A Texas Family Court judge granted custody of Anne-Christine’s son to his father, who had confessed to murdering her in a most sociopathic way right in front of the boy.Children may not be property of fathers on paper anymore, but Anne-Christine’s case is a good example of how the old boys have ensured perpetuation of this most coveted patriarchal perk in practice.
In 2014 Judge Barbara Roberts granted shared custody between the paternal grandfather, which is bizarre and probably not even legal. Anne-Christine was deprived of custody, despite the fact she was the child’s primary attachment figure and caregiver, demonstrating Roberts couldn’t care less about the best interests of the child. He got only two hours a week with his mother, supervised.
Shortly after this, the father smacked Anne-Christine across the face with a gun and strangled her to the point she couldn’t breathe, all while threatening to murder her by slitting her wrists and saying he would make it look like suicide.
The father called the police and “flipped the script” leading to mutual restraining orders, despite the physical evidence clearly supporting Anne-Christine’s story. The D.A. refused to prosecute, saying it wasn’t clear who the aggressor was; and, unsurprisingly, CPS left custody with the father.
Anne-Christine missed her baby so much, she moved back in with the father so she could be with him. Shortly after that, she told her friend he had strangled her again.
Her mother, Stephanie, was increasingly concerned for her daughter’s safety and warned her that strangulation often preceded murder, but she could not live without her baby, so she stayed.
Less than a month later, Anne-Christine disappeared. Stephanie asked the police to search the father’s home, but they refused, choosing to believe his story that she had left. Stephanie and the community began a search for her and with the media attention, the police finally searched the house and found her body in an advanced state of decomposition.
The father eventually confessed to stabbing Anne-Christine and putting a plastic bag over her head, suffocating her to death while telling her he wanted to watch her die. He was arrested and jailed.
Judge Roberts granted the father’s request that his father have primary custody and he secondary, even though he was in jail for murdering the mother.
Stephanie had not been noticed of the hearing and when she found out, she filed a motion for custody. Judge Roberts issued a summary judgment (no hearing) declaring Stephanie didn’t have standing to file. Stephanie appealed.
In 2017, the confessed murderer was released from jail on bond with no restrictions placed on him for being with his son, who witnessed him murdering his mother. He retracted his confession, saying it was coerced.
In 2019, the father pled guilty. He was facing over 100 years in prison for murder and tampering with the body, but the judge granted him a super-sweetheart plea deal and he will be released from prison in just eleven.
Just before Stephanie’s motion for custody was scheduled to be heard in 2020, the grandfather filed a motion to adopt the boy, now 10, with the imprisoned murderer father ceding his parental rights to him.
To Be Clear: There is NO crisis of “Safe Parents” losing custody to “Abusive Parents”. There is only ONE crisis: Safe Mothers losing custody to Abusive Fathers. This needs to be clearly identified so an effective solution can be achieved.
The gender-neutral portrayal of “parents” losing custody to “abusers” diverts from public understanding of the true cause of the crisis: systemic entitlement of men and discrimination against women.
Source: Dad Murders Mom: Gets Custody