AMIR JENNINGS - 18 Months - Columbia SC

She's not too mentally ill to know enough to keep her mouth shut.

i dont believe she's mentally ill at all.

Nor do I, that's what I meant. I hope she is never allowed to see or touch her baby when it is born.

Despite reports to the contrary, there are no new developments in the search for missing Columbia toddler Amir Jennings.




Reports surfaced on Twitter Thursday that Amir was found alive at a Georgia police station. However, Columbia police say the child is not the missing 20-month-old.

Amir has not been seen since late November. His mother, Zinah Jennings, has not provided any details about where the child may be, according to police.

Meanwhile, the FBI has put Amir's picture on their website, and lists him as a kidnapping victim.

Police are still offering a $10,000 reward for information that helps find him. Anyone with information should call Crimestoppers at 1-888-CRIME-SC.

http://www.wltx.com/news/article/172870/2/Still-No-New-Information-on-Amir-Jennings-?odyssey=tab%7Ctopnews%7Cbc%7Clarge

Nothing new found 4-17-12

A grand jury will hear evidence in the case of a Columbia woman, whose child has been missing since late November.
Prosecutors will begin presenting information to the jurors next week
regading Zinah Jennings. If it's determined there is enough evidence,
an indictment could be brought against her, although at this time, it's
unclear what charges she could potentially face.

Zinah Jenning's son, Amir Jennings, was last seen around
Thanksgiving. Columbia police have said Zinah Jennings has
been uncooperative.

Since the disappearance became public, officers have received plenty
of leads, but none that have provided the clues necessary to find the
child.

Zinah Jennings herself was listed as missing for a time, but she
resurfaced after a car accident in late December. Investigators have
since pursued leads in other states, including the Atlanta area.

Police questioned her several times, and a warrant was issued for
Zinah on December 29th on a charge of unlawful conduct towards a
child. She is currently behind bars.

Anyone with information in the case should call Crimestoppers at
1-888-CRIME-SC, or e-mail a tip in to Crimestoppers of the Midlands.

http://www.wltx.com/news/article/185830/2/Zinah-Jennings-Case-Headed-to-Grand-Jury-

The grandmother of missing toddler Amir Jennings talked Tuesday
about her 23-year-old daughter, now in jail and suspected by police of
doing harm to her son, telling a tale of problem drinking and mental
illness that descended unexpectedly upon a young woman with a
once-bright future.
Although the public has heard police tales of
prostitution and erratic behavior, Zinah Jennings – the mother of the
missing boy – in fact comes from a good family, was successful at Dreher
High School, completed her freshman year at Winthrop and was on a
trajectory to being an independent, stable adult when she began to have
problems that changed her personality.
That’s the other side of
Zinah Jennings, said Amir’s grandmother Jocelyn Jennings, 53, in an
interview Tuesday afternoon at the office of her lawyer, Hemphill Pride.

