Moment woman suspected of kidnapping her baby 40 years ago is arrested

18 Dec 2025 • 11:56 PM MYT
The Independent
The Independent

The world’s most free-thinking newspaper

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This is the moment police arrest a woman accused of kidnapping her child 40 years ago.

Debra Newton, known to neighbors in the Florida retirement community The Villages as Sharon Nealy, was detained by Marion County Sheriff’s after a tip off.

Newton is accused of disappearing with her three-year-old daughter Michelle from Louisville, Kentucky in 1983 after telling people she was relocating for a job.

Michelle, who lived unaware that she was a missing child, has now reunited with father Joe who has not seen her in four decades.

Debra Newton has pleaded not guilty and is scheduled to appear in court next month.

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