One of the twin brothers abducted in December dies at 6 months old

One of the twin boys who attracted nationwide attention as the center of an Ohio Amber Alert in 2022 died over the weekend at 6 months old.

According to The Columbus Dispatch, Ky’air Thomas, kidnapped last month along with his twin brother, Kason Thomas, passed away Saturday night. Columbus Police found the infant unresponsive after responding to a call about a baby who wasn’t breathing, then transported him to a hospital, according to authorities. 

The twins’ mother, Wilhelmina Barnett, posted on Instagram Sunday that Ky’air seemed to be having a seizure just before he passed away. She said she was unaware of what caused it or his subsequent death.

“Please let me grieve Ky’air,” Barnett wrote, according to The Dispatch. “We are nothing without you.”

Columbus police spokesperson Melanie Amato said that an investigation into the baby’s death was still in its early stages as of Sunday and that there could be an autopsy. While homicide detectives were the first to respond to the scene, Amato said they are not taking any lead in the case.

Ky’air and Kason Thomas went missing on Dec. 19, when Nalah T. Jackson, 24, allegedly stole their mother’s running Honda Accord from outside a restaurant with them still in the back seat, theGrio previously reported. Ky’air was found the following day around 4:15 a.m. in a parking lot at Dayton International Airport, still in his car seat and covered with a quilt.

A chance encounter between Jackson and Indianapolis resident Shyann Delmar led to the discovery of Kason two days later, on Dec. 22. Delmar enlisted the help of her cousin, Mecka Curry, and came up with a plan to hand over Jackson, who was going by the name Mae, to the police.

Once Jackson was in police custody, the cousins followed the trail she had left on a bus schedule and eventually found Kason inside a car that was parked in a snow-covered area of a Papa John’s parking lot.

Curry shared her condolences to the family on social media Sunday morning, according to The Dispatch.

“You will forever live in our hearts (Ky’air),” she wrote, The Dispatch reported. “My heart is broken.”

Jackson will stand trial in March on two federal counts of kidnapping a minor. She faces 20 years to life if convicted.

LaFonda Thomas, a grandmother of the twins, reportedly asked for compassion, empathy and prayers as the family copes with yet another tragic circumstance involving her grandson, according to NBC4 WCMH-TV.

“Tonight we are living a nightmare with the community for a second time in less than a month,” Thomas said in a statement, NBC4 reported. “I’m questioning God, ‘Lord, why Ky’air?’ None of this seems real! I’m begging the community again to have some compassion and empathy while lifting up our family, Kason, and his mother Wilhemnia, LaChez, my son, and the twins’ father in prayer.”

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