Sharena Nancy has pleaded guilty to the kidnapping and murder of two year old Nalani Johnson. According to court documents Sharena Nancy had been dating Nalani Johnson father and when he attempted to break up with her she would grab the two year old and take off. Sharena Nancy would then murder Nalani Johnson before abandoning the body of the child. Sharena Nancy would be arrested and charged with murder. As part of a plea deal Sharena Nancy plead guilty to third degree murder and kidnapping and would be sentenced to 15 to 30 years in prison
Sharena Nancy More News
Sharena Nancy, the woman accused of kidnapping and murdering 2-year-old Nalani Johnson, will spend at least 15 years in prison.
Nancy pleaded guilty to third degree murder and kidnapping in court Friday. She was sentenced to 15 to 30 years in prison
Police said Nancy, who was beginning a romantic relationship with Johnson’s father, abducted her from Penn Hills in 2019. After an Amber Alert, she was found dead in her car seat days later in an Indiana County park.
Investigators said Johnson, her father and another friend were with Nancy, who took off in the car the toddler was in after an argument about money.
The count of criminal homicide against Sharena Nancy was amended to third degree murder.
Sharena Nancy Other News
The Penn Hills woman charged with abducting and killing a toddler in 2019 agreed to a plea deal Friday in Allegheny County Common Pleas Court.
Sharena Nancy, 27, pleaded guilty on Friday to third-degree murder and kidnapping in the death of Nalani Johnson, who was just shy of 2 years old when she died.
Judge Bruce Beemer accepted the plea deal and the accompanying sentence for Nancy of 15 to 30 years in prison.
Nancy kidnapped Nalani on Aug. 31, 2019, from the Penn Hills home of the girl’s father, Paul D. Johnson.
Police said Ms. Nancy and Mr. Johnson and an on-and-off relationship, and Nancy took Nalani following an argument.
A large-scale search for Nalani took place across southwestern Pennsylvania in the days following her disappearance.
She was found dead about three days later in Pine Ridge Park in Indiana County. The Indiana County coroner’s office ruled Nalani’s death a homicide but said her body showed no signs of trauma.
Police said Nancy told investigators that Nalani’s father sold the girl to her for $10,000, though no evidence of such a transaction was found.
The murder led a state lawmaker to seek changes to how Amber Alerts are issued in Pennsylvania in the weeks following Nalani’s death.
As part of the plea deal, prosecutors withdrew three charges: interference with the custody of a child, concealment of children, and abuse of a corpse.
State Rep. Anthony DeLuca, D-Penn Hills, proposed the so-called “Nalani Johnson Rule” that would require the Missing Endangered Person Advisory System to be activated immediately when a parent or family member reports an abduction, thereby hastening the process for police to send out alerts. The bill was introduced but never made it to the House floor for a vote.
