Mr. Hunter, you opened your case in Paternity Court because you say there is no way you fathered the defendant’s son, Josiah. You worry she’s only saying you did because of the financial security you provide for her. Is that correct?

“Yes, sir.”

All right. Ms. Holden, you admit you were confused about your son’s biological father because you were given incorrect medical information, but you are 100% certain Mr. Hunter is the father. Is that correct?

“Yes, Your Honor.”

Mr. Hunter, you say this is about financial security. Tell the court why you feel that way, sir.

“Because I take care of him financially. I do everything. Buy him diapers, milk, clothes—everything a father has to do to take care of a child, I do it.”

So you pretty much stepped up as a father?

“Yes, ma’am.”

But you have doubts?

“Yes, ma’am.”

But Ms. Holden, has he gotten emotionally attached to Josiah as well?

“Yes, he has.”

So he pretty much has accepted this child as his own?

“Yes, Your Honor.”

And so you all are in a relationship? What kind of relationship?

“Boyfriend and girlfriend.”

You’re boyfriend and girlfriend. So take me back to how this relationship started, because I’m trying to understand how you are boyfriend and girlfriend but you have doubts about the paternity yet still accept, love, and are attached to this baby like it’s your own. So take me back. How did this relationship start? Where did you meet?

“Well, we lived on the same street. I met him when I was 15. We both were in a relationship then. We both became single. I invited him over to my birthday party, and he offered to pay for the booth at the party and offered to buy the cake.”

Well, that was a nice gesture for a friend, Mr. Hunter.

“Yes, ma’am.”

Did you have any benefits in the back of your mind that you were looking to get later?

“No, ma’am. You didn’t? Just a nice guy.”

“Yes, ma’am.”

Well, that’s pleasant and refreshing, right, Jerome? So well, but eventually the benefits did happen, or you wouldn’t be here.

“Yes, ma’am.”

Okay. So at what point did you all turn this platonic friendship into a sexual relationship? Did you say, “You know what about dating”? How did this happen?

“Uh, the night of the party, we both was intoxicated. I invited him over, and he came over, and one thing led to another.”

That night, we didn’t sleep together.

“Yes, we did, Your Honor.”

Okay. So on the birthday night, you said you did have sex, and Mr. Hunter, you said you did not?

“Yeah, we did that night.”

“Yes, we did.”

Okay, so let’s—all right. Okay. I’m not going to say I was—well, Mr. Hunter, it wasn’t memorable? I mean, what is going on here? Let’s move forward. So at some point, you all decide to date?

“Yes.”

Yes. And you decide to continue on with a sexual relationship?

“Yes.”

So were you having sex with protection?

“No.”

Here we go. You all haven’t agreed on one thing yet. Who said yes? She said no. I said yes. We were using protection.

“No, we wasn’t.”

Okay. That’s what we call reasonable doubt in the criminal court. Reasonable doubt. So now, listen. You’re having sex. One says using protection, one says you’re not. Are you having sex with anybody else? Is this a committed relationship, or did you all fall into a sexual relationship without any foundation of a commitment?

“We were just friends. It wasn’t a committed relationship because I knew she had another friend.”

So you knew she had another friend?

“Yes.”

Was this a friend you were having sex with, Ms. Holden?

“Yes, Your Honor.”

Were you using protection with that friend?

“No, Your Honor.”

All right. So when you find out you’re pregnant, you’ve got one friend that you’re dating that Mr. Hunter is aware of, and now you’ve also made this friend, Mr. Hunter, into a sexual partner. When you get pregnant, who do you tell?

“Mr. Hunter, I did.”

Yes. What happened?

“Um, I called him over, and he came over. I was so sleepy, and he was like, ‘You must be pregnant ’cause I’m sick.’ He was telling me he was sick. And I was like, ‘Yes.’ And he was like, ‘You just broke my heart.’ And then I was like, ‘Well, I’m sorry.’”

Why did it break your heart that she was pregnant, Mr. Hunter?

“I didn’t want to have no more kids because I have kids.”

Okay. Okay. Did you assume when she told you that the child was yours?

“Yes, ma’am. You did. Yes, ma’am.”

All right. Right now, Ms. Holden, did you ever say to Mr. Hunter, “Well, I’m still having”—were you still having sex with the other guy, too?

“No, Your Honor.”

Did you think it was Mr. Hunter’s child?

“Well, I told him that I did sleep with somebody else, and I told him that. I do apologize.”

You told me it could be—well, I told him he could be the father.

“Right. I could be.”

“Oh, could.” In this courtroom, “could” is an action word, because that means there could possibly be another father.

“Yes.”

All right. So once you heard that, Mr. Hunter, how did you feel?

“I was feeling some type of way. I was feeling like, okay, I could be—as if like, okay, now you’re sleeping with who knows who you’re sleeping with. I’ve been through other situations in my past where it’s like, here we go again. Something—the same situation. And when she said she could, it made me feel some type of way.”

‘Cause you’ve been through a paternity situation before?

“Yes, ma’am.”

And so once this happened, you immediately felt like, “Here we go again”?

“Yes, ma’am, Your Honor. Because I named my son after someone else.”

So, Ms. Holden, did you know Mr. Hunter had doubts all this time?

“Yes, you did.”

Yes. Did you invite him to the hospital for the birth?

“No, ma’am. You didn’t?”

“No, ma’am.”

This is confusing. You’re paying for everything, but you don’t want to get attached because of your previous paternity situation, right? But you’re accepting his support, right, Ms. Holden? Yes. But you don’t invite him to the hospital?

“No. He dropped me off.”

I didn’t want to come—I mean, I dropped—I took her. I took her to the hospital. I just didn’t want to come in because of my past. I didn’t want to.

So you drove her all the way there?

“Yeah, I took her. Dropped her at the hospital to have the baby. The baby that could be yours, right? But you didn’t go upstairs to participate?”

“No.”

Did you put Mr. Hunter’s name on the birth certificate, Ms. Holden?

“No, Your Honor.”

Did anybody bring a copy of that birth certificate?

“I have evidence.”

I’d like to see that. Jerome, hand me that evidence, please. This is Josiah’s birth certificate, yes, sir. Mr. Hunter, is that your last name?

“No, ma’am.”

Whose last name is that, Ms. Holden?

“The other guy.”

The other guy. So wait a minute. Mr. Hunter dropped you off at the hospital. You gave birth to the baby and named the baby after another man?

“Yes, sir.”

Oh, my goodness. Ms. Holden, why would you name your son after someone else if your boyfriend is standing right there?

“Because I had two different dates from the doctor. I have the evidence to prove to you.”

Oh, you brought some evidence? Let me see it. Yes, ma’am. Jerome, hand me that evidence. Sure. May I explain to you?

“Yes, please explain to me, Ms. Holden.”

You brought a calendar, yes, ma’am. Step up to the calendar, please. On November the 15th, this is when I slept with Mr. Hunter. I went to the doctor. My first due date they gave me was August 2nd. Okay. And then I went back to the doctor, and they gave me August 9th. And I slept with the other man on the 18th of November. So that’s just three days apart.

