COLUMBUS — The woman who stole a vehicle in Columbus with twin boys inside and ended up at the center of an AMBER Alert over a year ago has learned her punishment.
Nalah Jackson was sentenced in a U.S. District Court to over 23 years in prison for two counts of kidnapping a minor with five years of supervised release, according to a media release.
Jackson will also be required to register as a sex offender.
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As News Center 7 previously reported, Jackson was taken into custody on Dec. 22, 2022, in Indianapolis, three days after police said she stole a Honda Accord with twins Kason and Ky’air Thomas inside. The car was left running outside of Donatos Pizza in the Short North area of Columbus.
Ky’air was found abandoned in a parking lot at Dayton International Airport early in the morning on Dec. 20, but Jackson and Kason remained missing until Dec. 22.
During the afternoon on Dec. 22, Jackson was taken into custody by Indianapolis Metropolitan Police. Kason was not with her when she was taken into custody.
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Later that night, a tip led police a Papa Johns on Indiana Avenue, where Kason was found safe inside the stolen Honda.
Kason was treated for dehydration, heart abnormalities due to dehydration, extreme diaper rash, and skin deterioration due to him being buckled in a car seat for three days while sitting in his excrement.
“Jackson left one five-month-old twin baby alone and strapped in a car seat in an airport parking lot in subzero temperatures. Then, she left the other twin baby strapped in his car seat in an abandoned vehicle in another state. Even if her crime had started as a crime of opportunity to steal a running vehicle, Jackson’s blatant disregard for the lives of two helpless infants is heinous,” U.S. Attorney Kenneth L. Parker said. “Today’s sentence represents the serious and significant nature of harm Jackson caused to these children and our community.”
Jackson was charged federally in January 2023.
Police were called to a home on an unresponsive child call on Jan. 28., 2023, Ky’air was later pronounced dead at Nationwide Children’s Hospital later that night.
An autopsy report obtained by our news partners at 10TV in Columbus showed that the coroner’s office ruled Ky’air’s death as Sudden Unexplained Infant Death.
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