COLUMBUS, Ohio — The suspect in the kidnapping of twin Ohio babies two weeks ago appeared in an Indiana court on Tuesday, and a judge didn’t lower her $500 bond for a charge that’s unrelated to the kidnapping.
Officials said the suspect, Nalah Jackson, stole a car out of the Short North on Dec. 19. The car belongs to Wilhelmina Barnett, and her 5-month-old twins were in the backseat. It prompted an Amber alert early the next day. Less than 24 hours later on Dec. 20, one twin, Kyair, was found at Dayton International Airport. The state issued BOLO (Be On The Lookout) alerts to surrounding states for Jackson and the other twin, Kason.
Two people in Indianapolis saw Jackson and tipped off police, who then arrested Jackson on Dec. 22. Soon after, officials found Kason and the car. Since then, Jackson has been in Indianapolis’ police custody.
But the charge addressed in the court room pertains to her actual arrest, in which, according to court documents, Jackson spit in the deputy’s face when trying to put handcuffs back on her.
But in Ohio, Jackson faces two counts of kidnapping. She is expected to appear in the Franklin County Common Pleas Court on Jan. 9. As for the case in Indiana, the judge scheduled a pretrial hearing for Jan. 11 and a final pretrial for Jan. 31.
The twins have since been reunited with their mother and family.
“People were praying for us and supporting us, and had their eyes open and just wanted the boys whole as much as we did,” said LaFonda Thomas, the boys’ grandmother “I just felt very grateful.”
Thomas said that she’s happy to be around her grandsons again and hopes her and family can move on from the situation.
“It’s a joy to be able to really look at them, hold them,and get our smiles out of them and fall asleep next to them,” said Thomas. “So, it was just a joy.”