Three days apart?

“Yes, ma’am.”

So when you had the original due date, you counted back, and that meant Mr. Hunter was the father. But then you went back, and sometimes the dates change as they begin to—that made me believe the other man was the father of Josiah.

So at that point, you counted back and you felt like in your own mind it was more responsible to give him the other person’s name?

“Yes, ma’am.”

But Josiah was born on the 22nd of June?

“Yes. He was born three weeks early. So that made me to believe that—Hunter.”

Oh, then you flipped back and thought it was Mr. Hunter’s baby?

“Yes. But you already put the other guy’s name on the birth certificate?”

“Yes, sir.”

Oh, my goodness. All right. You can return to the podium. Wow. And so did you explain all of this to Mr. Hunter?

“Yes, Your Honor.”

“No. This really is—this is a mess. This really is. Josiah is named after another man, but now you’re in court claiming Mr. Hunter is his biological father?”

“Yes, sir.”

Now, Mr. Hunter, when you heard her explain that story, did you feel more convinced that Josiah was yours?

“No, you didn’t.”

“I feel like it’s more of a financial thing than anything, because you got the dates all mixed up, right?”

I mean, in truth be told, I’ve done this long enough to know, even with Josiah coming three weeks early, if you sleep with two different men three days apart unprotected, that’s the window. It’s called a window of conception for a reason. And so you’re still within the window. You’re in the window of doubt and in the window of confusion. You know, Mr. Hunter, I can see this really bothers you.

“It bothers me because I’m starting to get attached. He recently just start—he coming to—”

So I understand. And as a man, you are looking at this baby wondering if it’s yours. But you know this baby is coming to you because he thinks you are his dad, right? And you’re starting to form a bond.

“Yeah. I mean, he recently just started calling me ‘Dad, Dad.’”

So you know that’s a beautiful thing when you hear a child say that. And they always say “Dad, Dad” first.

“They do.”

And I see the tear in your eyes, because it’s a beautiful thing, right?

“Yeah.”

And if he’s calling you “Daddy” and you’re having doubt, what runs through your mind?

“It’s been eight months. I just want peace of mind. I just want to know if that’s really my child. I mean, I’ve been through a bad past. So everything I did with Josiah, I never did that before. So that’s why I’m so attached.”

So you’ve never been there every morning and seen him begin to crawl around and pull up? He’s eight months old, so he’s getting ready to walk soon. So he’s probably crawling around and pulling up on everything, right?

“Yes.”

And testing his boundaries.

“Yes.”

So, Ms. Holden, I see it makes you emotional as well.

“Yes, sir.”

‘Cause I grew up without a father.

How did it affect you growing up without a father?

“Um, it affected me emotionally ’cause I was into sports, and I didn’t have a father figure there to support me. And I have a little boy that might be into football or anything in sports, and he needs a father there to support him.”

And your fear is Mr. Hunter will leave or not be as present in this child’s life if it’s not his biological child?

“Yes, sir. I think he’ll leave us.”

And it sounds like he’s been a pretty good man?

“Yes, sir. He’s a very good man.”

Where is the other guy? Where is he?

“I don’t know.”

You don’t know? Even where he is?

“No, Your Honor.”

Did you tell him he could be a possible father?

“Yes, Your Honor. And he has had nothing to do with you or Josiah?”

“Don’t care.”

No, he don’t care. So there is a lot on the line here, and the stakes are very high. And the real truth is, Mr. Hunter, we hear a lot of cases—this is what we do each and every day—and given the circumstances and the set of facts you’ve put forth today, you do have a right to be confused. Like I said, a three-day window is a tight window. I think it’s time for the results. Jerome?

There you go.

These results were prepared by DNA Diagnostics and they read as follows. In the case of Hunter versus Holden, when it comes to eight-month-old Josiah, it has been determined by this court: Mr. Hunter, you are not the father.

I’m so very sorry. Sorry, Mr. Hunter. I can see that hurt, and that’s not the news I wanted to deliver today.

“I’m still going to be in his life.”

Ms. Holden, have you thought about how you will prepare Josiah in terms of finding out potentially where his true biological father is, or reaching back out to this gentleman to let him know—I’m using “gentleman” graciously—”

“We don’t want to have nothing to do with him. If it takes all of that to be a father to the child, we don’t need it.”

Well, let me say this before we go. Every child has a right to know who their biological father is. That doesn’t mean that person is going to step up to the plate and do what they’re supposed to do, but they have a right to know who they are. And they also have the right to be supported by that man. And I’m just going to say this to you: whether or not he chooses to be physically present in Josiah’s life will be his own choice, but he is responsible to help take care of that child. It is beautiful and gracious that you stepped up to the plate, Mr. Hunter, but I’ll tell you what—you need to go back to that courtroom in your home state and make sure he takes care of that child. Because one day, Josiah may need that. You can save that money for his college education. You can save that money for him later on in life. But it’s his right.

Two people with two different mothers are here claiming the same defendant could possibly be their biological father. Mr. Moore, you claim you’ve known Mr. Taylor for most of your life, yes, Your Honor, but he has never acknowledged you as a son, yes, Your Honor, and he even left you in foster care, yes, Your Honor. Ms. Everage, you say you weren’t even introduced to Mr. Taylor until you were five years old. Then you claim you didn’t see him again until you were sent to live with him as a teenager, yes, sir. But you say it went so badly you actually ended up putting yourself in foster care. Yes. Mr. Taylor, you say you deny paternity of both plaintiffs, and you have good reason with each.

“That’s correct, sir.”

Now, I’m going to hear the cases separately, starting with Mr. Moore. Mr. Moore, your aunt is here, and she says her testimony will change everything in this case. But first, how did you end up in foster care?

“I ended up in foster care ’cause he let me rot in foster care. He didn’t care about nothing about me.”

That is a strong, strong accusation. Please describe your childhood. How did this happen?

“I went to juvenile hall because my mom was addicted to drugs. So when I got out of juvenile—when I was in juvenile hall at the age of 14, my mom came in there to tell me that Mr. Taylor was my dad. So I walked out on her because I was upset because why are you telling me this now? And he wasn’t never there for me, and now you’re telling me that this is my dad. So then I get sent to foster care, and he never came and got me. I think that if he was there for me, I would be a better person than what I am now. I can’t even read or write or nothing.”

You said you can’t read or write?

“No, I can’t read or write or nothing, because I didn’t have a father or mother in my life. I didn’t have neither one. I had to take care of my little brother and my older brother.”

That’s just so very sad. Mr. Taylor, do you hear what Mr. Moore is saying?

“I do, Your Honor.”

And what is your response?

“I wasn’t sure ever that this was my son. I honestly didn’t know. And then all of a sudden, he’s your son? He’s your son? He’s your son? No, Your Honor, I didn’t know. So I went and I did a little investigating, and I do have right here a birth certificate that my name’s not even on it.”

Let me see that. Because I had another—my brother’s dad was the dad that I was raised up with. Mr. Taylor, I have to say, though, if you knew there was a possibility that he was your son, why wouldn’t you go get him out of foster care or at least start some type of proceeding?

