The local JWs in Enid, Oklahoma will probably be twisting and squirming this morning. They will spend the rest of the week in field service explaining that the Davis family members "aren't really Jehovah's Witnsses".
http://www.enidnews.com/cnhi/enidnews/homepage/local_story_312012355.html?keyword=leadpicturestory
Published: November 08, 2005 01:23 am
Enid [Oklahoma] couple wants granddaughter to live with them permanently
By Tippi Rasp
Staff Writer
Stuffed animals and playthings neatly placed in a toy box and the quiet of the child's room seem almost incongruent to one another.
Kenneth and Murriel Ary's house looks and sounds like the typical home of grandparents neat and serene. But every other weekend it is filled with the giggles of their 2-year-old granddaughter and the laughter of grandparents relishing every minute they have with the toddler.
But Murriel Ary struggles to understand why the child isn't able to live with her. The grandmother has a hard time fighting through her emotions to even be able to talk about the dispute for guardianship between the child's grandparents and a friend of the child's mother.
"I've always worried about her," Murriel Ary said. "It just hurts to know that you've got a granddaughter out there that you can't have ... she's got a family that loves her and really cares for her."
Although she gets time with the child every other weekend and overnight every other Tuesday, Murriel worries about the child's safety and well-being when the girl is in the care of the custodial guardians.
The toddler has lived with Jerry and Delphine Davis for about 1 1/2 years. Rebecca Ary, the child's mother, and the Davises are friends. The Davises often served as baby-sitters until the spring of 2004, when Rebecca apparently left the child in the Davises' care for good. It came not long after Murriel and Kenneth Ary ordered their daughter-in-law out of their home, saying they could no longer condone her behavior and Rebecca and Kenny Ary's all-too-often, short-term abandonment of their own child.
Now, Murriel laments the decision to force her daughter-in-law to leave her home, and she also regrets the family's lack of knowledge of the court system and child guardianship protocol.
The child's grandparents have court-ordered visitation, but rarely more, they say.
Now, Murriel and Kenneth Ary are asking the court for custody of their granddaughter. The hearing initially was set Sept. 2 but was postponed to Nov. 28.
The best interest of the child
The Ary family members say they are bewildered by a Garfield County judge's decision to allow the Davises to maintain custody of the child because of questionable contact with the Davises' two sons one of whom is a registered sex offender and a difference in religion. The Arys attend Davis Park Christian Church, and the Davises are Jehovah's Witnesses.
The child's safety is of utmost importance to the Ary family, said the child's paternal aunt, Debbie Richards.
After parents' rights are considered, state law says grandparents should be considered for guardianship preference, according to court documents.
"I don't know why the judge let them keep her," Murriel said. "Actually, we thought we would come home with her."
Garfield County District Court Judge Richard Perry's decisions in January and again in February were based on the length of time the child already was in the custody of the Davises, according to court documents filed by the Arys' attorney. An e-mail request sent to the judge seeking comment on the case late last week was not returned, and someone answering his office phone said he would not be available Monday because he was presiding over a jury trial.
The Davises originally asked the court for emergency guardianship of the child in January 2005, according to the Ary family. The judge ruled guardianship should remain with the Davises.
Rebecca Ary has requested the Davises keep the child away from her estranged husband's family, Murriel Ary said. Court documents, although not public record, were provided to the News & Eagle by members of the Ary family. Murriel and Kenneth Ary's attorney, John Hogdgen, declined to comment on the case.
"It is in the best interests of the minor child that she be placed with grandparents rather than an unrelated third party," according to the court documents requesting the transfer of custody to the Ary grandparents.
Bill Maxwell, the Davises' attorney according to the court documents, said he would neither confirm nor deny anything about any child guardianship case because all guardianship cases are closed court proceedings and it would be "illegal" for anyone to comment.
Family worries for child's safety
The News & Eagle has tried to contact the Davises. Their phone number is unlisted, according to directory assistance, and they did not respond to a visit to their home in which a reporter left a note on their door seeking comment.
But one of the Davises' sons, Leslie O. Davis, when reached by phone at work, said his mother spoils the child, and he believes the child is much better off now than she was with her parents.
"She's good with my mom," he said. "They take good care of her."
Davis said he has seen on a number of occasions how his family interacts with the child. His teenage daughter, he said, lives with the Davis family and his daughter and the child get along great. "She calls her 'Sissy,'" he said.
As for Murriel and Kenneth Ary, Leslie O. Davis said he doesn't know them nor does he care to know them.
Murriel and Kenneth Ary and Debbie Richards all say they are concerned about any contact Leslie O. Davis may have with the 2-year-old. Court records show he is a convicted sex offender who recently pleaded no contest to an indecent exposure charge stemming from a December 2003 incident at Oakwood Mall. He pleaded guilty and was convicted in 1998 of the same charge, according to the documents. He was sentenced just two weeks ago to five years, all suspended, except for 90 weekend days in the county jail.
Richards said Enid police often are called after incidents involving members of the Davis family. An Enid Police Department report from September 2004 alleges the Ary child was nearly hit twice during an altercation between the Davises' granddaughter and another teen.
Garfield County Department of Human Services Director Don Henderson said his office may or may not become involved in a guardianship case. Henderson cited confidentiality laws and would not say whether DHS is involved in the Ary/Davis guardianship dispute.
In a typical situation, Henderson said, DHS tries to find permanent placement for a child, which initially involves reunification with parents.
"If at some point that is not a possibility, (we) look at other family members," Henderson said.
He said DHS looks at risk factors when recommending placement.
"We have one thing in mind, and that is the safety of children," he said.
'It was Satan working on us'
Rebecca Stewart Ary was living in Oklahoma City, the last the Ary family heard. Directory assistance said a Rebecca Stewart was listed, but the number was not published. Rebecca Stewart Ary's parents are deceased.
But the child's father has cleaned himself up, is worried about his daughter's safety and is ready to seek custody of her, he said in a telephone interview. Kenny Ary says he has a good job in Oklahoma City and has filed the appropriate paperwork to get his daughter back.
His court date also is Nov. 28, he said. "I want my daughter," Kenny Ary said. He said he deeply regrets his actions leading up to and after leaving his daughter in the care of the Davises.
Kenny and his wife moved to Oklahoma City in the spring of 2004 and continued to make mistakes, he said.
He hopes the court will see he is trying to make a fresh start.
"I made some mistakes. I admit to that. I'm very shameful of it," he said. "I love my kids. It was Satan working on us."
He said the Davises lied to get guardianship of the girl, and he now is afraid for her safety. At first, however, it appeared the Davises took good care of the child, he said.
Jaqueta Byerly, Kenny's ex-wife and the mother of his oldest daughter, Bria, also is still close with the Ary family and pledges her support of them getting guardianship of the child.
Last Dec. 26, Kenny was staying with Rebecca in Oklahoma City when he called Bria and asked her to come pick up the baby.
The Davises had brought the baby there and Rebecca had kicked out both Kenny and the baby.
He said his car had broken down and he couldn't care for the child. The then-16-year-old Bria disobeyed Byerly's wishes that she not get involved and drove to pick up the toddler, stopping to purchase diapers and a car seat.
Bria took the child to Murriel and Kenneth Ary's home. The following day the Arys called a DHS caseworker to report the incident. The child was ordered returned to the Davis home.
Kenny Ary said he admits he is guilty of placing her in a dangerous atmosphere. "I made a big mistake, (and) my baby's going to pay for it," he said. "The judge is so hard-nosed."
A waiting game
Meanwhile, the Arys are enjoying visitation and any extra time they can get with the girl while they wait to hear their fate Nov. 28. They said they wish they could see more of their granddaughter for family holiday and birthday celebrations.
The Davises don't celebrate national holidays and birthdays because of religious beliefs, Richards said, and so they don't allow the Arys visitation on those occasions.
When the toddler's half-sister graduated from high school last May, the families had to coordinate the exchange through their attorneys, and even that was a struggle, Richards said.
Murriel said she doesn't believe the child would have any problems adjusting to living full time at the Ary home, and the guardians' age shouldn't be a factor because Murriel Ary and Delphine Davis are the same age.
"I bonded with her when she was a baby, now we just have a great time," Murriel said.
But just as laughter fills the home as the child arrives for visitation, Murriel said her heart aches when the child leaves. She said she misses her and needs her to know her family is devoted to her.
"I want her to know that she has a grandmother and grandfather that love her," Murriel said. "She needs to be with her family and she needs to know that people care."