Did I Find My Sister While in Prison?! | KARAMO

When I was about age 13, my mother told me that the person who raised me was not my father. She told me that a friend of hers who I knew for years was actually my father and not the person who had raised me up until that point. So it was a shock, to say the least. About a year later, I had a conversation. It was more of an altercation over our families and me and him spoke face to face and he's like, "I don't know what your mom's telling you, but don't listen to everything you hear. I'm not your dad." I've never known, no one's took a DNA test from me before, so. I went into the Marine Corps. I was in for about a year and a half and I came home and that's when everything just fell apart. I was confused for a while and, you know, I started making a lot of mistakes. I got into drugs, ended up in prison. I knew my alleged father, he had other children. I knew one of them's name was Kristen. Well, the first time I saw her, she was a nurse in the jail that I was in, and I was in the jail, and like, it was a shock, you know? Like, I saw her and I was like, "Is your name Kristen?" And she's like, "Yeah." And I'm like, "I'm Jimmy." And she's like, "What?" She just, it threw her for a loop. She kind of didn't really know what to say. I saw her a few times throughout that she was working, but we couldn't really communicate with each other because they found out that we had— so they kind of kept us separate. I finally got out after 11 years. Me and her reconnected and we talked. Everything's good. And I get locked up again. I did 5 more years and I just come home like 8 months ago. And me and her, we're trying to— we want to have a relationship. I'm nervous. I'm nervous. You know, she's the only one that's going to like give me closure on this or give me some come to some type of conclusion. I lost 2 brothers, and I don't have much left. They died from overdoses. They were my purpose, for real. Like, it changed me. It took a part of me. She's my sister. She gives me another reason to hang on. She gives me a reason to stay out of jail, stay sober, to keep fighting. The only thing that stands between us and this truth is DNA test.

Listen everyone, we will meet Jimmy a little later in the show, but everyone please help me welcome his potential sister Kristin to the show. Thanks for being here, Kristin.

Thank you.

So please take it back for us. Tell us what was it like that first time that you met Jimmy?

So I started my first day in the jail. I'm 23 years old, you know, just cutting my teeth.

Yeah, uh-huh.

And I was a little terrified going down to the units. Just over 700 inmates on pill call. So it's really busy, you know, and they come out and they're, you know, people are like, oh, you're new, fresh meat. You know, oh, you're beautiful, that kind of thing. So then he walks up and he says, you're Kristen, you're my sister. I'm like, what is happening?

Yeah, what's happening right now?

Like, what is happening here? And I just kind of looked at him And we went back to the pharmacy and that nurse that was with me said, "That's your brother. He looks just like you." Wow. And she said, "You didn't know anything about him?" I said, "No." And she's like, "You gotta let the superintendent know that you could possibly be related." So did you believe him when he said he was your brother? Absolutely.

Absolutely.

I knew nothing about him but just looking at him and it was almost like we had a connection.

Yeah.

I just, just seeing, he looks just like my father, so.

[Speaker] Got it.

[Speaker] Yeah.

[Speaker] So his look and the connection you felt immediately.

[Speaker] His mannerisms too, yeah.

[Speaker] Got it. So did you continue to have contact with him after he approached you in prison?

[Speaker] There were several times that he tried to pass me notes or inmates would come up for things in the infirmary, chest pain, seizures, and they're like, "Oh, you're Jimmy's sister." [Speaker] Yeah, yeah. [Speaker] "He wants me to give you this." And so he'd try to pass me notes. I really liked my job. I liked what I did. I felt that I had a purpose there and I could make a change there. So I wanted to follow the rules.

Of course. Yeah, that makes sense.

And so I didn't engage in communication at that point. But as soon as he got out, we started talking, went out to eat and—

Well, it makes sense why you wouldn't engage while you're in there because not only are you, you like your job, you know, you're there for a purpose, but also there's no confirmation. So you could be risking your future For somebody who's just come up to you and said, "You're my sister." You know what I mean?

Right, right, absolutely.

So you would've been a fool at that time to risk it and engage.