“I never went to court for no child support. I was always in doubt. His mother, God rest her soul, was very promiscuous. It was really confusing.”

And so this evidence that you presented, you say, further validates?

“Excuse me, Your Honor, I got evidence, too, that me and this man look exactly alike.”

You brought that evidence?

“Yes, Your Honor.”

Can I see that? Is this it? On the left, of course, is a picture of you, and on the right, a picture of Mr. Taylor. And you see a striking resemblance.

“Yes, Your Honor.”

Mr. Taylor, do you see the resemblance?

“I see a resemblance as far as us being the same complexion.”

Mr. Taylor, what did his mother say to you? What did she tell you?

“His mother said to me—now, this is years later, this isn’t when the child was born—’That might be your son.’”

Were you ever told she was even pregnant?

“She came and told me she was living with me. She left and she went back to her man, whoever she was in a relationship with. About a month later, she says, ‘You know, I’m pregnant.’ You done went back with the guy that you left to be with me. Now you’re back with him. Now you’re coming back and you’re telling me that you’re pregnant.”

“He knew that I wasn’t a biological child. My mom told him, ’cause my mom would not lie to me and tell me in jail. She told me in jail that he was my dad. And then I get locked up, and my mom comes to me and tells me, ‘Oh, this Gregory Taylor is your dad.’ But I walked out on her. But she don’t come back. She came back to me and told me, ‘That’s not your son.’”

So, Mr. Moore, you’re saying as you’re lost out here in these streets, you’re doing things young men shouldn’t have to do, you are longing for a father figure?

“Yes, yes. And I don’t have one of those. So now that I got my kids, I make sure that I’m their father figure.”

That’s exactly what you should do. I’d like to go to your witness now, if I may. Ma’am, yes. Ms. Tidman, yes. Please tell us what you know about this situation, Mr. Moore’s upbringing, and how can you add?

“Mr. Moore’s mother is my sister. My sister told me that Mr. Taylor could not be the father of Mr. Moore. Literally out of her mouth.”

And she told you this in what context?

“Because when she got pregnant, she was also sleeping with other gentlemen. She’s always done that. And also, I’ve seen gentlemen come out of her house.”

Why would your sister, at the position this young man was in, go to him and tell him Mr. Taylor is your biological father?

“I can’t speak on that. I wasn’t there when she told him that.”

Well, the only way we can move forward is to have the results. Jerome, the envelope. We will get to the second part of this case in just a moment.

These results were prepared by DNA Diagnostics and they read as follows. In the case of Moore-Everett versus Taylor, pertaining to 31-year-old Eugene Moore, and as to whether Mr. Taylor is his biological father, it has been determined by this court: Mr. Taylor, you are his father.

Mr. Taylor, I can see you have tears in your eyes. What are you feeling right now?

“I’m feeling that I finally know instead of doubting for all these years. Thirty-one years old. I could have been in his life so much earlier if I wouldn’t let situations and people talking to me interfere with what I had to do as far as being a father. I’m going to try my best to make it up as best as I can.”

Would you like to give your son a hug?

“That sure would.”

So I think it’s time we move on to the second part of this case. Ma’am, please explain to the court what was life like for you growing up.

“I never had a father figure in my life. I didn’t meet Mr. Taylor until I was five years old. He came to my house in Philadelphia. I came outside. My mom is like, ‘Somebody wants to meet you. Your dad wants to meet you.’ I said, ‘My dad?’ He was like, ‘Yeah.’ So when I went to the car, he was like, ‘I’m your dad.’ And he said, ‘I’ll be back to see you again.’ I never seen him again until I was 14. And so when my mother sent me—”

Mr. Taylor, do you remember this?

“I remember it vividly. I doubted her from the beginning, the way that I met her mother, the relationship that I had with her mother, which was a very brief relationship to begin with. Let me explain. In the beginning, her mother lived with me for a month. She left, and I didn’t see her no more. And then the next time you see me, you got a baby and you saying it’s mine. Right after that, I was incarcerated. I was gone for five years.”

Can I—just one moment. What I want to understand from you, sir, is when she was five years old, you still had doubts? The same doubts you had when you saw her when she was a baby?

“That’s correct.”

Because was this relationship with her mother exclusive, or were you aware?

“No, it wasn’t exclusive at all.”

Did you know if her mother was sleeping with other people?

“I knew her mother was sleeping with others.”

How did you know that?

“I know that because friends of mine—long story short—after I met her mother and she stayed with me for that month, I was getting all kinds of feedback from my friends, from people I knew. ‘Oh, you dealing with her now? You know about her? You know what’s up with her?’ They were kind of laughing at me for even dealing with her because they knew how promiscuous she was. And then the next thing you know, I’m tagged with this child. I don’t know nothing about it. I go to jail. I come out of jail. She’s five years old. I go past to see the mom. She tells me, ‘This is your daughter.’”

For these five years, were you aware—made aware anything about him?

“All I know is there was a man named Greg. I didn’t have a father-daughter relationship. I didn’t go to amusement parks. My friends went to amusement parks. I didn’t go to parks. I didn’t go to family reunions. I didn’t go to no type of anything. He was nowhere in the picture.”

“Father, I wasn’t in the picture because I had all the doubts that I had as far as the mother’s concern. And so when this next encounter happened at 14, right? What happened?”

“I was sitting on the Greyhound bus to Harrisburg, Pennsylvania. My grandfather—well, his father gave me his number. I called him and said I’m at the bus station. He came and picked me up from the bus station. Took me to the same woman’s house with his daughter. Treated me neglected me. Didn’t enroll me in school. Didn’t buy me school clothes. He didn’t buy me sneakers. He didn’t buy me school supplies. He didn’t buy me food at times in high school. And she turns around every five minutes—I’m going. I go up to the school. She’s playing hooky.”

So why is it you decided to take this girl in at age 14?

“I cared. I wanted to reach out. They said that this was my child. She calls me on the phone. I’m at the bus station. I’m not going to leave her at the bus station. So when she called—wait a minute. When she called to say I’m at the bus station, did you know she was coming?”

“No.”

What? No. The next thing I know, here she is.

“I got her enrolled in school as soon as she got there.”

I could see why she came. She was disruptive. She tore my household apart. She was playing hooky from school. She was staying out all night. And right after this year that she was there, when she goes back, she’s pregnant. I’m up here saying to myself, now this is my child? So her mother says so. I take and go and I take and look out for this child the way I do, and then she’s going to turn around and say some craziness like that when I stuck up for her?

I know why you’re so passionate. This is 25 years later, right? And look, I feel your pain.

“He’s on my birth certificate. But when I went to go get my birth certificate, it was two people on the birth certificate. When I took it back to the state building, the state building said to me that it was a computer error.”

A computer error? Wait. There’s two people on your birth certificate?

“At the time, it was just a name—Michael—on a birth certificate under Gregory Taylor.”

So do you have that birth certificate?

