Dad who was treated as a suspect for 20 years speaks on daughter's hospital kidnapping case

On July 10, 1998, a woman wearing nurse attire walked into the maternity ward of University Medical Center in Jacksonville, Florida, and abducted an eight-hour-old Kamiyah Mobley. Gloria Williams, who had recently miscarried, took the infant and later raised her in Walterboro, South Carolina, as Alexis Manigo. The case became one of the most audacious child abductions in U.S. history, drawing national attention for years as authorities searched for the newborn and her kidnapper.

Two decades of uncertainty followed Kamiyah’s disappearance. At the time of the abduction, Kamiyah’s birth father, Craig Aiken, was imprisoned on marijuana-related offenses, and her birth mother, Shanara Mobley, was a teenager with limited options. The search culminated on January 17, 2017, when Kamiyah, then 18, learned the truth about her identity and began reconnecting with her birth parents. The reunion occurred in Florida, where Kamiyah had spent her early life under a different name and with a family that believed she was their daughter.

Kamiyah Mobley now works for a loan company in Duval County and lives nearby her birth family, including seven siblings on her father’s side. Aiken describes their relationship as “beautiful” and says the family has found ways to cope with the past, including joking about what happened as a form of healing. He notes that Kamiyah still has a soft spot for Gloria Williams, which complicates the emotions around the case, even as her birth parents live with the fear of Williams’ release.

The dynamics within the family have evolved over time. While Kamiyah’s bond with her father appears strong and supportive, her relationship with Shanara Mobley has remained more fraught. An exclusive interview in 2018 showed Shanara calling for the death penalty for Williams, a stance that Aiken says has shaped the parent-child rift. Still, Aiken emphasizes that healing is possible, noting that Kamiyah visits and maintains connections with his seven children. He has written about reclaiming the narrative in his memoir Self Therapy and has produced a music video with Kamiyah to illustrate the kidnapping and its aftermath.

The legal arc of the case is a stark reminder of how long the consequences of child abduction can persist. Gloria Williams was sentenced in February 2018 to 18 years in prison at Hernando Correctional Institution in Florida. If she serves the full term, her release is planned for 2036. The path to accountability for the younger Kamiyah’s life required years of persistent searching and a willingness to confront painful truths from the families involved.

Kamiyah’s forged documents and Williams’ deception unlocked a cascade of revelations. Investigators learned that the birth certificate and Social Security number used to establish Alexis Manigo’s identity were fabricated, with the Social Security number taken from a man who died in 1983. The breakthrough, sparked by Kamiyah’s own questions about her background, led to Williams’ arrest after an anonymous tip to the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children.

For Aiken, the emotional verdict of the case remains complex. He has described feeling mischaracterized as a suspect for nearly 20 years and says the ordeal did not end when Kamiyah reunited with her birth parents. He explains that he hoped to meet Williams someday to gain closure, while recognizing that the family must guard against further harm or distress from her potential release. The ongoing interplay between forgiveness, accountability, and personal healing continues to shape their lives as they navigate a future that blends gratitude with unresolved questions about the past.