According to the criminal complaint filed in U.S. federal court in Manhattan, Ann Pettway admitted to taking the victim from a Harlem hospital and bringing her to Connecticut. She is charged with one count of kidnapping.
Pettway, 49, was ordered detained and did not apply for bail at a brief hearing on Monday. Dressed in a dark blue jail smock, she did not enter a plea.
She faces up to life in prison if convicted and is due back in court on February 7.
Pettway told investigators she had been dealing with the stress of several miscarriages.
"She's pretty upset," said Robert Baum, her attorney. "She understands the gravity of the charges."
Authorities had been looking for Ann Pettway ever since news broke last week that Carlina White, who was raised by Pettway, had been reunited with her biological family in New York. Pettway turned herself in to authorities on Sunday.
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