In 2017, the arrest of Gloria Williams on charges of kidnapping and custodial interference seemed almost unbelievable. She had been regarded as a respectable member of the Walterboro, South Carolina, community, where she had raised Alexis Manigo. However, the shocking truth emerged that in 1998, she had kidnapped a newborn from Jacksonville, Florida, by posing as a nurse and had kept it a secret for years. Williams eventually pled guilty, yet the little girl she had raised remained close to her. This extraordinary real-life story was later adapted into Lifetime’s ‘Stolen by My Mother: The Kamiyah Mobley Story.’
Gloria Williams Claimed She Kidnapped a Baby After Going Through a Miscarriage
It wasn’t until 2018 that Gloria Williams shared her side of the story in court. She stated that in 1998, she had allegedly been in an abusive relationship with a man named Charles Manigo. Her two sons, Antoine and Andre Williams, had been taken from her custody, and she had suffered a miscarriage. Williams claimed that she was deeply depressed and displayed signs of a phantom pregnancy when she entered the University Medical Center in Jacksonville, Florida. She maintained that she had no intention of kidnapping a baby but believed that having a child might repair her relationship with Charles.
On July 10, 1998, Williams, dressed as a nurse, entered the hospital and saw baby Kamiyah Mobley. She told 16-year-old Shanara “Starr” Mobley, who was alone at the hospital, that she was taking the baby temporarily, but instead walked away with her. Because Williams had recently suffered a miscarriage and exhibited signs of pregnancy, she introduced Kamiyah to her family as her own, and no one questioned it. She later claimed that concern for the child’s safety prompted her to leave her allegedly abusive relationship, and she went on to raise Kamiyah under the name Alexis Kelli Manigo. Williams, who affectionately called Kamiyah “Lexi,” gave her everything she could and raised her in a loving environment.
She later married Wernoskie Convey Williams around 2012, but never revealed the truth about her actions to him or her other children until a few days before her arrest. In 2015, when Kamiyah applied for a job and requested her birth certificate, Williams finally came forward. Despite this, Kamiyah, who had been raised by her, supported her and initially hesitated to involve the police out of concern for repercussions. She was allowed to reconnect with her biological family. However, an anonymous tip to the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children led to a DNA test, and on January 9, 2017, Williams was arrested on charges of kidnapping and custodial interference and was extradited to Florida a few days later.
Gloria Williams is Serving Her Sentence in a Florida Prison Today
After Gloria Williams’ arrest and while she was held at the Duval County Jail, Kamiyah Mobley publicly supported her. This even created tension with her biological family, but she persisted. Kamiyah maintained that she had been raised well and considered Williams to be her mother. In February 2018, Williams pleaded guilty to first-degree kidnapping and interference with custody. She was given an opportunity to speak at a pre-sentencing hearing in May 2018, where she apologized for her actions and took accountability. Shanara Mobley and Craig Aiken also addressed the court. They expressed the large impact of losing their daughter and requested the harshest possible punishment for Williams.
In June 2018, Williams was sentenced to 18 years for kidnapping, to run concurrently with 5 years for interference with custody. Shortly afterward, she filed an appeal challenging aspects of her guilty plea, but it was denied. In 2022, she sought a sentence reduction, with Kamiyah even submitting a handwritten letter in support, though the request was rejected. In December 2023, Williams filed a motion to vacate her judgment and sentence, citing ineffective counsel and claiming that her mental health and ability to enter a guilty plea had not been properly considered. As of September 2025, the evidentiary hearing is still pending. She is currently incarcerated at Lowell Correctional Institute in Ocala, Florida, with a scheduled release date in 2032.
Read More: Hossein Nayeri: Where is the Kidnapper Now?