Engage with him, yeah.

You had never heard about Jimmy before? No. Never once?

No, I went home that, well, to my dad's that night and I said, "Who is Jimmy?" Like what? And I was met with immediate hostility.

Got it. So it wasn't a, "I don't know, what are you talking about?" It was—

It was his mom had the chance to prove it. In court and she didn't show up. Got it. So in his mind—

We're done.

Yeah.

Were you close with your dad growing up?

I was till I was about 8 years old. I always had, you know, he was my hero. Once I started getting older, I realized things are a little bit different than what I perceived.

Yeah.

And I didn't have as much of a relationship with him as I did my stepmother.

Got it, okay.

So it was more I lived with him through them, if that makes sense.

Yeah, I gotta tell everyone at home and you here in the audience, Kirsten's dad declined our invitation to appear on the show. So we did ask him if he wanted to be here, especially since this DNA test.

And he actually told me that he was gonna take this to his grave and that he needed to leave it alone, or I needed to leave it alone. I informed him that DNA has evolved and we don't really need you to prove this at that point, so.

Are there other siblings?

No.

No other siblings?

Not from him.

So it would just be you and Jimmy?

Yes.

Wow, okay then.

And I lost my mom at a young age, so it really, I think both of us have kind of clung onto this and we just kind of have that feeling that hopefully it's positive, but if it's negative, then we will go from there. I think we have definitely built a good friendship.

So when did you start to build a relationship with Jimmy?

This past time that he was released. So over the past probably 8 months, we talk and FaceTime and things like that.

And how's your relationship now? It's been great?

Good, yeah.

Yeah.

Really good. We have a lot of people, a lot of haters who are like, why are you hanging out with him when you don't even know that he's your brother? You know, basically you're hanging out with some random guy.

Yeah. Because let's be clear with everyone, this is almost a 20-year journey.

Yeah.

Because you were in your 20s when he first came up to you.

Right.

And so this has been sort of like just shrouded over you as like a possibility, but no real confirmation for 20 years.

Right.

Wow. Well, listen, I think it's time to meet your potential brother Jimmy. So everyone please welcome Jimmy to the show. How you doing, Jimmy?

What's going on? What's up, sis? What's going on? How you doing, man? Good. How you doing? I'm good.

Good to meet you, Jimmy. Good to meet you, man. Yeah.

This is it, Jeremy. What's going on?

Nice to meet you.

Nice to meet you too.

So how did you feel the first time you saw Kristen?

It was a shock, but I knew who she was. I originally thought she was, I believe your cousin. Yeah, cousin. And I asked if she was her and she's like, no, I'm Kristen. And I was like, your daughter? And she's like, yeah. I'm like, I'm your brother.

Yeah, okay. So you weren't allowed to talk to her in prison after you met and how did that make you feel?

No, they initially, like as soon as they heard any type of thing like that, they, They separated us. If they called me to medical, they would move her somewhere and keep it, they just made sure to keep us apart. So I tried to get in touch with her every now and then.

Makes sense. Yeah, she's saying with the notes and stuff. So when you met up after you got outta prison, did you feel a connection with her?

Yeah, absolutely.

Yeah.

Me and her, we hung out, we introduced our kids to each other and we had lunch and took pictures together and it was, I don't know, I felt like I was taking pictures with my sister.

It's always felt natural. Yeah, it's always felt natural.

Yeah, yeah. Yeah, I'm trying to see if I see the resemblance. Do y'all see the resemblance? Yeah. Something.

Yeah.

So you have other siblings on your mom's side, right?

Yeah.

And you're close with them, correct? Are those the brothers you talked about that passed away?

Yes.

Okay, tell me about your relationship.

They were my little troopers, man. I protected them through everything. I was big brother and I took that role seriously. You know, like I became who I am because of them. Like I was a protector. So when they died, One after another from overdoses, it kind of took away my purpose. And when me and her connected on Facebook and I started really trying to mold that, and then I ended up going back again for 5 more years and came home this past May and like, I'm trying to figure this out.

