Penn Hills woman charged in kidnapping, death of Nalani Johnson to stand trial

A Penn Hills woman will stand trial on charges she kidnapped and killed a toddler last year and left the child in an Indiana County Park.

All charges against Sharena Nancy were held for court Friday during a preliminary hearing. In addition to kidnapping and homicide, she is charged with concealing the whereabouts of a child, abuse of a corpse and interfering with the custody of a child.

She will be arraigned March 3 in Allegheny County court and will continue to be held in the county jail without bail.

Police allege Nancy, 25, drove off with 23-month-old Nalani Johnson in her car Aug. 31 after an argument with the toddler’s father, Paul Johnson, and another friend. Johnson told police at the time that Nancy drove off before he could get Nalani out of the car.

Police have said Johnson and Nancy were in the beginnings of a romantic relationship.

Nancy was stopped by police that evening and gave conflicting stories, including denying any knowledge of Nalani and then saying she had spent the day at Kennywood with the child, Johnson and a friend.

She later settled on the story that Johnson told her to sell his daughter for $10,000 to a buyer who would meet her along Route 22, according to the criminal complaint. Nancy took police to the area along Route 22 and said she had given the girl to two women in an SUV with California plates.

Nalani was found dead Sept. 3 near Pine Ridge Park. Police said they used cellphone records to place Nancy in the same area.

An autopsy found no visible signs of trauma, police said, although there was a yellowish substance in Nalani’s stomach and two small scrapes on both sides of her face.