--- description: A teenager who was snatched from a Florida hospital hours after she was born spoke lovingly of the woman who is accused of abducting her. title: Teen Who Was Abducted as a Newborn Defends Accused Kidnapper image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt70dd3771f9785224/6988b5dbf887dcc20ee98b6a/gloria-williams.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  * [U.S.](/section/us/) ## U.S. Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close # Teen Abducted From Hospital as Newborn Defends Accused Kidnapper: ‘She Will Always Be Mom’  by [Melissa Chan](/author/melissa-chan/)  ## Melissa Chan Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Jan 18, 2017 3:26 PM CUT  This undated photo provided by the Jacksonville Sheriff's Office shows Gloria Williams. Authorities say Williams, a woman arrested on suspicion of kidnapping a baby girl from a Florida hospital 18 years ago and raising her as her own daughter, is now being held in Jacksonville, Fla., and was booked Jan. 17, 2017. This undated photo provided by the Jacksonville Sheriff's Office shows Gloria Williams. Authorities say Williams, a woman arrested on suspicion of kidnapping a baby girl from a Florida hospital 18 years ago and raising her as her own daughter, is now being held in Jacksonville, Fla., and was booked Jan. 17, 2017.Jacksonville Sheriff's Office  by [Melissa Chan](/author/melissa-chan/)  ## Melissa Chan Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Jan 18, 2017 3:26 PM CUT An 18-year-old who was [snatched from a Florida hospital hours after she was born](http://time.com/4635538/newborn-abducted-kamiyah-mobley/ "undefined") spoke lovingly of the woman who is accused of abducting her in an interview that aired Wednesday. Alexis Manigo, whose birth name is Kamiyah Mobley, told [ABC’s _Good Morning America_](https://gma.yahoo.com/woman-abducted-newborn-defends-her-alleged-kidnapper-she-123318757--abc-news-topstories.html "undefined") that Gloria Williams, the woman who raised her as her own, gave her the “best life” and will always be her mother. “I still think of her as mom. She will always be mom,” the teenager said. “That’s all I want people to know. She was a great mother. I will never have malice for her. I will always love her.” Manigo was [reunited](http://time.com/4634998/kamiya-mobley-newborn-abducted-found/ "undefined") with her biological parents over the weekend after a police investigation and subsequent DNA testing confirmed she was their child. She had been living in South Carolina with Williams, 51, who is now facing kidnapping charges. Manigo pleaded for leniency for Williams. “I understand what she did was wrong, but just don’t lock her up and throw away the key,” she said. “She loved me for 18 years, she cared about me for 18 years. I just want people to realize that.” “She made one mistake, but I was loved,” Manigo added. “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.” ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/4637572/newborn-abducted-alexis-manigo/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/4637572/newborn-abducted-alexis-manigo/"},"headline":"Teen Abducted From Hospital as Newborn Defends Accused Kidnapper: ‘She Will Always Be Mom’","datePublished":"2017-01-18T15:26:12.000Z","dateModified":"2026-03-31T10:37:32.689Z","description":"\"From that one mistake I was given the best life\"","url":"https://time.com/4637572/newborn-abducted-alexis-manigo/","keywords":["Crime","onetime"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt70dd3771f9785224/6988b5dbf887dcc20ee98b6a/gloria-williams.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Melissa Chan","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/melissa-chan/"}],"articleSection":"U.S.","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt70dd3771f9785224/6988b5dbf887dcc20ee98b6a/gloria-williams.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"Stolen Infant Found","caption":"Stolen Infant Found","creditText":"Jacksonville Sheriff's Office","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/us/","name":"U.S."}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/4637572/newborn-abducted-alexis-manigo/","name":"Teen Abducted From Hospital as Newborn Defends Accused Kidnapper: ‘She Will Always Be Mom’"}}]}] ```