Mother distraught over 17-year-old Abbigale Thomas' stabbing death

Abbigale Thomas didn't want to move to a new foster home on Long Island -- how would the single teen mother see her twin boys who were with another foster family in Brooklyn?

But the 17-year-old, who had been living in foster care in Brooklyn, had no choice, her mother said. About a month after moving to the Freeport foster home, Abbigale was dead. Nassau police said she was fatally stabbed Nov. 1 by a teenage girl.

"She told me, 'Mommy, I don't want to go to Long Island,'" said her mother, Lesleen Thomas, who spoke to Newsday in her Far Rockaway, Queens, apartment. "She was on the phone crying."

In a two-hour interview, the distraught mother detailed her deep anguish, anger at the system and her custody fight for Abbigale's 21/2-year-old twins, Jayden and Justin.

"I cannot live my life without them," said Lesleen, 49, as she clutched a frayed blue folder bursting with documents -- court papers and visitation schedules. "I cannot live my life knowing Abbie's gone."

Jasmine Copeland, 16, has been charged with first-degree manslaughter in Abbigale's death. Nassau police say she was with two other girls -- ages 16 and 9 -- when sharp words turned into a "physical confrontation."

Abbigale was stabbed once in her lower left back and died at the hospital. The other 16-year-old was stabbed in the chest but was not badly injured, police said. The younger girl was not hurt.

Nassau police declined to comment, citing the ongoing investigation.

Copeland's attorney, Ikiesha Al-Shabazz, of Manhattan, did not respond to messages seeking comment.

Copeland's family could not be reached. After her arraignment, during which she was also charged with second-degree assault, Copeland was ordered held on $500,000 cash bail or bond. She was released Nov. 12 and her case is scheduled for a conference hearing Wednesday.

A spokesman for the New York City Administration for Children's Services, which oversees the city's foster care network, declined to answer detailed questions about the case, citing privacy rules.

Abbigale was born in Brooklyn and grew up in the Caribbean island of Jamaica with her mother. When she was about 14, she moved to Brooklyn to live with her father. She got pregnant by her then-boyfriend, Lesleen said.

When the twins were a couple months old, Abbigale's father left Brooklyn and she and her children eventually were turned over to ACS, Abbigale's mother said.

Abbigale was moved around to several foster homes in Brooklyn and was separated from the twins, Lesleen said.

A Nov. 13 Brooklyn family court order alleged unspecified "neglect" of the boys by Abbigale.

Thomas frequently visited her children, buying books and puzzles.

Lesleen relocated to New York City last year with the goal of getting custody of her grandchildren.

Abbigale planned to stay in the foster care system, which she hoped would help her get into college and achieve her goal of becoming a registered nurse, her mother said.

Lesleen recently withdrew a custody petition for the boys in Brooklyn family court, according to court papers, after a judge rescinded her overnight visits. She said she intends to refile a custody petition.

Judge Steven Z. Mostofsky cited Lesleen's "significant child protective issues in Jamaica" and what he called a "frightening outburst" during a recent court hearing.

Her court-appointed lawyer, Etta Ibok, of Brooklyn, declined to comment.

By Nicole Fuller

nicole.fuller@newsday.com@NicoleFuller

Nicole Fuller is Newsday's senior criminal justice reporter. She began working at Newsday in 2012 and previously covered local government.