Woman who kidnapped her own daughter from Louisville in 1983 pleads guilty- 42 years later

The woman at the center of one of Louisville's most unusual cold cases has accepted a plea deal. Her daughter, now 45, was in the courtroom.

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The Louisville woman charged with taking her young daughter across state lines and vanishing for more than four decades has pleaded guilty- bringing a legal close to a case that stunned a Jefferson Circuit Court judge when it first appeared on his docket last December.

Debra Newton entered a guilty plea to Criminal Attempt Custodial Interference, a Class A Misdemeanor in court last week. The charge was amended down from the original Custodial Interference charge she faced at her December arraignment. A Jefferson County judge accepted the plea and sentenced Newton to twelve months, giving her credit for eleven days already served.

The sentence is conditionally discharged for two years, meaning Newton will not serve additional jail time as long as she does not commit any new criminal offenses. She was also ordered to pay $165 in court costs within 30 days.

Victims were present at the proceeding and addressed the court before sentencing. I've been in touch with Newton's daughter Michelle- now 45 and living under a different name- who reconnected with her father after her mother's arrest. She told me she just learned about this portion of her life for the first time in December. For 42 years, she had no idea she'd been taken from Louisville as a toddler.