A Villager’s long lost daughter is alive and appeared in court in Kentucky where her mother had to answer for the child’s 1983 abduction.
It’s the latest twist in the decades-old cold case that suddenly got very hot when an anonymous tipster provided a clue that led to the arrest of 66-year-old Debra Leigh Newton on Nov. 24 at her home in the Village of Piedmont.
Newton was the “non-custodial parent” of 3-year-old Michelle Newton when the little girl went missing in 1983.
Newton ultimately chose not to fight extradition and was taken back to the Bluegrass State to face the long-lingering charge of custodial interference, which carries no statute of limitations.
Michelle Newton, 40, was living in another state and had no clue as to her true identity. She was reunited with her biological father, Joseph Newton, Debra Newton’s former husband, after the whole case exploded thanks to the tipster.
“This is the kind of case you see once in a law enforcement career,” said Chief Deputy Col. Steve Healey of the Jefferson County (Kentucky) Sheriff’s Office. “Detectives refused to let the trail go cold. Their work — and the courage of a Crime Stoppers tipster — brought a daughter home to her family after four decades.”
Michelle Newton was three years old when she was snatched by her mother. The little girl disappeared and Debra Newton wound up quietly living under another name in Florida’s Friendliest Hometown.
The tip came into the Marion County Sheriff’s Office. The Village of Piedmont is located within the Marion County section of The Villages.
A U.S. Marshals Task Force detective compared a recent photo with a 1983 photo of Debra Newton and “confirmed their resemblance.” Investigators tested DNA from Debra Newton’s sister in Louisville, Kentucky which came back with a 99.99 percent match to Debra Newton.
Debra Newton is free on bond, posted by a family member in Kentucky. She is due back in court on Jan. 23.
Here’s a story carried on local television station in Kentucky: