Petition Update – Following the June 9, 2026 Hearing
When I first created this petition, I believed the evidence would speak for itself. Since then, my son and I returned to court after I filed a petition seeking to modify the grandparents’ visitation based upon substantial changes in circumstances and documented concerns for my son’s safety and well-being.
At the hearing before Judge John Treadway Jr. in the Hampshire County Circuit Court, West Virginia, I presented evidence that included:
• My son’s grandfather unlawfully took my then-10-year-old son hunting in Virginia and allowed him to shoot a deer from a vehicle. The grandfather later pleaded guilty to the hunting offense of shooting from a vehicle and received a written warning for contributing to the delinquency of a minor.
• Evidence that my son’s grandmother repeatedly involved my son and his minor half-sister in adult legal disputes and court matters.
• Evidence that the grandmother had previously been untruthful about my son’s whereabouts during visitation.
• Recorded evidence and witness testimony alleging that the grandfather instructed my son to lie to me.
• Documentation of concerns regarding my son’s operation of motorized equipment while in their care.
• My request that the court conduct an in camera review of CPS records concerning foster children who had previously been removed from the grandparents’ home. That request was not addressed.
Another matter before the court illustrates the history between us. During court proceedings, my son’s grandmother stated on the record that she blames me for the death of her son, my son’s father.
She has previously told me that his death was my fault because I “didn’t stop him from leaving the house” the night he died. He was an adult. I could not legally or physically prevent him from leaving.
What makes those accusations especially painful is that, based on information shared with me, multiple people expressed concern to her earlier that evening about his behavior before he left with children present. Despite those reported concerns, she now places the blame entirely on me. Later that night, I was half asleep when he briefly came home and then left again.
I have lived with the trauma of finding the father of my unborn child after his fatal overdose while I was pregnant. To this day, I continue to be blamed for the choices of another adult. In my opinion, that misplaced blame has fueled years of hostility toward me and has made it impossible for my parenting decisions to ever receive fair consideration from my son’s grandmother.
I also informed the court of another incident from years earlier in which my son’s grandfather took my son during what he described to me as an attempt to recover a skid steer from his own son over a financial dispute. Regardless of how that incident is characterized, I do not believe children should ever be placed in the middle of adult conflicts or exposed to situations that could become dangerous.
Despite these concerns, I was devastated by the outcome.
Rather than reducing visitation or imposing the additional safeguards I requested, the court expanded the grandparents’ visitation by awarding them an additional week during the summer and Halloween visitation whenever it falls on one of their scheduled weekends.
The court did prohibit the grandparents from taking my son hunting until he reaches the age of 16. While I appreciate that this restriction was included, I remain deeply concerned about how effective it will be.
My concern is based on documented conduct already before the court. Hunting laws already existed. Those laws did not prevent my son’s grandfather from unlawfully allowing my 10-year-old son to shoot from a vehicle. He later pleaded guilty to the hunting offense and received a written warning for contributing to the delinquency of a minor. If existing criminal laws were not enough to prevent this conduct, it is difficult for me, as a mother, to believe that another court order alone will be enough.
Court orders are only meaningful if those subject to them choose to obey them. My concern is not based on speculation. It is based on documented events that have already occurred.
As a fit parent, I believed my decisions regarding my son’s safety would receive the constitutional protection recognized by Troxel v. Granville, in which the United States Supreme Court held that courts must give “special weight” to the decisions of fit parents regarding the care, custody, and control of their children.
West Virginia likewise recognized these constitutional protections in Lindsie D.L. v. Richard W.S. and In re Hunter H., acknowledging that fit parents possess a fundamental constitutional right to make decisions concerning their children.
Despite documented safety concerns, criminal admissions involving my son, witness testimony, recorded evidence, and my requests for additional protections, visitation was expanded instead of reduced.
This is exactly why legislative reform is needed.
No fit parent should have to prove why they deserve to protect their own child. When a parent presents documented evidence that raises legitimate concerns regarding a child’s safety and welfare, the law should require meaningful deference to that parent’s judgment—not allow it to be overridden based primarily on judicial discretion.
This petition is no longer just about my family. It is about ensuring that constitutional parental rights are protected in practice, not merely recognized in theory. Grandparent visitation laws should be carefully reformed to preserve the important role grandparents can play while ensuring that the fundamental rights of fit parents are not diminished.
I continue this fight not only for my son, but for every fit parent who has found themselves standing in a courtroom wondering why their constitutional rights carried less weight than they believed they would.
I ask our legislators to strengthen parental rights laws, require courts to give true constitutional deference to fit parents, and ensure that no parent is forced to surrender their authority simply because someone else disagrees with the decisions they make for their child.
Please stand with us by signing and sharing this petition. Together, we can help ensure that future parents do not have to endure what so many families—including mine—have experienced.