“Jackson left one 5-month-old twin baby alone and strapped in a car seat in an airport parking lot in subzero temperatures. Then, she left the other twin baby strapped in his car seat in an abandoned vehicle in another state. Even if her crime had started as a crime of opportunity to steal a running vehicle, Jackson’s blatant disregard for the lives of two helpless infants is heinous,” said U.S. Attorney Kenneth L. Parker. “Today’s sentence represents the serious and significant nature of harm Jackson caused to these children and our community.”
Jackson stole a 2010 Honda Accord around 10 p.m. Dec. 19, 2022 left running with Kason and Ky’air Thomas inside while their mother went inside a Columbus pizza place to pick up a DoorDash order.
Over the next several hours, Jackson drove from Columbus to Dayton and to various other locations in central and western Ohio.
A passenger at the Dayton International Airport found Ky’air strapped inside his car seat outside in the economy lot nearly six hours later, around 4:15 a.m. Dec. 20. He had been out in the cold for about 15 minutes before he was found wrapped in a quilt between two vehicles, according to court records.
Credit: Marshall Gorby
Credit: Marshall Gorby
After Jackson left the airport parking lot at high speeds, she traveled to Indianapolis with the second baby still in the car.
She arrived at a Papa Johns Pizza on Indiana Avenue near the university district at approximately 8 a.m. Dec. 20, got out of car and never returned.
Kason remained strapped in the car seat without heat for the next two-and-a-half-days while family members, concerned citizens and law enforcement officers continued to search for him.
An Indianapolis woman encountered Jackson selling items outside a local gas station. When she saw media reports and realized who Jackson was, she and her cousin came up with a plan to meet up with Jackson to confirm her identity, recover the infant and lead law enforcement to Jackson, according to the U.S. Attorney’s statement.
One woman eventually directed police to their vehicle over the phone by pretending to talk to her boyfriend, and Jackson was arrested on Dec. 22. The two women then continued to search for the baby, focusing on a bus route near the university district, after finding a bus schedule Jackson left behind in the back seat, the release stated.
With driving conditions quickly worsening due to a snowstorm, the women decided to get something to eat before heading home. In the shopping center that contains Papa Johns, they spotted the stolen Accord and found the baby inside.
Parked nearby was an empty Indianapolis police cruiser, and they found the officers on their lunch break. The baby shortly after was taken by authorities to a local hospital, where he was treated for dehydration, heart abnormalities due to dehydration, extreme diaper rash and skin deterioration. Kason spent a few days at a children’s hospital but was released in time for Christmas to his family and reunited with his twin brother.
Jackson was charged federally in January 2023.
One of the abducted twins, Ky’air, later died Jan. 28, 2023, at 6 months after he was placed on an adult bed. The Franklin County coroner ruled the official cause of death as “sudden unexplained infant death with other significant conditions.”
Law enforcement agencies assisted in this case, included FBI offices in Columbus, Dayton and Indianapolis; Columbus, Dayton, Huber Heights, Riverside, Vandalia, Dayton International Airport and Indianapolis police departments; Montgomery County Sheriff’s Office; Ohio State Highway Patrol and U.S. Marshals Service’s Southern Ohio Fugitive Apprehension Strike Team.
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