DNA Evidence Solves 40-Year Kidnapping Case

Bodycam footage shows the moment Florida authorities arrested Debra Leigh Newton, a woman allegedly involved in a 40-year parental kidnapping case. According to Fox News, the arrest occurred when deputies approached Newton while she was walking her dog, revealing her real identity and the decades-old warrant for her arrest.

Newton, who had lived under the name 'Sharon Nealy,' was accused of kidnapping her three-year-old daughter Michelle Marie Newton in 1983 from Louisville, Kentucky. After leaving for what she claimed was a job in Georgia, all communication ceased, prompting authorities to issue a custodial-interference warrant by 1984.

The FBI later pursued an unlawful flight to avoid prosecution warrant, placing Newton on its list of top parental kidnapping fugitives. The case was dismissed in 2000 due to a lack of contact with Michelle's father, Joseph Newton, and by 2005, her information was removed from federal missing-child databases.

However, a renewed investigation began in 2015 after family members pushed for renewed attention on the case, leading to a custodial interference charge reissued in 2016. A Crime Stoppers tip in March pointed investigators to Newton living in The Villages, Florida, where DNA provided by her sister confirmed her identity with a 99.99% match.

Investigators also located Michelle, now 46, who was unaware she had been listed as missing. This case, described by Jefferson County Sheriffs Office Chief Deputy Col. Steve Healey as a rare occurrence in law enforcement, highlights the role of DNA evidence in solving long-standing mysteries.