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Mother Who Kidnapped 8 Children From Foster Care Claims They Were Abused
By
Jen Chung
Published Sep 28, 2011
Modified Sep 28, 2011
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WCBS 2
By
Jen Chung
Published Sep 28, 2011
Modified Sep 28, 2011
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The woman who kidnapped her eight children from foster care last week, sparking a NYPD manhunt, said that she had her reasons. Shanel Nadal, who was arrested on Monday night in Pennsylvania, leveled a damning accusation, "Any mother who’s going through this—do what you got to do to protect your kids. I love y’all so much. You know what mommy doing. Mommy did this for y’all," and said, "Make sure you don’t abuse them no more," later explaining that "foster care" was abusing them "and I’m tired of it."
Nadal, 28, and her husband, Nephra Payne, 34, were arrested in Harrisburg, PA after being tracked down by police, who had been monitoring their cellphone calls. One of Payne's relatives lives in Harrisburg, and cops found the couple plus their seven boys—all named Nephra Payne, ages 4 to 11—and daughter, 11-month-old Nefertiti Payne, in what the Post says was a "smelly, Ford cargo van littered with fast-food boxes and dirty diapers." A U.S. Marshal said, “The conditions were not of the highest hygiene. It appears to us that they were living out of the van." Still, the children seemed to be in good condition and were taken into the custody of NYC Administration for Children's Services.
The eight children were split among three foster homes in New York; they were initially removed from their parents' care after accusations that Payne was abusing his sons. One of the foster mothers said that before the kidnapping, she received a text from Nadal saying, "I cannot live without my children. I cannot breathe without my children," suggesting she had been plotting to kidnap the kids.
Nadal's lawyer told the Daily News, "The children were sexually molested while in the care of the city. You can't blame the parents for acting in the children's best interest. It's a shame the city failed them."
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administration children's services
kidnapping
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shanel nadal
Jen Chung
Jen Chung is a former WNYC and Gothamist editor.
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