“When I went to apply for my birth certificate again, they said that the systems changed in Philadelphia, so you got to apply for it then you got to go back and pick it up. They don’t do it same-day thing. So that’s why I don’t have the birth certificate with me today.”

But have you ever seen this birth certificate?

“I’ve never seen it. I don’t know nothing about it. I know that my name shouldn’t be on it simply behind the fact that she had a selection of people she could have put on it, and I’m just being honest about that. And it’s not that I’m disrespecting her mother. I’m just telling you how her mother was.”

The only way to figure out whose name should rightfully be on that birth certificate is to get the results. Jerome, I’m ready.

Thank you.

These results were prepared by DNA Diagnostics and they read as follows. In the case of Moore-Everett versus Taylor, pertaining to 43-year-old Nia Everett, and as to whether Mr. Taylor is her biological father, it has been determined by this court: Mr. Taylor, you are her father.

Have a hug, sir. Dad. You got your hands full with your little girl. But you know what? You’re a man that has lived a long life of experience, life lessons. Just do the work, because honestly, you can fulfill for both of these. Young man, please stand up alongside your sister.

And I do have a beautiful brotherly love. Yes, you do. Oh, my goodness. As my day is complete. I have gotten a smile out of the beautiful Ms. Everett. I’m so very happy for you. This court has resources for you to help you begin to work through this. We want you to take advantage of it, and I wish you all the very, very best of luck. It’s a journey.

Ms. Nazarian, you are here today to sue your ex-boyfriend, Mr. Rahimi, for being an absentee father and a deadbeat dad. You say he has caused you and your two children much pain and suffering by never stepping up as their father. Mr. Rahimi, you claim Ms. Nazarian has done immeasurable damage to your life and career by her very difficult personality. Ms. Nazarian, when did your relationship with Mr. Rahimi begin to sour?

“Okay, our relationship began to sour when I became pregnant.”

Things were sour long before that.

“She’s not the most easy person to deal with. There are definitely signs that were there before she got pregnant.”

When you say she’s not the easiest person to get along with, what do you mean specifically?

“Complete irrationality. The decision to be overtly angry, volatile, and violent for things that I consider to be less than important. Very verbally and physically abusive.”

Is that true, Ms. Nazarian?

“It’s absolutely not true. He and I have had one incident where he stole $500 from me and had me and my baby in a car that had a steering column that fell.”

Okay. So for the time that we were together, we were artists. And I was young, he was young. And he was my best friend. We tried to reconcile. He never to this day has kept a job. This man has spent 17 years—almost 16 years—ignoring his children while trying to pursue a rap career. Okay, that’s the bottom line. Not trying to pursue a GED, not trying to get a high school diploma, not trying to go to college. I put myself 90 units through college raising three children on my own. I’ve always worked. This man does nothing. Nothing.

Mr. Rahimi, is any part of this that she’s saying true?

“The fact that we might have some children together and that we spent a short period of time enjoying each other’s company—outside of that, I can’t really cosign anything else.”

What level of effort have you put forth to take care of the children?

“Well, first of all, she decided to move to the other side of the country without talking to me about it.”

Have you provided steady support?

“Well, depends on what ‘steady’ is. No, I haven’t sent a check every two weeks, no. But when I’ve had a job, I have sent help. Whenever she’s hit me up and asked for money, if I was able, every once in a while, he sent $100.”

“Yes. Absolutely.”

Over the past 17 and 16 years, he paid child support when he was with his ex-wife.

Okay. But being a father goes beyond just financial support. You know that. What about the emotional support? What about that?

“Well, if she would have taken my children to Georgia from Los Angeles where we had them, I would have been there.”

So what happened to me being seven months pregnant with a one-year-old, and you were gone for three years?

“Truth be told, there was an incident. I was asked to bring the car to her because she had Messiah with her. ‘Can you bring the car to Tarzana from Los Angeles?’ I tell her, ‘No problem. I would love to do that for you.’”

Actually, what’s funny is I’ll tell you this story because it’s more recent. I have a list of text messages just to give you an example of what I’ve had to deal with. My brother’s oldest child and only son just died. He just turned 21. Died in his birthday month. And I also called you when I let you know I had a $700 electric bill and your son needed to go to summer school so he could graduate on time.

“So I don’t care about your brother’s son. You don’t care about your own son. Why would I care about your brother’s son? Keep it 100.”

Keep it 100. So during this time, she sends a list of text messages saying that it’s nice to know that we care more about the dead than the living. “Let the dead bury the dead.”

“I said it, and I mean it.”

Now, are these the text messages that you submitted to the court?

“Yes.”

Can you read them to me?

“And I mean every last one of them. ‘We are sure happy to know your sorry, trifling family cares more about the dead than the living. And I will never forgive you monsters. You will get exactly what you evil people deserve. I ain’t damn playing. You trying to make me lose my youth because you’re a deadbeat. I’m ready to smash you monsters. Your family does not care about us because we’re too black-skinned. You have to be a big, fat, yellow hoe to get love, I mean, and care. And that’s the truth.’”

Ms. Nazarian, those words were pretty harsh.

“And every one of them weren’t? In reference to them burying a young person. Did you say 21 years old?”

“Were they not? In what? They were in response to—I had talked to him a week before that. I talked to him, and he told me that he was going to help me get my son in summer school, which he has not—which my son has not been able to take summer school—and help me pay some bills.”

But see, what I’m hearing from you, Ms. Nazarian, and look, take this from me ’cause I mean it earnestly. If you want this man to be involved in his kids’ life, you’ve got to sometimes—at least sometimes—present yourself as a person that somebody would want to be around. I mean, you’re a beautiful lady. There’s no way you can send a text message about somebody burying a—that message was about caring more about a dead child than a living child. They care about all of those children. That was an unnecessary comparison. Listen, listen, that was an unnecessary comparison. And let me tell you something really real. You’re stooping too low ’cause you’re not a dumb lady. What I’m saying to you is you are now stooping to the lowest of low. ‘Cause what you really are is hurt. And I’m trying to tell you right now, the court is trying to tell you right now that it’s okay to just say that hurt me. If they needed to bury this child, well, fine. Then you deal with him on the level of your children on a different day. But you got to be a big enough woman to let the family do that.

“Okay. And I did.”

Mr. Rahimi, when you stand here, there’s a little smirk, and the body language is a little sarcastic. I’m having trouble trying to digest why you’re so cavalier as we speak about little people that you have made.

“I’ve never tried to act like I was anything other than what I am.”

Which is what?

“A loser.”

“A loser? No, I’m being honest.”

He says he’s being—I want him to tell me.

“I am a writer. And so am I, and I still do hair, and I still work. She made her decision to be with me with that information. Really? Now, I’ve never acted like I was going to go get a job that was going to provide me with a raise and with upward mobility so I can be somebody that’s making $100,000 a year. My personal opinion is the fact that we can make this happen. A whole lot of people live very well, modestly, and are able to raise children. Now, you can’t do that when you’re dealing with somebody that’s completely irrational.”

Now, look. I can’t do it. The reason that it all really fell apart, if you want to know, I was taking the car out to Tarzana. I mean, even if you look at this—I wish this car would go somewhere.

