A woman called 17 News regarding a custody battle involving her grandson. A brutal three-year long court battle is brewing over custody of 3-year-old Kadyn Riley.On one side, his father, Jacob Shattuck; on the other, Pearl and Steven Riley, Kadyn’s maternal grandparents, who have had the boy since birth.
"The Rileys have used the legal system, in my opinion, to steal a child that is not theirs to make up for the failed parenting of their own daughter," Shattuck’s attorney Michael Kilpatrick said.
According to court documents, after Kadyn was born in 2007 the Rileys had Shattuck and another man's DNA tested to find out who was the father.
Records show after they DNA results were available online, showing Shattuck was the dad, they went to court to get custody of Kadyn, and on at least seven occasions stated that the "father was unknown." They were granted sole custody of the boy.
"I'm completely shocked," Shattuck said. "They are correctional officers so they are supposed to uphold the law and tell the truth," Shattuck said.
A separate court later ruled Kadyn should be with his father, because of the Riley's "omission" and "half-truths" about the father's identity.
Years later, Kadyn is still with the Riley family. Now there is another custody case, which keeps Kadyn in limbo. Neither Pearl nor Steve Riley would speak with 17 News, but their attorney, Ed Thomas, said the couple did not lie.
“They absolutely did not,” Thomas said, adding it is in the best interest of the child to live with the grandparents.
Thomas' paralegal said the Rileys did not know Shattuck was the father during the original custody hearing, because when they looked online for the DNA results, they mistakenly looked at the results of the other man who was tested. Each test was identified by numbers, not names.
Final arguments in this custody case are scheduled for Monday.
