|
|
| Woman in Kidnap Case Released Early |
| By Associated Press |
| Published: 10/30/2002 |
|
A woman sentenced to six months in jail for fleeing with an infant in 1979 and moving to New Mexico to raise him was released after serving less than two months. Judith Smiley, 55, was quietly released from Rikers Island on Sept. 26 under a special Probation Department program for nonviolent inmates. Smiley, who is confined to a wheelchair and suffers from diabetes and other ailments, pleaded guilty in July to first-degree custodial interference and was sentenced to six months in jail and 4 1/2 years probation. Her husband, Barry Smiley, 56, was sentenced to two to six years in state prison after pleading guilty to second-degree kidnapping. The couple apologized at their sentencing to the boy's biological father, Anthony Russini. The Smileys claimed to have adopted the baby when he was 3 days old. They fled after a judge rescinded the 'adoption' and ordered the baby returned to his biological parents. They disappeared the day they were supposed to surrender the baby. A family court judge ruled that it could not be considered a legal adoption because adoption papers were never filed. Using aliases, the Smileys raised the boy in New Mexico. The couple turned themselves in last year, a few months after telling the boy they called Matthew Propp, now 23, about his past. The trouble started when he attempted to apply for a job with the Department of Correction in New Mexico and red flags were raised over his birth certificate. Propp's biological mother, Deborah Gardner - who lives in the Miami area - has not involved herself in the current case. |
advertise
|
privacy policy
|
add URL
|
about us
|
terms/disclaimer
|
contact us
|
join our team
|
help
Comments:
No comments have been posted for this article.
Login to let us know what you think