Father Kills Mother, Leaving Kids to Bounce Among Relatives’ Homes
Unusual circumstances often demand unusual measures.
A father allegedly murdered the mother of his three children – and then killed himself, leaving their children orphaned.
Now, what happens to the kids?
Grandparents on both sides are ready, willing and able to take the children in. And initially agreed to shared physical custody, with the kids shifting from one home to the other every three days. (Florida calls this rotating custody.)
But the oldest boy found this disruptive and wanted to stay in the school where his paternal grandparents lived.
So, what’s a court to do in this tragic situation?
On a strictly temporary basis, the presiding court continued shared physical custody, but modified the schedule. Now the kids will be with the paternal grandparents during the week and with the maternal relatives in Vermont on the weekends.
This unorthodox and not-so-easy timesharing arrangement reportedly took family members by surprise.
The maternal relatives plan to seek permanent, primary custody of the children. Among other reasons, they reportedly felt they could better counter the domestic violence influences of the children’s father.
