Couple That Abducted Their 8 Kids Faces 90-Day Jail Sentence

They pleaded guilty to custodial interference

A husband and wife who kidnapped their eight children from foster care last month pleaded guilty to second-degree custodial interference on Tuesday.

A Queens Criminal Court judge indicated she would sentence Shanel Nadal and Nephra Payne each to 90 days in jail and three years' probation.

Nadal and Payne were arrested in Harrisburg, Pa., last month after Nadal, 28, slipped out of a supervised visited at a Queens foster care agency with her seven sons and infant daughter, and then left town with her 34-year-old husband. The family was found a week later safe in their van in Pennsylvania. The children were unharmed.

“Today’s guilty plea is a just and fair disposition of this case," Queens District Attorney Richard Brown said. "The defendants are held accountable for their actions and the children will be spared having to testify against their parents at trial.”

An attorney for the couple did not immediately return a call seeking comment.

The children — seven boys named Nephra, who have different middle names, and an infant daughter, Nefertiti — range in age from 11 months to 12 years, according to the police complaint in Harrisburg. They were returned to New York City and are again under the care of the Administration for Children's Services. It's not clear if they were placed in the same homes.

Copyright AP - Associated Press
Contact Us