What happened? I would like to finish if I don’t get interrupted over and over again. Tell me.

“I take the car out there. When I drop it off—why did you get the car, Ms. Nazarian? If I don’t find out what’s wrong with this car and what’s wrong with you, I cannot help get this thing better, okay, ma’am? Where it’s about the car—it’s not about the car at all. Tell me what happened.”

“So when I take the car there, she wants to have a discussion with me. She wants to yell and argue with me. I’m not going through that anymore. So I tell her that I’m leaving. At this point, I’m living with my parents. Not quite sure how she heard my statement of ‘I’m leaving,’ but she decided to punch me in the face.”

“That’s a lie.”

“That’s a lie. After she punched me in the face—the exact quote, I’ll never forget it—which was, ‘Hit me. He’s a liar.’”

So the bottom line is, did this turn physical from your perspective? You’re denying all this?

“What I’m saying is he keeps on starting about bringing the bug back. The bug was freshly painted. Oh, gosh, is this this car again? I’m not talking about the car. Point of the fact is, when I went out there, she beat me up and held me hostage and took $500 from the car.”

“I don’t care about the car. I care about kids.”

Mr. Rahimi, you know you got two kids out here in this world, but you know you need to be helping to support them, and you should have been helping.

“I said over and over again, she took my children. If somebody let me talk, they might learn something.”

What I also get from you, though, is part of what you said today is true. Ms. Nazarian is difficult.

“And I have every right—”

“Be with a deadbeat? You abandoned me with one baby in a seven-month—”

“Ask you to let me finish. Yes, ma’am. Thank you.”

She is difficult. But I’m a mother, and I’m going to tell you right now, I don’t want to see the day that the father of my child tries to come up short for my baby. It’s not going to happen. If there’s anything that’s going to infuriate a mother, it’s for somebody to give a mediocre effort when it comes to their kids. You got to respect that. So her frustration and her hurt is that you can stand there looking as handsome and as smart as you can be and say, “I never promised her anything. I’m a writer. That’s what you are.”

And excuse my English ’cause I was an English major too, but I got to break it down with a double negative. Don’t nobody want to hear nothing—that’s a triple negative—about writing. What we talking about? Money to help.

“And that’s perfectly fine, Judge. But at the same time, she took my children away.”

That’s a lie. I’ve been successful at taking care of my children without your help. You need to be a father to your children. And if you’re not going to be, and you want to sit here and deny and play all these games with your children, that’s why they’re not here. That’s what you need to know. Your children don’t appreciate you standing there playing games when you know for a fact both of these are your children.

“Let’s not be ridiculous. Number one. Number two, I told you to keep it clean and don’t lie. You’ve done nothing.”

I do have to ask you, because you brought them up and they are old enough now to know, do they feel that their father neglects them? Or do they feel like they would want to have more of a relationship if you two could possibly just try to put your dislike for each other aside and let them have a moment?

“This is what I’ve heard from my children. My son, he just—in my opinion—doesn’t feel like this man loves or cares for him or his sister. And then my daughter said she’s embarrassed that her father refuses to work. She’s embarrassed that he’s a wannabe rapper, almost 40.”

Him and I having a friendship? Never going to happen, because he’s a liar, he’s a manipulator, and he thought that he was going to come to my city where I was born and defame me.

And all you’re doing is making—you two don’t have to be friends. I’m going to tell you right now, it’s probably best for you two to have very little to do with one another on a personal level. I do not see reconciliation in this picture. However, I do see two people who I know are intelligent enough to understand this. You have got to love the children more than you hate each other.

“I don’t hate him.”

You have to—you don’t even hate him?

“I refuse to hate.”

Love the children more than you dislike him.

“I don’t even really dislike him.”

Well, I’ll give you another—you got it. Look, look, look. Ms. Nazarian, with women like you, you got an answer to everything I say, and yet your situation ain’t figured out. If you love the kids the way you say you do, stop talking and give them room so maybe this man will just spend some time with them and they can have a relationship. He’s never been denied that. So you are intelligent, and you have children. You don’t have to keep barking and barking. Everybody knows you take care. Raise your hand in this room if you don’t think she took care of her kids by herself. Turn around. Turn around. Who’s raising their hand? Nobody. ‘Cause everybody in this room knows he didn’t do anything. But the problem is, if he’s ever going to do something, you have got to pipe down enough to receive it.

“Can I say this in my own defense? This is the first time in 17 years that I’ve ever been face-to-face with this issue. So you can say that I’m ranting in this courtroom, but I’m getting out a 17-year story in one sitting. He plays to our son and tries to neglect our daughter and treats her crazy. You were never—you never denied Messiah, ever.”

Until—and I’m ready. I’ve heard enough, and I’m ready to make my ruling. I really—I mean, I appreciate what you’re saying, and like I said, I hear and feel the hurt. And a part of me feels like I could just let you go on all day ’cause I want you to get the rant out. Because when it’s out, I want you to be able to leave it on the table so that he’s heard everything you want him to know. And then I want you to look at him and say, “When are you coming to see your kids?”

“I text him yesterday.”

That’s what I’m saying. And then I want you, Mr. Rahimi, to answer definitively. When can you visit with your kids?

“As soon as possible.”

Okay. Which will probably happen tomorrow?

“I don’t know. It’s going to happen if I allow it.”

So you might want to make some arrangements.

“What has been the hold-up all this time?”

“Absolutely nothing. Those are my children.”

The whole time? You need to stop your lying. I brought them to you every other weekend and brought food because you couldn’t even feed them.

“If you know this man, if you really ever knew him, you would know nothing you say bothers him. I mean, I am looking at this man—”

“It bothers him.”

It is bothering him. I’m going to wrap this up, because I can see right now this isn’t about the kids. This isn’t about the kids. This isn’t about the kids, because this is about condemning him to the point where the whole world feels like he’s a piece of—

I want to suggest this. Let’s get some order. This is not going to end today, and this is much deeper than this court can solve in this one session. I want you to consider, just like you may consider letting him see the kids tomorrow, I would like—tomorrow? But it can be before the 28th when we leave. You can definitely see them with my family.

Listening to the rant, Ms. Nazarian, I’m telling the truth. I have ranted. I would like you all to consider, along with your kids, if they will do it, family counseling. And this court will provide the resource, because my concern is that out of love and protection for your kids, you are doing the exact opposite of what you should be doing. You’re angry, and you’re trying to protect them, but you’re really pushing away the person that they’ve stated to you they do want a relationship with. You may not like him. He might not be paying the money. He may not be doing the right thing. But, Ms. Nazarian, there’s more to being a father than just the money. If he just wants to see them and they want to see him—

“He came to my home. He was in my home. I had every address that I ever lived. He can see them tomorrow if—can he see them tomorrow?”

“As long as I don’t have to orchestrate it. As long as he takes the real, sincere effort, because I’ve been the one—”

Will you make that effort to see them tomorrow? Just—I don’t care if the—look, you’re a writer, but don’t write too much in the text. Just say, “Hey, what time?” That’s it. Don’t start an argument. “Hey, what time?” And then if you could just give him a time. Nothing else. And then you just say, “I’ll be there.” And then be there. Can you do that?