Yeah, I hear that. Like she's a— So how did you know about Kristen?

Because when I was 13, my mother told me that the person who raised me wasn't my father. And she told me because I was playing baseball and one of the kids on another baseball team, his mother was— Ah, the stepbrothers. Was, yeah, the stepbrothers were playing against us and they started making comments to me about, I guess they knew about a situation. I don't know, my mom had always had some stuff going on with them and they knew who I was before I really knew. Kind of threw me for a loop a little bit.

How did they treat you?

They weren't nice at all. They, "Mom's lying to you, they're not there." You're not one of us. I don't know. It took away my want to be a part of the family at first because I had a dad, my dad who raised me and he never skipped a beat. He never, when he found out when I was 7 and he never, he got mad when I even talked about it.

Yeah. I know you said you were in and out of prison most of this time, most of your life. What's motivating you to stay out now?

I don't have much family left. A lot of 'em gone. Everything I got left, I realized that you can't really protect them when you're in a cage. So the world gets crazier every day and I want to be out here for my family. I hear that.

I hear that.

I hear that.

You also, I know you want to be out here with the family, but you also deserve to live your life.

Yeah, I do.

Have your freedom.

I'm done with it, man. It's come time when you gotta start thinking about different things that matter.

Yeah. Do you believe that if you find out that you're siblings that you'll have a better relationship?

Absolutely.

Oh yeah.

Of course.

I think we'll be able to enjoy hanging out and not hear from other people like—

You know?

The little naysayers or something.

Yeah, like, you don't even know him yet. Like, you know, you don't, and I'm saying I do know him.

Yeah.

He is my brother.

Yeah, yeah, I feel it.

Yeah, so we, this is a long time coming. We did it, we've been fighting the whole time.

Really, right? Thank you for sharing that about your brothers.

Yeah.

Well listen, I think it's time to solve this DNA mystery. Are you ready for the truth?

Yeah.

Jimmy, come with me, brother. All right, Jimmy.

Yeah.

Almost 20 years ago, you were in prison and you saw a woman and you knew immediately that was your sister. You had no confirmation. You really had no real information but something that you learned when you were a kid. But you held tight to it. And through those 20 years, you two have had some connection but haven't always been around. But since you've been out, you have tried to build a bond. And you feel like that's your sister.

Yeah, I feel it.

Well, in this envelope is your truth. If that is your sister, that's your truth to open, not mine. So good luck.

Thank you. So it's been a long time coming for this. Like, I don't really— kind of don't even want to look at it. I'm almost scared.

We got this, baby. We got this, Jimmy.

No matter what. No matter what.

No matter what.

Come here. You want to rock with me? Come here.

Can I go up with him?

Yeah, of course.

Okay.

Ready? Yep.

I love you so much. I love you. That's so crazy. I love you. I love you.

Thank you so much.

Congratulations.

What does it say?

What does it say? It says, "Jenny Kristen is your biological sister." I love that.

Thank you, man.

You're so welcome, man. Thank you so much. Listen, I gotta tell you, just meeting you from this small amount of time in the video and being on this stage, you have such an energy. And you have been a man that has been through some things. I hear some of the things you went through as a child that you did not deserve that led you to making a decision as a man. And I think sometimes we have to, we deserve good moments after you've had that stuff. And I'm so happy you can get this good moment on this stage 'cause you deserve it. Here you go, brother. Here you go. You deserve it. You deserve to know you got a sister who loves you, who's here for you, that you all can build a bond. You deserve this moment in your life and I'm so happy for you. You're sober right now, right?

Oh yeah, absolutely.

Congratulations on your sobriety too, man.

Thank you, man.

How are y'all both feeling?

Party time? Yeah, I'm excited.

I'm so excited. Like I told him, like we're gonna frame this. Like we were going like, I'm so excited.

To all the naysayers, they siblings, all right? Listen, all the naysayers, enough is enough, okay? Congratulations, y'all. I'm very happy for you both, you know what I mean? All right, friends, stay with us. We'll be right back with more.