Abandoned by phony 'nuns,' woman seeks identity

Malondya Holt was called 'Millie' as a baby, but that's the only information she has about her early years. She still doesn't know her real date of birth, PIX11 reports, and she was told her mother was called Lisa.

Holt was raised by her mother's friend, and when she was 16, that woman revaled that her biological mom had a connection to the phony bishop Devernon LeGrand. 'She would be a nun by morning and she would be a prostitute by night,' Holy said through tears. 'My natural mother left me with her friend, and she said 'I'll be right back!' and then she never came back.' Holt was less than a year old.

Holt reached out to PIX 11 News after watching the 'Secrets of the Sisterhood' series, which investigated reports that up to 23 people vanished from a single house in Brooklyn in the 1960's and 1970's.

The house was owned by self-styled bishop Devernon LeGrand. He sent women into the subways dressed as nuns to solicit money for his 'church.' LeGrand was later convicted of stomping two teen sisters and one of his wives to death. He was suspected of ordering many more murders. LeGrand died in prison in 2006.

Malondya Holt was told that in 1975, her biological mother left baby Malondya with a friend because the young mother feared her little girl would be snatched.

Holt said her mother was turning tricks and turning money over to one of LeGrand's sons.

'They wanted me for payment of what my mother owed,' Holt told PIX 11, quoting her mother's friend. When asked why her mother owed the LeGrands money, Holt responded, 'She was a working girl.'

Her mother's friend raised her and took good care of her, but Holt noticed at a young age that she looked nothing like her other siblings.

Over the years, stories emerged about her biological mother's fate. 'I heard they took her and a bunch of other women to a dude ranch that the LeGrands owned in upstate New York and killed a lot of these girls,' Holt recalled.

Having no valid birth certificate has made life difficult for Holt. When she was 16, she wanted to go on a high school field trip to Canada. It was impossible because she couldn't get a U.S. passport without a birth certificate. She thinks she's turning 40 in November. Five years ago, a woman at the DMV took mercy on her and issued her a driver's license.

Now, Holt is seeking information about any relatives who might have known her mother, Lisa, or her two siblings.

The mother of two is also dreaming of getting a passport so she can go on vacation with her own two daughtes.

"I want to go to the Bahamas," Holt said. "I got to get to the Bahamas."

And when asked her greatest hope, Holt responded, "To find out who I am ... who my mother was."