“Yes.”

Can you do that?

“Yeah.”

Thank you.

Ms. Bowman, you’ve dragged your daughter, Kiana, to court to save your relationship. You admit after years of deception and confusion, you now must prove to her that her actual biological father is Mr. James Stewart, who passed away 18 years ago. Is that correct?

“Yes, sir.”

Ms. Kiana Bowman, you say your mother’s paternity lies have jeopardized your relationship, and you don’t believe her latest claim that Mr. Stewart is your father.

“Yes, Your Honor.”

Mr. Stewart, you say there’s no way that your deceased father is Ms. Bowman’s biological father, and you want to clear his name in court today. Is that correct?

“Yes, Your Honor.”

So, Ms. Bowman, why are these results so important for you today?

“Over the years, I have lied to my daughter. And for the past four years, it’s become very hard on our relationship. I used to be real close to her, and now it feels like I’ve literally tore it completely apart. And I need to prove to her that her father is James Stewart and that he is deceased.”

You say over the years you’ve lied to her? I’ve told her that another man—Mr. Watson—was her father. Explain.

“It all started when she was little. When I first met Mr. Stewart, I met him at a company that I worked with, and we started working, became friends and everything, real close. We became sexual. It got to where I found out there was somebody else. I decided to break apart and move to another job. I needed to get away from him. So I started talking to Mr. Watson. Then I found out after being with him for a while that I was pregnant. And I told Mr. Watson that it was a possibility. There wasn’t—and at the time, it didn’t matter to him at first. It was like, okay, whatever. ‘Yeah, it’s not mine. Yeah, it is mine.’ And it kind of ran like that.”

Ms. Bowman, you’re having a difficult time having a relationship with your mother. Yes. Explain to me the nature of that relationship.

“It’s been hard because the simple fact, I don’t know when she’s lying or telling the truth anymore when it comes to my life.”

And so she told you another man was your biological father?

“Yes, Your Honor.”

And you believed for all these years Mr. Watson was your biological father?

“Yes, Your Honor.”

So when did you find out that he was not?

“I found out during the summer going into high school that he was not my father, while I was forced to be taken out of my mother’s house and go to his house, where I had no contact with my mother. And then when I finally was able to go back around to my mother, she told me that he might not be my father and that James Stewart might be my father.”

Take me back to that day. What happened?

“I was taken from my mother’s house by Mr. Watson and was not able to contact her for two months—not on social media or anything—to have contact with her, my boyfriend, really. And then when I was able to go back around, that day she was like, ‘Oh, he might not be your father, and it’s a possibility that James Stewart is your father. And we’re going to go downtown to take the test.’ I was confused, because all these years you told me that Mr. Watson was my father. And then when we went to go take the test, when the test results finally came back after two weeks, I was nervous and didn’t know what to think. And I read the results, even though she told me not to. And when I read them, it said that Mr. Watson wasn’t my father. And I broke down, and I was just hurt. Why she lied to me for 16 years? I didn’t know what to do. So I stopped talking to her for a month and a half.”

Ms. Bowman, take me back to that day. Your daughter was crushed.

“I mean, she says it just broke her.”

At the time, Kiana had just came over to my house. She had just moved in with me. And I happened to go to work one day, and Mr. Watson had recently got married, and his wife told him, “That’s your child. You go get him.” So he literally walked up in my house.

He told me, “Well, since you want to sit up here and say this ain’t my daughter, prove it.” I turned around and I went downtown, and I requested a paternity test. The results came back, and I sat there and I told her. I said, “You know, I didn’t do this to hurt you.”

So is it your assertion that you knew all of the time there was a question, or you knew for certain Mr. Watson wasn’t?

“I didn’t know for sure. But when I sat there and started calculating back the time of when I was messing with Mr. Stewart, it was always connecting back to Mr. Stewart.”

“I just can’t trust her, because she lied.”

So what you’re saying is you don’t even believe this assertion is based upon any real evidence or fact. You think she’s just naming someone else?

“Yes, Your Honor. It’s still the simple fact that she lied for so many years. So who knows if there’s another man or if it’s just them, too?”

Your whole foundation has just been rocked. You don’t know what to believe, pretty much.

Mr. Stewart, when you heard about Ms. Bowman, did you believe that you all shared a biological father?

“No, Your Honor, you didn’t?”

“No, I didn’t.”

Explain.

“My father has had numerous women say that their children were his and just came to find out that it wasn’t true.”

And just this right here—what is this, sir? A timeline. Walk me through it.

“Back when I was eight years old, he was working at the sub shop with her. And I remember him working there because I distinctly remember getting my ears pierced at eight years old, and that was in 1993. I remember him around in the middle of ’93, close to ’94, leaving the sub shop and not working there. As of around 1994, close to ’94, yeah. And in 1995 is when Ms. Bowman’s mother would have been pregnant with Ms. Bowman.”

And Ms. Bowman, you claimed in your testimony that you were working with Mr. Stewart’s father at this place when Kiana was conceived. Am I correct?

“Yes.”

So your assertion, Mr. Stewart, is that that doesn’t add up?

“Doesn’t add up to me. It really doesn’t, because your father quit this job in 1994.”

“That’s actually a lie, because he actually stopped working at that restaurant in February of ’95. He would come in, do a shift or whatever. Then there was times he wouldn’t come in, ’cause he was a manager. He had me. I was right up under him as the assistant manager.”

Ms. Bowman, I see you brought a witness. I’d like to hear from her, ma’am. Would you please stand and step to the podium? Please give me a minute, please. Please state your name for the record, ma’am.

“I’m Lillian Jean Watson.”

Thank you for joining us today. You are Mr. Watson’s mother.

“Mhm.”

Did you ever have doubts that your son was Kiana’s father?

“No, never.”

Explain.

“Well, her mother left her saying that my son was her father. She had other three kids, so I told her she didn’t have to worry about my granddaughter. I’ll do everything as possible for her. And I did. Kiana has been living with me most of her entire life. When she would go to her mother’s house, I’d pick her up every weekend. If there’s a grandmother that deserves an award, it should be me. But I don’t want the award. I’m here because I love her. She’s my baby.”

She put a letter in my mailbox with a piece of paper saying that James Stewart was not her father.

Really? Yeah. Let me see that evidence.

“I got a long letter about how my son—Kiana’s feet, his heels, and her blood—”

You’re saying that Ms. Bowman put a letter in your mailbox?

“Yes, ma’am. And Kiana was born in January. She gave me the letter in February. This is a letter from February 27th, 1996. It reads: ‘Ms. Bowman, your results of the paternity test performed on January 1996 on Kiana Bowman and Mr. James Stewart shows that Mr. Stewart is not the biological father of your child, Kiana, born on January 6, 1996.’”

Did you put this letter in Ms. Watson’s mailbox, Ms. Bowman?

“Yes, I did.”

Wow. And the letter—I did it. I did it because at the time, Mr. Watson, when I got back in relationship with him, we sat there and we talked, and it was all discussed out.