“What I really want the public to know is that Zinah had a great
beginning, did not grow up in a violent environment,” said Jennings. “We
have goals and aspirations, we are Christian people, and Zinah set high
goals for herself.”
Later this week, 5th Circuit Solicitor Dan
Johnson is expected to indict Zinah Jennings on charges of unlawful
conduct toward a child.
Jocelyn Jennings said Thursday she wasn’t
trying to make excuses for her daughter, but she did want the public to
know there was far more to her daughter’s life than the unflattering,
one-dimensional picture given in many media accounts of the toddler’s
disappearance since late December.
Zinah’s father was Jacob
Jennings, a top official at the University of South Carolina who died
unexpectedly in 1992, when Zinah was three, Jennings said. Jacob
Jennings job was to better relations between the university and the
African-American community.
As a girl, Zinah was an athlete who
played basketball and volleyball, was on the color guard at Dreher and
was working on a degree as an athletic trainer to become a physical
therapist. At Dreher, she founded a step team that dances to beats,
using hands and feet, she said.
Zinah started working for her
aunt’s business and worked for Hardees for three years, becoming a shift
manager, Jennings said. “She’s hard-working. This idea that she’s quick
and she’s fast, that’s not Zinah. This is a young lady was went to
three proms in her senior year at high school – at Dreher, Spring Valley and Dutch Fork. “
Zinah grew up attending St. Luke Episcopal Church, but as an adult chose to join Grace Christian Church with Amir.
“I want the public to know something went terribly wrong here,” Jennings said.
Zinah’s problems seemed to begin during her freshman year at Winthrop when
during the first week of school, her white roommate moved out of the
room, leaving her to room alone for the rest of the year. After that,
Zinah transferred to Midlands Tech. Along the way, she had a love affair
that resulted in pregnancy – a development that upset the family,
because until then, Zinah had seemed on her way to achieving a
productive, independent life.
Although Zinah kept herself healthy
during the pregnancy, after Amir was born she began drinking – at
times, having “multiple blackouts”’ and memory problems, Jennings said.
She broke up with Amir’s father, her drinking problems got worse, and
she wouldn’t acknowledge them, Jennings said.
Pressures grew on
Zinah, with the stress of not having a job or a relationship with Amir’s
father as well as trying to handle a toddler, Jennings said.
Friends of the family who know Zinah support Jennings’ account of a drastic, inexplicable change.
“She has known my daughter since third grade. They went to elementary
school, Hand Middle School and Dreher together. She has stayed over at
my house numerous times,” said Yvonne Pygatt, 57. “Zinah was a very
kind-hearted person, soft-spoken fun-loving girl, very respectful, a sweetheart.”
The Zinah of recent news accounts “is not the Zinah that we know,” Pygatt said.
Jennifer Bishop, an elder at Grace Christian Church along Monticello Road, said
Zinah joined the church a few years ago and participated in women’s and
singles’ ministries.
“Zinah always had Amir in her arms and was
very loving and engaging,” Bishop said. “She always had a smile on her
face and bright eyes.”
A state-ordered mental evaluation of Zinah
while she was in jail found she was suffering from severe depression,
Pride said. A judge ordered daily medication, but it robs her daughter
of energy, Jennings said. “These days, Zinah stays in lockdown because
she can’t get up,” she said.
“My wish is for her to be
rehabilitated. My wish is for her to have long-term residential
treatment. She needs counseling, and she needs treatment for alcoholism.”
But Zinah appears to be in denial about drinking and
has declined treatment, even though – as a Richland County employee –
Jennings has health insurance that would pay for such treatment, she said.
Meanwhile, Jennings said she “has gone to great lengths to
find Amir.” She is working with churches, the National Center for
Missing and Exploited Children, a private investigator and law
enforcement to find the boy, she said. She has also printed and
distributed thousands of fliers, she said.
Jocelyn Jennings visits her daughter weekly. Her daughter hasn’t said specifically what happened to Amir.
“Early on, she told me she left him in safe hands where he was with a lot of
children and she was very happy,” she said. “She expects to reunite with
him someday. But she has said to me, ‘Mom, the longer I stay in here, I
may not be able to find him’”
Jennings believes Amir is still
alive. “I honestly believe that Zinah left him somewhere. She was
probably intoxicated and said, ‘I’ll be back’”
http://www.thestate.com/2012/05/09/2269156/grandmother-missing-boys-mothers.html

Zinah Jennings will go to trial
by WACH Fox News Center
Posted: 21 mins ago

COLUMBIA (WACH) - Zinah Jennings was indicted by a Richland County Grand Jury Thursday on a charge of unlawful conduct toward a child.

Jennings has been detained in the Richland County Detention Center for five months. Police say they arrested her for lying about the whereabouts of her son, Amir. The boy was 18-months-old when his grandmother reported him missing in early December. Police say Jennings has fabricated multiple stories about where he is.

In late January, a judge denied a request to lower Jennings' bond, which is set at $150,000.

Amir Jennings, who was 18-months old when he disappeared last November, has not been found.

Police are urging anyone with information about the Amir Jennings case to call Crimestoppers at 1-888-CRIME-SC. All calls are anonymous and there is a possible $10,000 dollar reward tied to information in the case.

http://www.midlandsconnect.com/news/story.aspx?id=752218#.T6woO-v2YZM