Mother's horror as her newborn son is taken from her home by deputies and given to adoptive parent despite the fact she changed her mind BEFORE the child's birth

• Kimberly Rossler, 25, from Mobile, Alabama, fell pregnant in October 2014
• She agreed for Katherine 'Kate' Sharp to adopt her baby son, James Elliot
• At time, she says adoption attorney told her 'nothing was final until birth'
• She was 'led to believe' she had 5 days after delivery to withdraw consent
• A few months later, Kimberly told Kate and lawyer she wished to keep son
• Attorney allegedly refused to tell her how she could back out of adoption
• Three weeks after baby's May 27 birth, deputies handed him over to Kate
• Now, Kimberly is taking legal action in bid to have her son returned to her

By Sophie Jane Evans For Dailymail.com

Published: 11:04 EST, 9 July 2015 | Updated: 14:26 EST, 9 July 2015

A new mom has spoken of her horror after her baby son was taken from her home by officials and given to an adoptive mother - despite the fact she had changed her mind before the infant's birth.

Kimberly Rossler, 25, from Mobile, Alabama, decided to contact a local adoption agency after discovering she was pregnant with her 'on-off' boyfriend Greg's baby in October last year.

She reportedly phoned up the non-profit organization, Adoption Rocks, and was put in touch with attorney, Donna Ames, who informed her that she had 'the perfect' mother in mind for her child.

In subsequent days, Kimberly was introduced to the adoptive mother - Katherine 'Kate' Gilliard Sharp, a 'single businesswoman' from Birmingham - and agreed for her to adopt her unborn son.

Scroll down for video 

Torn apart: Kimberly Rossler, 25, was horrified when her baby son, James Elliott Rossler, was taken from her home and given to an adoptive mother - despite the fact she had changed her mind before the infant's birth. Above, Kimberly and James Elliot are pictured in hospital in Alabama on May 27 shortly after the baby's birth

Change of heart: Kimberly (left), contacted a Mobile-based adoption agency and decided on adoptive mom Katherine 'Kate' Gilliard Sharp after discovering she was pregnant with James Elliott (right) in October 2014

She claims Donna told her that she would sort out 'all the legal stuff and paperwork', including her 'monthly gift' - a special allowance that would be paid to Kimberly by Kate, as agreed by a judge.

Kimberly says, at the time, the lawyer assured her that 'nothing was final until the baby was born' - and that the pre-birth agreement she signed in court would simply ensure she received her 'gift'.

She was told that she would have five days to withdraw her consent after her son's birth, she says.

Over the next few months, the expectant mother and Kate formed a close friendship, sending daily text messages to each other and chatting about the baby, Kimberly told The Huffington Post.

But at the same time, Kimberly began to change her mind about giving her baby up.

She says she confided in Kate about her concerns.

'I began confiding in her about my emotions. I felt myself growing depressed and found myself sleeping day in and out, crying about what life would look like once I gave my baby away,' she said. 

Tearful: Kimberly (pictured crying in a Fox interview) says adoption attorney Donna Ames assured her that 'nothing was final until the baby was born' -and that she could change her mind up to five days after the birth

Baby: As Kimberly grew close to adoptive mother Kate, she started to have concerns about giving up James Elliot (pictured left and right). However, Donna would not tell her how to back out of the adoption, she says. Three weeks after James Elliott's May birth, the infant was taken away from Kimberly and handed to Kate

'The conflict within became so intense that I knew I needed help. These weeks were so dark, all I could think was 'I hope I die in labor but my son lives. Kate will be happy and I won't feel the pain.' 

After Donna was also told of Kimberly's worries, she apparently found the pregnant woman a counselor, who helped her to rebuild her self-esteem and enabled her to see herself as a parent.

As Kimberly became more confident about her skills as a mother, she reportedly approached Donna again and said that she wished to keep her baby - despite feeling bad about 'letting Kate down'.

But the angry attorney would not tell her how she could back out of the adoption, she says. 

'I tried to tell her numerous times and she just brushed it off like this was nothing, like this happens,' Kimberly tearfully told Fox Carolina in an interview at her home on Wednesday.

Nonprofit: Kimberly was reportedly put in touch with Donna via the non-profit organization, Adoption Rocks

'No involvement': In a statement to Fox Carolina, Chris Kalifeh, a spokesman for Adoption Rocks, said the firm was merely 'a catalyst' at the start - and is not involved in the custody dispute between Kimberly and Kate

'I didn't think there was any need to sign anything, because she (Donna) told me that paperwork was not final until after he was born.' 

As her son's birth approached, Kimberly - who was certain by March that she wanted to be a mother to her unborn child - began posting potential baby names and images of baby clothes on Facebook.

In response, Donna allegedly contacted the expectant mother's counselor and told them that Kimberly was mentally unstable and had stolen Kate's money, according to The Huffington Post. 

Kate herself also became angry at Kimberly, accusing her of stealing her cash, it is reported. Kimberly says that she had spoken to her counselor about a plan to pay Kate back the money.

Distraught: Kimberly (pictured in a Facebook photo) has not seen her son since he was taken away

On May 27, Kimberly went into labor and gave birth to her son, called James Elliot Rossler.

'Nothing had prepared me for the intense love I felt [for him],' Kimberly said.

'I finally had peace in my life... I had this unconditional love I have always wanted.' 

Kimberly then took her son home. However, three weeks later, while she was breastfeeding the infant, sheriff's deputies apparently turned up at her house and took James Elliot away.

The child was then handed over to Kate.

Another three weeks on, Kimberly has not seen her son since he was taken - and says she has been told that she needed to withdraw her pre-birth consent to the adoption in writing before James Elliot's birth, not within five days after it.

If true, this is contrary to Arkansas law, which states a woman has five days to unconditionally withdraw her adoption consent following birth. 

James Elliot was removed from his mother's care at three weeks old because of 'endangerment' due to alleged 'mental instability', it is reported.

But the judge who signed the order apparently did not realize the case was an adoption.

Judge Don Davis, who signed the adoption consent papers, is on the Board of Directors of Adoption Rocks, it is reported.

In a statement to Fox Carolina, Chris Kalifeh, a spokesman for the non-profit organization, said the firm was merely 'a catalyst in the beginning' - and is not involved in the custody dispute.

Meanwhile, Donna said that she worked for Kate as a 'private lawyer' and Adoption Rocks 'has no involvement in the case' - and that she was only told Kimberly had changed her mind on May 20.

'Because it was apparent there might be a problem with the adoption, I withdrew from further representation of the adoptive mother in this matter on May 23,' the attorney added.

Kimberly will attend a pretrial hearing on the case on July 24.

Her friends have recently set up a GoFundMe account called 'Help Bring Baby Elliot Home'.

The page aims to raise a total of $20,000 to help cover Kimberly's legal fees.

Fundraising: Kimberly's friends have recently set up a GoFundMe account (pictured) called 'Help Bring Baby Elliot Home'. The page aims to raise a total of $20,000 to help cover the new mother's legal fees

Comments (140)

Share what you think

• Newest
• Oldest
• Best rated
• Worst rated

 View all

The comments below have been moderated in advance.

 View all

The views expressed in the contents above are those of our users and do not necessarily reflect the views of MailOnline.

We are no longer accepting comments on this article.

Who is this week's top commenter? Find out now