnapping after turning herself in. She began to think about Pettway, who at the time was on the run from the FBI. 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. Soon, she got in touch with her biological family. Ann Pettway, 51, had pleaded guilty to kidnapping in February and offered details of the 1987 kidnapping. New York CNN . "Pettway was dealing with the stress of trying to be a mom and had had several miscarriages. [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. 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. Daniels said that the Pettway family is well known in the area and that his own sister had been friends with Pettway. She was reunited with her birth parents 23 years after being abducted. Pettway is on parole in North Carolina until June 2012. White explained, There was a part of me that wasnt even there, and now I feel whole. "She took [Carlina] for 23 years. Authorities say a woman dressed as a nurse abducted a newborn Carlina White on Aug. 4, 1987 from a crib at Harlem Hospital in New York City. Pettway confessed to taking 3-week-old Carlina White from Harlem Hospital's emergency room in 1987. You took something away from me," Tyson said. Netty--the name she went by--eventually found a paper she thought was her birth certificate, but it turned out to be false. She took a plea bargain, as a result of which the then 50-year-old was sentenced to 12 years in prison. Ann Pettway abducted baby Carlina White from Harlem Hospital on August4, 1987, and raised the child as her own. 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. After comparing baby photos of "Nejdra" to Carlina's, and with White sporting the same birthmark on her arm as baby Carlina, the NYPD contacted Joy and Carl for DNA samples. She graduated from the Columbia School of Journalism in 2017 and has also written for W, Brides, Glamour, Women's Health, People and more. By subscribing to this BDG newsletter, you agree to our. Relatives told CBS station WCBS that White was raised in an abusive home in Connecticut and then later moved to Georgia. [16] Her lawyers had asked for leniency, saying Pettway had been severely depressed after suffering from multiple miscarriages and stillbirths. 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. 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