'Don't lock my mom up': Teen who was kidnapped at birth breaks her silence saying she 'will always love' her abductor mother and begs that she be spared prison as she makes her first court appearance

  • Gloria Williams, 51, was ordered held without bond on a chard of kidnapping during her first first court appearance on Wednesday  
  • She is charged with kidnapping Alexis Manigo, 18, from a Jacksonville, Florida hospital hours after she was born
  • The teenager said that she does not want to see Williams sent to prison for her crime in her first interview on Wednesday 
  • 'She made one mistake, but I was loved. From that one mistake I was given the best life,' said Manigo, who met with her birth parents for the first time last week
  • Manigo will not reveal when she learned that she had been kidnapped for fear of incriminating Williams 
  • Arika Williams, a friend and 'half-sister' to Manigo, said in an interview on Wednesday that the teenager learned the truth two years ago

The South Carolina woman accused of abducting her 'daughter' from a Florida hospital 18 years ago appeared in court for the first time on Wednesday.

The judge set no bond for Gloria Williams, 51, on the charge of kidnapping and set bail at $503,000 for the charge of interference with custody, ordering her to appear again on February 8.

Meanwhile, the girl she is accused of kidnapping and then raising as her own child broke her silence earlier in the day, saying she does not want to see Williams go to prison. 

'I understand what she did was wrong, but just don’t lock her up and throw away the key,' said Alexis Manigo, who appeared remarkably poised in a sit-down that aired on Good Morning America.

'She loved me for 18 years, she cared about me for 18 years. I just want people to realize that.'

Manigo then added: 'She made one mistake, but I was loved. From that one mistake I was given the best life.

'I had everything I ever needed, wanted, I had love especially. There is no price you can put on the love that was given to me.'

Later in the interview she said of Williams: 'I still think of her as mom, she will always be "Mom."' 

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Before the court: Gloria Williams (above) was ordered held without bond after her first court appearance on Wednesday

Before the court: Gloria Williams (above) was ordered held without bond after her first court appearance on Wednesday

Decision: The judge also set bail at $503,000 for the charge of interference with custody, ordering her to appear again on February 8.

Decision: The judge also set bail at $503,000 for the charge of interference with custody, ordering her to appear again on February 8.

Difficult times: Alexis Manigo (above) gave her first interview since it was revealed that she had been abducted from a Jacksonville, Florida hospital hours after she was born

Difficult times: Alexis Manigo (above) gave her first interview since it was revealed that she had been abducted from a Jacksonville, Florida hospital hours after she was born

Behind bars: The teenager said that she does not want to see Gloria Williams (above), the woman who raised her for the past 18 years, sent to prison

Behind bars: The teenager said that she does not want to see Gloria Williams (above), the woman who raised her for the past 18 years, sent to prison

Manigo was born Kamiyah Mobley, and only eight hours old when she was taken from her young mother by a woman posing as a nurse at University Medical Center in Jacksonville. 

Williams allegedly said that the newborn had a fever that needed to be look at before making off with the baby. 

A massive search ensued, with helicopters circling the hospital and the city on high alert, but the child was never found.

Then, just a few months ago, Manigo 'had an inclination' that she may have been kidnapped, authorities said, though they did not reveal why she suspected this at the time.

Around that same time, a tip that had been received by the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children that led authorities to finding the teenager and arrested Williams, though it remains unclear who the tip came from.

Manigo said in the interview that she speaks to Williams every day, but has not been able to see the woman since their tearful meeting in South Carolina when she spoke to her though the metal grates of her holding cell, just before the woman she called 'mom' was extradited to Florida.

The teenager said she is now struggling with the fact that the woman she loves is facing kidnapping charges, and the fact that some are questioning how she can defend the woman.

'They want me to hate her, and it's not in me to,' said Manigo, who also noted how much it hurt to see Williams in cuffs.

'I will always love her.'

She also spoke about getting to meet her biological parents, Craig Aiken and Shanara Mobley, last week.  

'I feel like I do owe them that, to give them a chance, get to know them,' said Manigo.

'When you find out you got another family out there, it's just more love.' 

She went on to say: 'For some it's a victory, but at the same time you do take a loss when someone so dear to you is just snatched like that.'

First time: Manigo met with her birth parents, Craig Aiken and Shanara Mobley (above), for the first time last week

First time: Manigo met with her birth parents, Craig Aiken and Shanara Mobley (above), for the first time last week

Happy times: 'She made one mistake, but I was loved. From that one mistake I was given the best life,' said Manigo (above with Williams)

Happy times: 'She made one mistake, but I was loved. From that one mistake I was given the best life,' said Manigo (above with Williams)

There is also now the issue of how to refer to the teenager, and the young woman said that people are free to call her whatever name they feel comfortable with at this time.

'It's all a bit much for me, but if you know me by "Alexis" continue to call me "Alexis," if you know me as "Kamiyah," then you can call me that too. I'm not really specific right now. I haven't even thought about that, I'm just taking it one step at a time,' said Manigo. 

'I don't want any malice with anybody.'

Manigo then added: 'Regardless of what you refer to me to, I know who I am, I’ve never questioned myself.

'I know who I am as a person.'

In an interview with People, Manigo's friend and 'half-sister' Arika Williams said that she learned that she had been abducted two years ago when she went to apply for a job.

'She was upset about it. She even stayed home from school the next day,' said Arika.

Arika went on to explain that after Manigo got a job at local seafood restaurant, she ran into problems when she was unable to provide a birth certificate and social security card for her new employer. 

Kamiyah Mobley
Gloria Williams mugshot

Keppiung quiet: Manigo (left after her birth) will not reveal when she learned that she had been kidnapped for fear of incriminating Williams (right in mugshot)

Kidnapped: Arika Williams, a friend and 'half-sister' to Manigo, said in an interview on Wednesday that the teenager learned the truth two years ago (Manigo on right speaking with Williams in her holding cell above) 

Kidnapped: Arika Williams, a friend and 'half-sister' to Manigo, said in an interview on Wednesday that the teenager learned the truth two years ago (Manigo on right speaking with Williams in her holding cell above) 

'Lexy didn’t have that so she asked Miss Gloria for it and Miss Gloria kept brushing it off,” said Arika. 

'Lexy kept being hard on her mother, like "Momma, where is my stuff? I want to get this job." Then Miss Gloria just broke down and told her this is why right here, you can’t do this. I kidnapped you.'

Arika claimed in the interview that Williams told her daughter then that she made the decision to kidnap her after suffering a miscarriage. 

'Gloria was pregnant at the baby shower and had people there bringing homemade quilts saying Alexis’ name on it,' claimed Arika. 

'Alexis Kelli Manigo was going to be spoiled regardless but I guess she said she lost Alexis Kelli Manigo. She was going to find Alexis Kelli Manigo and went and got Kamiyah.'

Arika said that after this, Manigo called her birth mother, and after getting through to the woman hung up when she heard her voice.

'Gloria is all she knows. That is Momma to her,' Arika said of Manigo. 

'That is who raised her to who she is now. And no matter what that will always be momma to her.'

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