Turner v. Turner, 48557
| Decision Date | 11 May 1976 |
| Docket Number | No. 48557,48557 |
| Citation | 331 So.2d 903 |
| Parties | Antonio Vincenza Pulis TURNER v. Jimmy Ray TURNER and wife, Garnie Mae Turner. |
| Court | Mississippi Supreme Court |
Lawrence Chandler, Calhoun City, for appellant.
C. R. Easley, Jr., Bruce, Moore & Moore, Calhoun City, for appellee.
Before PATTERSON, SMITH and BROOM, JJ.
Antonia Vincenza Pulis Turner sought the custody of Jimmy Antonia Turner, her daughter, by a habeas corpus proceeding before the Chancellor of Calhoun County. She alleged that her daughter's custody was wrongfully withheld by Mr. and Mrs. Jimmy Ray Turner, the child's grandparents. The trial judge awarded the custody of the child to the grandparents. Aggrieved, the mother appeals.
Antonia Vincenza Pulis Turner, hereinafter mother, was formerly married to Jimmy Ray Turner, Jr., the son of the appellees, who is employed by an overseas oil company. Jimmy Antonia Turner, the daughter of the appellant and Jimmy Ray Turner, Jr., was born in Oxford, Mississippi, on September 29, 1966. Upon leaving the hospital the mother and child resided with the paternal grandparents in Calhoun County, Mississippi until July 1967 when they departed to join the child's father in London, England.
The mother testified that when they arrived in London, the father was found to be living with another woman and that she returned to this country in August 1967 after being threatened by her husband. She and the child resided in New York City until June 1968. While in New York and without financial assistance from the child's father, the mother became ill and requested Mrs. Garnie Mae Turner, the paternal grandmother, to assist her with the child. In response, Mrs. Turner traveled to New York and returned with the child to Bruce, Mississippi, her residence in Calhoun County. The child remained with the grandparents in Bruce until November 1968 when she was returned to her mother in New York City. In June 1969 the child again resided with the grandparents in Bruce and remained until October when she was returned to her mother. She remained in New York with her mother from October 1969 until June 1970. At this time the mother again requested the grandmother for assistance with the child and she was returned to the grandparents' residence in Mississippi where she has remained until the present.
The evidence reveals the following salient facts. The mother is a citizen of the Isle of Malta and resides in a high-rise apartment in the city of New York. She is divorced from the child's father who has never contributed toward the child's support. The mother is without relatives in this country and depends upon her earnings as a waitress for her livelihood. The evidence abundantly establishes that the mother loves her child and sincerely believes that she is capable of supporting the child through her earnings. She testified that the child would be placed in a neighborhood Catholic day school during her periods of employment.
The appellees are unquestionably good citizens of this state who have unselfishly contributed to the well-being of Jimmy Antonia Turner, their granddaughter. They possess great love for their granddaughter and desire her custody. They have a nice home and the financial ability to provide for the child's maintenance. Their residence is in close proximity to schools and churches in Bruce, Mississippi, which the child has regularly attended. Indeed, the compassion and generosity of the grandparents makes the case more difficult.
There is conflicting evidence relating to the contact of the mother with her child from June 1970 until June 1974. Overall, the evidence is insufficient for a finding that the mother had abandoned her child or was otherwise unfit for her custody and the chancellor did not so find. To the contrary, the evidence establishes that the relationship between the child, the mother and the grandparents was one of affection. The mother visited the child, called frequently and sent gifts on appropriate occasions. At one time she came to visit and accompanied the appellees with the child to Disney World in Florida on her vacation. The grandparents assumed financial responsibility for the child's support. The mother did not contribute financially nor did the appellees request her to do so.
The circumstances which initiated this habeas corpus proceeding arose when the mother expressed a desire to take her child to the Isle of Malta to visit her parents. In January 1974 the mother informed the appellees that she intended to visit her mother and father in Malta and that she desired her daughter to accompany her on this trip so that they might become acquainted with each other. The mother apparently thought the appellees had agreed to the trip and purchased air passage to Malta and return for herself and daughter. Upon arriving in Mississippi shortly before her scheduled departure the appellees refused permission for the child to be removed from their home. Tempers flared, there were verbal recriminations, threats were exchanged, the child became upset and the sheriff was called. The mother was arrested, placed in jail and charged with assault and battery with intent to murder although there is no evidence to indicate that blows were exchanged. Thereafter the mother was released, obtained an attorney and this habeas corpus proceeding was filed seeking the child's custody.
The chancellor found the best interest of the child would be served by granting her custody to the grandparents. At that time the grandmother was 55 years old and the grandfather, whose exact age was not shown, was drawing social security benefits. The chancellor transformed the habeas corpus proceedings into those of chancery...
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White v. Thompson
...out of the state is insufficient reason to deprive the parent of custody, absent the determinations discussed above. Turner v. Turner, 331 So.2d 903, 905-906 (Miss.1976). An White argues that her conduct was not shown to have had any detrimental effect on her children, and, relying on Carr ......
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Spain v. Holland, 55848
...objection to the custodial parent's taking the children outside of the United States and to a foreign nation. But see, Turner v. Turner, 331 So.2d 903 (Miss.1976). We find, however, that other states have faced this problem and have by and large refused to interfere with such international ......
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Porter v. Porter
...objection to the custodial parent's taking the children outside of the United States and to a foreign nation. But see, Turner v. Turner, 331 So.2d 903 (Miss.1976). We find, however, that other states have faced this problem and have by and large refused to interfere with such international ......
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Rutland v. Pridgen, 55801
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