A woman from South Carolina, whose life was upended when she discovered she had been kidnapped as a newborn, is confronting yet another devastating family revelation. Kamiyah Mobley, now 27, has learned that the man she believed was her biological father for 18 years has been sentenced to a decade in prison for a violent armed robbery.
The Shocking Kidnapping and a Life Built on Lies
Kamiyah Mobley's world shattered in 2017 when she found out the woman she called mother, Gloria Williams, had actually abducted her from a Jacksonville, Florida hospital on July 10, 1998. Williams, posing as a nurse in blue scrubs, took the newborn from her 16-year-old birth mother, Shanara Mobley. She then raised the child in South Carolina under a different name, Alexis Kelly Manigo.
The truth began to unravel when Williams refused to provide Kamiyah with her birth certificate and social security number for a job application, leading to a tearful confession. Williams was arrested in January 2017 following tip-offs, and in June 2018, she pleaded guilty to kidnapping and interference with custody, receiving an 18-year prison sentence.
A Second Parent Behind Bars: The Armed Robbery Conviction
Now, Mobley faces a fresh wave of turmoil. Charles Jamie Manigo, 53, the man who raised her as his daughter, was sentenced on Monday to 10 years in prison. His crime stemmed from a dispute over a $40 loan to a former coworker in late 2018. After months of non-payment, Manigo took drastic action.
In January 2019, he chased the victim's car for several miles in Beaufort before brandishing a gun and demanding money. He fired a shot into the air and fled with $200 of the victim's cash. Part of the incident was captured on video by a passenger. Solicitor JB Bryant condemned the "dangerous and brazen crime," stating the sentence reflected the serious threat posed to the community.
"So both of my South Carolina parents are doing prison time. Boy, what a life?" Mobley wrote in a poignant Facebook post. "And they will both get out at the same time."
Complex Family Ties and Lingering Pain
The case reveals layers of personal tragedy. During Williams's sentencing, Manigo broke down, claiming she had lied to him about the child's origins. He told press he believed Mobley was his biological daughter, named her, and even shared custody after the couple split in 2003.
However, Mobley's own social media posts have painted a different picture of an often-absent father figure. Despite this, and being reunited with her biological family, Mobley maintains a bond with Williams, considering herself a member of two families—a stance that has caused profound heartache for her birth mother, Shanara.
This latest sentencing adds another painful chapter to a life story defined by deception, crime, and the complex search for identity and family.
