Woman admits stealing car with 2 infants inside, driving from Columbus to Indianapolis

In December 2022, a woman got into a car that was idling in the parking lot of a Columbus Donatos Pizza and drove off – with twin infant boys in the car’s back seat.

Over the next several hours, Nalah Jackson drove from Columbus to Dayton, and to various other locations in central and western Ohio, with the 5-month-old babies. One was missing for two and a half days.

Jackson told detectives that she stole the Honda Accord to drive to Dayton, intending to confront a man who was the father of her own children, court documents say.

Jackson, 25, pleaded guilty Wednesday to federal kidnapping charges. She has agreed to serve 20 years in prison.

DoorDash driver left babies inside car

On the night of the abduction, the twins’ mother was working as a DoorDash driver and had gone into the pizza restaurant to pick up an order. When she came out and saw that her car and her boys were gone, she immediately called 911, court documents say.

The first boy was found about seven hours later, in the early morning hours of Dec. 20, 2022, in a parking lot near the Dayton International Airport. Jackson left the boy in a car seat, wrapped in a quilt, between two vehicles.

Despite freezing temperatures, he was unharmed.

The other boy was found two days later, on Dec. 22, 2022, in Indianapolis, inside the stolen Honda Accord, still strapped into his car seat.

He was dehydrated, had severe diaper rash, but otherwise was uninjured.

Woman briefly lost stolen car in airport lot

Some of Jackson’s movements were captured on surveillance video. At the Dayton airport, she was seen parking the Honda Accord in an economy lot, leaving both infants inside. She walked into a terminal and then around the airport, “speaking with different individuals,” according to court documents.

She hailed an Uber, telling the driver that she needed help finding her car. The Uber driver took her to various parking lots but was unable to enter the lots without paying. When Jackson wasn’t able to pay, the driver asked her to get out. Jackson then walked back to the terminal.

Shortly after 4 a.m., she walked out of the terminal, and 15 minutes later was seen on video in one of the parking lots, pulling a cart that appeared to have a child seat on it.

She then drove out of the lot in the stolen Accord, with one infant still inside.

Jackson drove to Indianapolis

Later that morning, on Dec. 20 2022, Jackson arrived in Indianapolis and parked the car outside a Papa Johns pizza restaurant near the university district. The boy was in the car for the next two and a half days while family members, concerned citizens and law enforcement continued to search for him.

The case received national media attention, and a $10,000 reward was offered for the boy’s safe return.

Jackson never returned to the car, court documents say, and spent the next two days in Indianapolis. At one point, the documents say, she sold stolen merchandise outside a gas station.

It was a woman who encountered Jackson outside the gas station who eventually helped find the missing boy. The woman had given Jackson a ride to a nearby shopping plaza and gave Jackson her cellphone number.

According to court documents, the woman later saw Jackson’s photo on social media posts describing her as a suspect in the kidnapping. The woman and her cousin, the documents say, then “formulated a plan” to meet up with Jackson, and if possible, find the missing boy.

On Dec. 22, 2022, the two women met Jackson and drove her to several shopping centers in the Indianapolis area, all while trying to alert alert law enforcement. The women ultimately were able to give police the location of their vehicle.

The documents say one of the women pretended that she was talking to her boyfriend, continuously updating her location.

Indianapolis police eventually pulled over the vehicle and arrested Jackson.

How missing baby was found

The women then, on their own, continued searching for the still-missing baby, using information they gleaned from Jackson during their time with her. They also got a description of the car she had been driving.

They decided that she must have been near the Indiana University campus in downtown Indianapolis and focused their search on a bus route near the university district.

By that time, according to court documents, driving conditions were worsening because of an impending snowstorm, and they decided to get something to eat before heading home.

As they pulled into a restaurant in the university district, they saw a snow-covered, black, Honda Accord parked in front of a Papa Johns.

The driver’s side door was unlocked, and when one of the women opened it, she immediately saw the infant’s legs. Because of the foul odor and the fact that the baby didn't immediately make any noise, she believed he was dead “and began screaming,” the documents say.

The noise apparently woke the baby up, and he began crying. The woman removed him from the car seat where he had been for days, the documents say, “and began comforting him."

Then women were able to find two Indianapolis police officers who were at a nearby restaurant.

The boy was taken to a local hospital, where he was treated for dehydration, heart issues related to dehydration, severe diaper rash and skin deterioration.

In a statement, U.S. Attorney Kenneth Parker said: "There is no greater responsibility than protecting our youth. This community watched in horror as Nalah Jackson preyed on two vulnerable babies. Today, she admitted her crime and agreed to spend 20 years in prison for her actions."

This article originally appeared on Cincinnati Enquirer: Woman admits stealing car with 2 infant boys inside