Good News from the Barker Family

Well, even though it isn't about the custody hearing, there is good news from the Barker family. Keith's former employer went through massive "downsizing" the first of the year, and Keith was one of those cuts. On Friday he got a call asking him to come in for what Keith "assumed" would be an interview. It was no interview--they were hiring him. Apparently they'd seen his resume and wanted him now. He was so confused. He thought he would go through the interviewing process but when they started processing paperwork on him--he was stunned! He was picked up this morning in a government car (he won't have his security clearance for months) and driven to his new place of work. His head is spinning but he's so thankful. We know that this will work in his favor when the second (of who knows how many) custody hearing begins. Of course we're all on our knees thanking God that he finally has a job. It's been a long, stressful seven months but things are looking up a bit. Maybe we'll be just as lucky with the next hearing. Thank you so much for your interest and your prayers. Keep 'em coming--they're working. God Bless!
C.B.

Our Legal System at it's FINEST!

Well, no surprises here! The hearing was an amazingly big waste of time, money, resources, tax-payer dollars, and energy. I cannot express to you how livid I am at this moment. After months of legal wrangling, untold amounts of money spent, and an extreme amount of emotional stress, we are back to square one! The hearing was only scheduled for one day. Half of that day was spent arguing over whether the hearing was "legal" or not. Can you believe it? Patty's attorney felt her client hadn't been given her "due process" in the hearing held last October. Most of the morning was spent trying to decide whether this hearing was "legal". Ridiculous! The judge kept telling her that she was arguing about things that had already been ruled on but she kept at it. I believe "legal gobble-dee-gook" is the technical term for it. During the afternoon Keith spent most of his time on the witness stand. Patty's attorney wasted most of the time with trivial "legalese"--therefore there was no time to get to the "real" issues at hand. Basically, there was nothing decided! The only new ruling that came from the hearing is that Steven now has his own attorney. Gloria Winston, the former guardian ad litem on the case, is now the attorney of record for Steven. So Steven is "lawyered up", Keith is "lawyered up", and Patty is "lawyered up". As Beth said, "Oh good! Another attorney on the payroll." Since Gloria is now Steven's attorney, a new "Guardian ad Litem" was assigned to the case--hence we start all over with a new player in the game. They scheduled another glorious hearing the first week in October. More $$$!

Is anyone besides me totally fed up with how our government works today? There is not one person in the case who doesn't know exactly where Steven should be placed! But we play the game! A very costly, non-productive, and insane game! If you think that these types of cases do not affect you--think again! We ALL pay for these court cases. They tie up our legal system, waste your tax dollars, and suck our system dry!

Where is Steven now? He's spending the morning visiting with his mom, maternal grandparents and his new attorney and guardian ad litem. This afternoon he will do the same thing all over again with his father, paternal grandfather, his new attorney and the new guardian ad litem. And what will we have accomplished! Absolutely NOTHING! Sorry folks! Wish I could give you better news--and I wish I could be more optimistic about our legal system. I think Shakespeare said it best: "First thing . . . lets kill all the lawyers." Seems their reputation has been around for quite some time--and it's not going to change in the future.

My brother (who went through a nasty divorce) had a cartoon framed and mounted on his wall. In the middle of the cartoon was a big cow--the wife was pulling on it's head; the husband was pulling on the tail. And the lawyer was sitting in the middle . . milking the cow! Pretty much says it all!

BTW: Steven's Uncle was found "not guilty" on the sexual charges leveled against him. Another shining moment for our legal system. I have no doubt he was guilty! Keep your children close!

Flying East--No Vacation!

