Bail denied for mother who allegedly took children from Somersworth bedroom window
SOMERSWORTH — A judge has denied bail for a mother who allegedly triggered an Amber Alert last week by taking her children from their grandmother's home, sneaking them out a bedroom window.
Kaileigh Nichols, 34, with a last known address of 285 Hubbard Road in Lebanon, Maine, was charged with two felony counts of interfering with custody across state lines. The children, ages 11 and 8, live in Somersworth with their grandmother, who has legal custody of them. She is being held in the Strafford County House of Corrections.
Police described Nichols as having an “extensive contact with the Somersworth Police Department for a history of arrests and involvement with drugs” and has been in a “long custody battle and several documented disputes" involving Nichols and the children. She has 11 prior convictions: nine misdemeanors and two felonies.
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Nichols and the children were found in a hotel in South Portland, Maine, last Friday, less than 24 hours after the children were reported missing. She was arrested last week in Maine and waived extradition to New Hampshire.
Nichols is being represented by public defender Cynthia Robinson, who declined to comment.
Judge orders no contact
Judge Mark Howard ordered Thursday afternoon that Nichols be placed in preventative detention. Nichols cannot have contact with her children or their grandmother.
During Nichols' bail hearing, the state requested bail be denied because she was deemed a "danger and a flight risk," prosecutor Patrick Conroy said.
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Conroy said the current charges are Class B felonies, which could carry a maximum of three-and-a-half to seven years in state prison.
The next step will be a dispositional conference. By that point, the state will have made an offer, and Nichols can negotiate a plea or elect to go to trial.
"In the meantime, we'll be reviewing the investigation to see if there's any other charges or modification charges that need to happen," Conroy said. "I can't say if there will be until I've reviewed the full investigation."
What happened the day the children were taken?
Nichols was in town to attend her 11-year-old daughter’s elementary school graduation, which was held at Somersworth High School, according to court documents. The district had waived a trespass order to allow Nichols to attend the graduation. Nichols told friends that she was getting custody back of the children, and had told her daughter that they were going to move to Maine this summer, according to police.
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The children were reported missing by their grandmother on June 16 at 9:45 p.m. They were last seen at their residence at approximately 7:30 p.m., police said. The grandmother fell asleep and woke up two hours later to find the children were gone. They appeared to have left their home through a window and the older child had left her cell phone behind, police said. Somersworth police said screens from the window were removed. Police also found a ring near the window, which they believed belonged to be Nichols.
It was not the first time that Nichols has made contact with the children through the window, according to police.
Police reported that Nichols went to great lengths to keep her location hidden after the Amber Alert was triggered. Her phone was shut off, with calls sent straight to voicemail, and her Facebook account was deactivated. Police wrote in the affidavit that “These actions are indicative of someone who does not want to be found or tracked.”
Nichols has a criminal history with charges that include: theft, criminal mischief, disobeying a police officer, vehicular assault, controlled premise, possession of drugs, and receiving stolen property. She has been previously convicted for contempt, violation of a protective order, and stalking, according to court documents. Nichols was scheduled for a plea and sentencing hearing Friday on a habitual offender charge from last year for driving under the influence.
Eight weeks before the incident, Nichols was awarded supervised weekend visitation rights if her boyfriend, who is currently in jail, was present. The children’s grandmother filed an ex-parte order on May 24 to revoke Nichols’ visitation rights, according to the affidavit. The court hearing was scheduled for June 27.
This article originally appeared on Fosters Daily Democrat: Mom who allegedly took children from Somersworth home gets bail denied
