JACKSONVILLE, Fla. - “I knew walking into this courtroom this morning that there would be no winners in this situation.”
Craig Aiken, Kamiyah Mobley’s biological father, spoke those words shortly after learning the woman who kidnapped his infant daughter from a Jacksonville hospital was sentenced to 18 years behind bars.
The sentiment echoes what the judge said shortly before announcing the sentence.
Gloria Williams kidnapped baby Kamiyah from a Jacksonville hospital in 1998 and raised her as her own daughter.
Shanara Mobley, who was just 16 years old when she gave birth to Kamiyah, did not comment as she left the courthouse after the sentencing Friday.
Barbara Stewart, Shanara Mobley’s grandmother and Kamiyah’s great-grandmother, told First Coast News she believed Shanara was pleased with the judge’s decision.
“The lady that had [Kamiyah] did take care of her, and thank God for that, but still that don’t make it right,” Stewart said.
She described the pain Shanara went through for nearly 20 years not knowing what happened to Kamiyah.
“She always would think the baby was somewhere, then think the baby was dead, she didn’t know what to think,” Stewart said. “And now, she can have peace of mind now.”
Stewart believed she knew why Kamiyah did not attend the sentencing.
“She didn’t want to be divided,” Stewart said. “She didn’t want to be on one side or the other side. Because either side she would have been on…maybe some of the family wouldn’t have liked that.”
Stewart also had a message to her great-granddaughter.
“It’s hard for you, baby, and I know that you don’t know what to do…because she’s in love with her mother and she’s in love with the lady that took her away,” she said.