Well, the custody hearing is TOMORROW! As I blog, my husband, son and grandson are flying east to participate in this most important hearing. There has been lots of last minute legal maneuvering (which I hate), depositions, conference calls, and anxiety this week. Steven's doctor and psychologist were both deposed over the phone yesterday. On the other end of the phone was Keith's attorney, Patty's attorney, and Gloria Winston--the guardian ad litem. The depositions were scheduled to take approximately 1/2 hour each but ended up running over five hours. Naturally Patty's attorney attempted to discredit Steven's doctor and therapist but was unable to do so. This new attorney is still under the assumption that her client is telling her the truth. Can't wait to see what happens there. One of the newest stories to come from Patty's attorney is this: Patty told her that when she brought Steven back to Utah this summer she fell on an escalator in the airport. Although others gathered round her and insisted that she go to the hospital to be checked, she knew she had to get her son to his dad so she continued on her way. We happen to know this is bogus because there is NO escalator in the area of the airport in which she supposedly fell. Had this happened Steven would surely have told his dad--he was upset at having to "leave" his mother because she had no one to take care of her. (He's 10 years old and feels he needs to take care of his mother.) Patty lays a heavy dose of guilt on Steven's shoulders each time she sees him--verifiable by Steven's psychologist. The hearing starts at 9:00 a.m. eastern time on August 20, but the judge doesn't have to make a ruling until the middle of October. It's frustrating I know, but we want to make sure he has all his "ducks in a row" because this will certainly go to an appeals court. Thanks once again for your interest.

BTW: On the latest poll, Patty said ALL of the items on the right. She promised her son that if he said all the things she wanted him to say, she'd buy him six Siberian Huskies and they would race them. When asked if he really thought she would do that he said, "No, I don't think we have enough money to do that." It's coming--very slowly! Where does she get this stuff?

UPDATE

FYI: The Florida Supreme Court threw out Patty's motion to remove Judge Hartert from the case--which is TERRIFIC! Judge Hartert will preside over the custody hearing which is scheduled for August 20.

Steven just returned last night from a one month visit with his mother in Florida. Naturally, he came home messed up again. He had also gained ten pounds while there. When asked what he ate he said, "Donuts, pop . . . and some green beans." Keith feels like he's constantly swimming upstream. He's got ten days to undo the damage before they return to Florida for the custody hearing. Of course, Keith will document as much as he can before the hearing, which means trips to doctors, psychologists, etc. The weight gain is one thing, but what this mother does to her son's head is quite another.

I omitted an incident from my writings as I believed that it did not necessarily have any bearing on Steven's progress. I must include it at this point to demonstrate how Patty uses any situation to twist her young son into knots.

Last summer Steven's 27-year-old Uncle Clint (Mandy's husband), a former corrections officer, was arrested and charged with "gross sexual imposition" in an incident with a 5 year old girl--a "friend of the family". Now, I have no idea what that means, but I know it isn't good. At that time the police had in their posession a pair of pajamas, blankets and one boxed rape kit. I also know that his own 5 year old daughter was removed from the home at that point and was placed in foster care--where she will stay until after the trial (which incidentally is the same week as the custody hearing--the Jenkins' are going to be one busy family). When Steven was told that Missy was in foster care, his loving mother Patty also told him that Missy was in foster care because Steven was in Utah. If he lived in Florida, Missy would be allowed to live with her mommy and daddy again! Believe it or not--she had him convinced of this. No matter what happens in the Jenkins family, if it's bad, it's because Steven lives with his dad.

What would you do if you were Keith? How do you combat all those lies? Steven loves his mother, and no child wants to believe that his mother lies to him. How do you get to the truth without putting Steven on the defensive where his mother is concerned? It's quite a balancing act, and Keith is living it everyday. Say your prayers--especially for the judge! His wisdom is crucial in this custody battle. Thanks for your interest.

C.B.

If Uncle Clint is found guilty of the charges against him I will post all the newspaper information regarding this case. Stay tuned!

Updates Forthcoming!

I have been receiving lots of request for updates to this story and I promise I will get them posted as soon as I have correct facts to post. Ms. Carole Barker has had an extremely busy year. We moved into a different house, just had a wedding for our last child, and have been trying to put in a garden, yard,and trees, etc. So folks--it's coming! I must be getting older and I'm definitely getting "slower". Catch ya later!

C.B.