But wait, what do you mean it was discussed? It was discussed that Kiana was his daughter?

“So you just created this? This letter is just a lie?”

“Yes, ma’am. Wait a minute. Understand that—that’s not—she’s saying in court today, ma’am, Ms. Watson, that this is not an official letter. This is something that she just wrote and hyped up. I’ve never had a test done with James Stewart.”

My God, my God. You know, you have the best of kids, Jesus. That’s why I say I don’t believe it, ’cause he’s had three other women that done did this. And Ernest is always going to be your dad. He’s hurting just like you are. You can’t talk around. He gets very emotional and stressed. He loves you. It’s not a day we don’t talk about you.

Ms. Bowman, you know I have to come back to you, because you have basically just admitted in court today that this was fabricated—this letter that you basically typed up and put in this woman’s mailbox.

“Why? I did it because I was actually in love with Mr. Watson. And I wanted a child. This is my child. And I lost contact with Mr. Stewart. So I left it alone.”

The truth is, you wanted to be with Mr. Watson. You loved him. So you wanted him to think that Kiana was his child so that you could hold on to him.

“Yes.”

You cannot use a child to keep a man. It doesn’t work. It never works. And sure enough, as it has happened over and over again, Mr. Watson moves on.

Ms. Bowman, did Mr. Stewart ever know of Kiana? Did you talk about?

“I ran into Mr. Stewart back in ’98 at a convenience store right up the street from where I lived. And it kind of shocked me. I was surprised to see him. And he was like, ‘Well, I heard you had a little girl. Two years? She’s two years old.’ I said, ‘Yes, I do.’ At the time, Kiana was with me. So he was like, ‘Do you mind if I see her?’ I said, ‘Sure.’ I took him down to my house ’cause I stayed right down the street from the store. He sat there and he looked at her, and he was like, ‘Wow. Okay.’ He said, ‘I’m getting ready to go home and make some phone calls.’”

Phone calls for what?

“‘I’m about to set up a P.I. I want a paternity test. I want a DNA test. You ain’t got to worry about nothing. I’ll pay for the whole entire thing, ’cause if that’s my daughter, everybody’s going to know about her.’ He went home. He made the appointments. He called me. He said, ‘This is the day we’re going to go do it.’ The day came that we were supposed to go and do it, and I got a phone call from one of his friends, and they said, ‘Angie, I got some bad news.’ I was like, ‘What?’ He said, ‘Pookie’s not coming.’ I was like, ‘What you mean?’ ‘Pookie’s—he was killed.’ He was murdered. After that, everything just dropped. I left it alone.”

So you’re saying the very day that you all planned to go get the DNA test, he was murdered?

“My God. He was murdered.”

“I don’t believe it. I don’t believe it, ’cause I lived with my daddy that year. I was 13 years old. My father told me everything. I ain’t had a sibling for 28 years—29 years. My baby brother got killed when he was two. I didn’t have no sibling. So I would have wanted a sibling all my life. My father would have told me that. He didn’t want to bring her out until the test was completely—he wouldn’t tell me nothing. My father told me everything. That’s why I don’t—I can’t believe it, ’cause there’s so many women that done did this and then said that their kids were mine. And I had to grow up without a sibling. That hurts.”

You don’t believe the fact that Ms. Bowman is saying that he just didn’t want to say anything to anybody until he knew for sure?

“I don’t believe it. And you don’t even believe the test was scheduled? You don’t believe it?”

“I don’t believe it. My father would have told me everything.”

All right, I’ve heard enough testimony. It’s time for the results. Jerome.

These results were prepared by DNA Diagnostics and they read as follows. Because there wasn’t a blood card available to test the DNA of the deceased James Stewart, we performed a sibling test in order to determine if the deceased son, James Stewart III, is related to Kiana Bowman. In the case of Bowman versus Bowman, it has been determined by this court that James Stewart III and Kiana Bowman are related—brother and sister.

It’s over now, baby. It’s over. It’s over.

“Oh, man.”

And since that’s my granddaughter, and you’re her brother, then you can be my son, too.

“Thank you. Thank you.”

Feel free to stand with your grandchildren, ’cause I don’t have a grandparent at all.

“Oh, well, honey, all my grandparents are gone. Thank you, Jesus.”

Angie, get over here. I love you.

“I can’t hate nobody, Lord.”

Finally telling the truth. Don’t lie again, Ms. Bowman. What would you like to say to your daughter?

“I’m sorry that I did this and put you through this, and I hope that you can forgive me and we can start rebuilding our friendship back, ’cause I miss my baby.”

Kiana, we haven’t had a chance to hear from you, but it looks like you’re very happy to have your brother. And unfortunately, your biological father is deceased. But it’s a beautiful thing that you will have your brother to be able to tell you all about him.

Mr. Tillman, you claim your biological daughter, Anetta Tillman, disappeared out of your life 30 years ago and you haven’t seen her since. Now, paternity doubts have led to your petition for a DNA test to prove you are her father. Is that correct?

“Yes, sir.”

Mr. Johnson, you are the reason for those paternity doubts. You also had a sexual relationship with Ms. Tillman’s mother at the time of conception and hope today’s DNA results prove you are the biological father because you raised her. Am I correct?

“Yes, Your Honor.”

So, Mr. Tillman, what was the nature of your relationship with Ms. Tillman’s mother? Was it committed?

“It started out more like friendship more so than a committed relationship. But the time grew on, and I discovered that she was dealing with other people than myself. So that’s when I kind of strayed away.”

So you discovered she was also in a relationship with Mr. Johnson?

“I didn’t necessarily know that they were in a relationship, but I knew that she was dealing with somebody else other than myself.”

So, Mr. Johnson, you were also in a relationship with the same woman?

“Uh, yes. She hid all right.”

When I met her, she wasn’t working, and I was working at a bakery. And so I got her a job there. She didn’t have a way to get to work. I drove her to work and then took her back home and stuff. And I only met Mr. Tillman briefly one time. It was at a rooming house. I lived at the rooming house.

Well, when I met her, she was at your house, then?

“Well, okay, okay.”

Mr. Johnson, you were having an intimate relationship as well—not just picking her up and dropping her off from work.

“Uh, yes, ma’am.”

All right. Did you know about Mr. Tillman?

“No. I only met him that one time dropping her off home from work.”

Do you remember this encounter?

“He seen me more than once, ’cause he’s the one that came and told me when CeCe was in the hospital having Anetta.”

So let me get to the pregnancy. What did Ms. Tillman’s mother tell you about the pregnancy?

“She came to my apartment one morning after we had been separated, I guess about maybe for almost five months. When she showed up at my door, she was pregnant. I still joked. I asked, you know, ‘What happened?’ So she told me she was pregnant. It was mine.”

Did she also tell you about Mr. Johnson?

“Oh, she told me she was pregnant, and I asked her, ‘Was it from that guy?’ And she said, ‘Yeah, I believe so.’”

And so she told you the baby was not yours?

“Yeah.”

And she told you it was the other guy—the guy who is Mr. Tillman?

