Woman Living as a Man Found Innocent of Taking Her Children

Shellie White was arrested last spring in Roanoke Rapids, NC, by United States Marshals. Authorities said that when she was arrested, White looked like a man, dressed as a man, and was acting like a man. Her children called her "Daddy" and White had been calling herself by various male aliases, including her ex-husband’s name.

White said she was surprised when the Marshals appeared at her home, because she had no idea anyone was looking for her. She and her children, 9-year-old Erica and 7-year-old Dusty, had left Arizona in 2003, when she and their father, Ernest Karnes, had joint custody. According to White, she had permission to take her kids with her, and she didn’t know her husband had contacted authorities to find her.

"How I looked when I was arrested was how I looked for some time," she told reporters. "I wasn’t traipsing all over the country trying to hide my children."

White was arrested and charged with custodial interference. At the time, White said she had been living in North Carolina for nine months, and the children’s father knew exactly where they were and how he could contact them. Authorities returned the children to Arizona to live with their father while White was returned to Arizona to face the charges against her.

During her trial, White showed the jury proof that Karnes had given her permission to take the children out of state. She proved that she had taken the children out of Arizona in 2003, yet Karnes waited for more than two years before contacting authorities and telling them that she had "kidnapped" the children. She also said that while she and her children were living in Connecticut and North Carolina, the three of them regularly spoke with Karnes by telephone and sent him cards for his birthday and holidays.

The jury agreed with White, and on Wednesday they acquitted her of all charges. "She had the kids lawfully," said Anna Ortiz, White’s attorney. "This really should not have been prosecuted."

The children are living with Karnes and his wife Melissa in Globe, Arizona, about two hours northwest of where White lives and works for a construction company in Clifton. White says she sees her children every other Friday and now that she has been acquitted, she plans to petition the courts to reinstitute the joint custody arrangement. "This is a relief for my kids, a relief for me, and a relief for my family," she told reporters. "There were a lot of people involved in this."