A woman who admitted to kidnapping twin 5-month-old boys from Columbus in December 2022 has been sentenced by a federal judge to over 23 years in prison.
A car was stolen on December 19, 2022, from outside a restaurant in the Short North by Nalah Jackson, 26, who had previously been homeless. Kason and Ky’Air Thomas, who were just 5 months old at the time, were left in the backseat while their mother went into the restaurant to pick up an order she was delivering.
Jackson had previously admitted guilt in February to two counts of kidnapping in U.S. District Court in Columbus. As part of the plea agreement, federal prosecutors and Jackson’s attorneys had proposed a 20-year prison sentence for Jackson.
Despite the rejection of the initial plea offer by U.S. District Judge Michael Watson, a new plea agreement has been reached with a mutually agreed-upon sentencing range of between 20 and 25 years. Watson handed down a sentence of 23 years and four months in federal prison for Jackson.
Authorities have issued an Amber Alert for the twins following the theft of the car. The next day, a person discovered Ky’Air sitting in their car seat in a parking lot near Dayton International Airport. According to the U.S. Attorney’s office, Jackson entered the airport and upon exiting, she discovered that the car she had taken was nowhere to be found. She attempted to enlist the help of a rideshare driver in locating the vehicle.
On Tuesday, Jackson shared an unusual incident involving her attempt to transport the twin boys in a luggage rack, which took an unexpected turn when she encountered airport police officers. Jackson mentioned that she had dressed the twin boys and securely fastened them into their car seats upon realizing they were in the back of the car.
On Tuesday, Jackson made no mention of returning the stolen vehicle. According to her, she had ingested a significant amount of methamphetamine, a substance she wasn’t accustomed to.
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Jackson located the car in the airport’s parking lot and left Ky’Air in the car seat between two other parked vehicles. According to the U.S. Attorney’s Office, she quickly made her way to Indianapolis.
Upon arriving in Indianapolis, Jackson parked the car in a restaurant parking lot, inadvertently leaving Kason in the back seat. Jackson started selling merchandise outside a gas station and crossed paths with a woman who kindly offered her a ride and shared her cellphone number. After realizing that Jackson was the person mentioned in the Amber Alert, the woman devised a plan with her cousin to rendezvous with Jackson and attempt to locate 5-month-old Kason.
On December 22, 2022, two days later, the two women had a meeting with Jackson. Indianapolis police were contacted by the women and managed to apprehend the three individuals. Court records reveal that Jackson provided authorities with false identification and a fabricated name.
After a few hours and over two days since the initial report, the woman discovered Kason in the back seat of the vehicle in the restaurant parking lot.
They promptly informed the Indianapolis police officers at a nearby location. Authorities rescued the child from the frigid vehicle just moments before a snowstorm was set to descend upon Indianapolis.
Kason received medical treatment for dehydration and heart abnormalities, which were likely caused by the dehydration. However, apart from sitting in his excrement, he did not sustain any injuries.
Jackson will be required to register as a sex offender as part of her sentence. After her time in prison, she will be under supervised release for a period of five years.