COLUMBUS, Ohio — A Columbus woman accused of stealing a vehicle from the Short North with infant twin boys inside more than a year ago has accepted a plea agreement.
Nalah Jackson was federally charged with two counts of kidnapping of a minor by a grand jury. The charges stemmed from the abduction of Kason and Kyair Thomas in December 2022.
Kason and Kyair were in the back of a 2010 Honda Accord in the Short North on the night of Dec. 19 while their mother went inside a Donatos Pizza to pick up a DoorDash order.
Court records say Jackson was sitting inside the restaurant when she went out a side door, got in the car with the two infants and drove away.
Jackson drove from Columbus to the Dayton International Airport around 3 a.m. on Dec. 20. She parked in an economy lot and left the twins in car while she entered the airport. She attempted to hire an Uber to find the stolen car in the lot, but she couldn't pay. She later found the car on her own.
After finding the car, she left Kyair in a parking lot at the airport. Someone who was parking their car saw the baby in a car seat wrapped in a quilt between two vehicles.
Two days later, police announced Jackson was arrested in Indianapolis. Just hours after she was taken into custody, Kason was found in the stolen vehicle at a Papa John's pizza location in the same city. Kason was strapped in the car for more than two days.
Jackson originally pleaded not guilty to the charges.
If the plea deal is accepted by the judge, Jackson will spend 20 years in prison with five years of supervised released. She was facing up to life in prison.
Kyair died weeks after the kidnapping. He was found unresponsive in a home on Jan. 28 and taken to Nationwide Children's Hospital where he was pronounced dead.
The autopsy says the cause of death was ruled as sudden unexplained infant death with other significant conditions including unsafe sleep environment saying the infant was placed face down, unsupervised on an adult bed surrounded by excess pillows and blankets after eating. No evidence of trauma or foul play was found.
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