Byline: Paul Hooper
A MUM whose baby was snatched from a hospital 25 years ago has told of her joy at being reunited with her daughter.
Joy White, speaking on Friday after a bogus nurse was found guilty of kidnap, said: "She's a beautiful girl.
"She told me yesterday, 'Mommy, you're my Valentine!' I love her."
Joy's nightmare began when she and her boyfriend took 19-day-old Carlina to hospital with a fever in 1987.
Unknown to the couple, baby-hungry Ann Pettway was prowling the wards looking for a child to make her own.
Joy, now 41, said: "She was a volunteer worker, but posing as a nurse at the time.
"I will never forget her face. She came up to me and said 'Don't cry, your baby is going to be OK'.
But as Carlina grew into a young adult she became suspicious about her background and went onto the internet.
She was shocked to recognise a picture of herself as a baby on a missing children's website posted by desperate Joy.
A DNA test confirmed the truth - and now Pettway is facing a 12-year jail sentence.
Joy, speaking after the conviction in Manhattan, New York, said it felt good to see the kidnapper face justice and added: "I've lost 23 years of being with my daughter."
Carlina. from Connecticut, now has a six-year-old daughter of her own and is making up for lost time with her mum. She said: "We speak every day."
The judge is expected to pass sentence on May 14.
peoplenews@mgn.co.uk
No comments:
Post a Comment