Estimated read time: 2-3 minutes
This archived news story is available only for your personal, non-commercial use. Information in the story may be outdated or superseded by additional information. Reading or replaying the story in its archived form does not constitute a republication of the story.
McCAYSVILLE, Ga. — More than five decades after being told her baby girl was stillborn, Thelma Tipton was reunited with her daughter, 51-year-old Kriste Hughes.
Hughes was illegally sold to her adoptive parents by Dr. Thomas Jugarthy Hicks just one week after Hicks told Tipton her daughter had a bad heart and subsequently had her sign a death certificate, according to ABC News.
During his practice, the doctor performed illegal abortions and lied to other women about the death of their baby before selling the babies for $800 to $1,000.
According to the Associated Press, about 200 "Hicks Babies" were sold to their adoptive parents in other states in the 1950s and '60s.
The Hicks Babies' birth certificates stated their adoptive parents were their biological parents, thus making genetic codes their only option for links, AP reported.
Hughes is one of eight Hicks Babies ABC's "Nightline" spoke with. After working with Ancestry.com to analyze their DNA and connect them with relatives, Hughes was connected with her first cousin, who told her two of her aunts gave birth at the Hicks clinic, but only one was still living.
He robbed me of my life … I missed out seeing [Kristie] growing up, missed out on her first tooth … her first day in school … I missed out on her wedding, I missed out on everything.
–Thelma Tipton
The living woman's son, 52-year-old Roger Tipton, took a DNA test, and it was a match.
Hughes traveled with "Nightline" to Georgia, where she met her biological family for the first time.
Roger Tipton said Dr. Hicks took a lot of love and a lot of memories away, "Nightline" reported.
Thelma Tipton, 75, said she had never forgotten Hughes.
"He stole my daughter," Tipton told "Nightline." "He robbed me of my life … I missed out seeing [Kristie] growing up, missed out on her first tooth … her first day in school … I missed out on her wedding, I missed out on everything."
To learn more about the tearful reunion, which includes a visit to the Hicks clinic, visit ABC News.
