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Riviera Beach mother "overjoyed" to be reunited with her 8-month old twins after father took them

Posted at 7:12 PM, Jul 14, 2016
and last updated 2016-07-14 19:12:11-04

RIVIERA BEACH, Fla. -- It's been a tough few days for Charmal Williams.

On Monday night, she says the father of her twin babies took the infants to Georgia without telling her his plans. Williams said she had been dating Carlos Peavy for more than two years before he took off with their babies, Major and Cariyah.

"Things had been fine. Extremely fine. I don't know why he would just up and take the babies and leave," Williams said.

The Riviera Beach Police Department issued a warrant for the arrest of Peavy on a charge of interference with custody. Police said Williams told them she was concerned for the twins' safety because of Peavy's history of domestic violence, drug use and alcohol abuse.

Williams believes Peavy plotted out what he did before leaving Monday night.

She said he quit his job the prior week and had told a person close to the couple that he was going to leave with the babies.

"I don't want anybody to go through what I have been through," she said.

Early Thursday morning, investigators say Peavy turned himself into authorities in Ocilla, Georgia.

According to a spokeswoman for the Riviera Beach Police Department, Peavy will be extradited to Florida, but it's not clear when that will happen.

Williams said she is done with Peavy, but will leave it up to the judicial system to determine if he can see his kids again.

"If they decide to let him see his kids, then that's up to the courts to do that. I'm not trying to deprive anyone of their children because that's not a great feeling," she said.

Williams said she wants to get a restraining order against Peavy.

She said it was a struggle to get police involved in the case at first, because Peavy also had custody of the children.

But once they got involved, she said officers and detectives were extremely helpful during these last few days.

"I felt helpless, I felt empty, I was just scared," Charmal said.

The Department of Children and Families is also investigating after getting a tip about the case through the agency's hotline.