“Yes, ma’am.”

All right. And so, Mr. Tillman, did you believe the child was yours when she told you?

“Not at first. See, I didn’t believe it until I went out to the hospital and actually saw her laying up there in the hospital bed. And from that point on, I was in her life till they sent my daughter away.”

They sent her away.

“She told me that you had sex with her that morning around about with CeCe, and that’s Ms. Tillman’s mother.”

Yes, that’s my mother.

“And so she told me she had had sex with you at around about 12:00. And I had stopped by there at around about three something, and me and her had had sex.”

I don’t remember you.

So wait a minute, Mr. Johnson. Let me make sure I understand your testimony. You’re saying that Ms. Tillman’s mother told you she had had a sexual encounter with Mr. Tillman earlier that day, and then you came by, and then you also had a sexual encounter. So basically, she admitted to you she slept with you and Mr. Tillman on the same day.

“And that’s what made you believe that it could be my daughter.”

And so you submitted a calendar to the court, yes, that outlines this. So around February 1983, you state that Ms. Tillman’s mother told you she slept with Mr. Tillman first, yes, and then when you came by around three, she slept with you as well.

“Yes.”

And immediately you realized, well, if that was around the time Ms. Tillman was conceived, then I could also be her biological father.

“Yes.”

Who came for the birth?

“I picked up Ms. Tillman’s mother and the baby from the hospital.”

You picked them up from the hospital? But you came up to the hospital?

“He came and told me CeCe was in the hospital having Anetta.”

I don’t remember that. If you brought her home from the hospital, who was in her life after that? Did you have a relationship with her?

“Yeah, because as far as I knew, he was gone.”

And so, Mr. Tillman, did you have a relationship? Did you get to see the baby?

“I did. I’d come and get my daughter and take her with me on the weekends. Anything she needed, I did.”

All y’all did was take my daughter. You called me from CeCe’s house, from Georgia to her dad’s house. That was when she was born.

Let’s get some order. I realize that we are discussing Ms. Tillman, but I think it would be better if we hear from her. Jerome, would you please escort Ms. Tillman into the courtroom?

Hello, Ms. Tillman. Thank you for being here. Stand over at the podium. Both of these men say that there is a possibility that they are your biological father. Who do you think your biological father is?

“Honestly, I have no idea. My whole life, I’ve had Mr. Tillman’s last name, but this is a gentleman I’ve never met before.”

You have never—in your recollection—met Mr. Tillman before?

“Yes, ma’am. That’s correct.”

Because he just testified in court that he came to the hospital to see you when you were a baby, used to pick you up when you were a little girl and take you with him to spend weekends because he believed he was your father.

“Well, the only person I’ve ever had come pick me up and take me out on the weekends was Mr. Johnson. Mr. Johnson has always been there for me. So I’m really confused. I don’t know.”

I mean, baby, after your mother and him sent you to Georgia, I lost contact with you. But you know my name. You know my—

“I came back several times trying to find you. But what happened? I don’t know.”

Find me? I couldn’t tell you. Everybody disappeared. And then Johnny—I mean, Mr. Johnson, it’s Johnny—and your mother was full of crap.

You said that you used to pick her up when she was little and take her—

“I gave her first birthday party.”

You couldn’t have. He didn’t go to Georgia. I don’t know where—I don’t know where y’all sent me to Georgia when I was about three years old.

So okay, okay. So now Mr. Tillman is testifying to that in fact true. You were sent to Georgia to live?

“I was sent to Georgia to live.”

When you were growing up, you said Mr. Johnson was always there for you. Yes, ma’am. Who did you think Mr. Johnson was exactly?

“Johnny was my mother’s friend. And to me, I grew up knowing him as my godfather. He’s always been my father figure in my life. I’ve never known this man over here. Johnny has always been there for me.”

So they said it was your godfather.

“Yes, ma’am. I didn’t know that him and my mom and all of them had whatever they had going on at the same time. Like, I had no idea about this.”

You never knew any of this?

“No, ma’am.”

I feel like I’ve been misled. I’ve been lied to. I’ve been cheated out of so much. I’m 32 years old, and all I have is a name on a piece of paper. That’s all I have.

And how did you get that name? Let’s talk about that. How did I get my name?

“She signed for you at the hospital after you were born. I have your original birth certificate, and it doesn’t have—she got mad at me because she found out I was going to New York to get married, and that’s why I think she sent my daughter away out of my life.”

It’s not my fault. What do you mean it’s not my fault? You know my name. You know my birthday. You know everything. There’s internet. I looked for you. I searched for you.

“I searched for you.”

Mr. Tillman, you handed me a piece of evidence. I want you to describe this for me.

“This is her birth certificate. It is Anetta Tillman’s birth certificate, right? The one with the red seal. And listed as mother: CeCe Ruth Williams, right. And then as father: it’s blank. It’s been blank since the hospital.”

I’m telling you, how did you sign my birth certificate if there’s no name on there?

“I at the hospital—the nurse gave me your birth certificate at the hospital. I was out there for—”

Mr. Tillman, you said you came up there, and you just testified a moment ago that you signed it. It should be on there. How did I end up with the original birth certificate? I don’t know. How did I end up with the last name of a man that I’ve never met?

Mr. Tillman, I want to understand this. You said you remember signing it, putting your name on it?

“I remember being at the hospital. I remember. And when I left there, I ended up with the birth certificate. Now, how I ended up with it, I can’t—”

The reason I wasn’t in your life, baby, is because they sent you away.

“I don’t care about what they did. You are a grown man. You have your own. You could have did it. You shouldn’t have stopped. You knew I was out there. Did you not know I was out there?”

“Yes, I knew you was out there, and I tried my best to find you.”

Your best? I’m not one of those computer wizards. I’m old school.

“You got to be computer savvy. I don’t even have an email address.”

I do. There’s somebody on there. Hold on a minute.

Mr. Tillman, Mr. Johnson, I don’t feel like talking to you.

Hold on, hold on. You got to talk. All you got to do is listen.

“I don’t want to listen to you.”

No, you said that gentleman came to her house. Gentlemen, ultimately we know that this young woman grew up without knowing who her biological father is, and we’re trying to get down to the bottom of this. Mr. Tillman, you brought a witness. I’d like to hear from her. Please stand, ma’am. State your name for the court, ma’am.

“L.”

And you are?

“I’m his girlfriend.”

You’re his girlfriend. Yes. And what do you know about this, ma’am?

“I remember one day just sitting there. He brought out her birth certificate. He said, ‘I ain’t seen her in all these years.’ This man almost came to tears because he hasn’t seen her in over 30 years. They’ve taken her from him.”

But what I don’t get—you said you didn’t know where she was, but yet you said that you came and you took her?

“I came. But when I came back to Orlando five years later, everybody had moved. I had no idea where anybody was at.”

Ultimately, what I want to understand now, Ms. Tillman, as you stand there, what are your hopes for today?

“I want to know. I want to know where he’s been. I want to know why he wasn’t there. He missed out on so much. And you can tell me that you searched, and you can tell me that you searched, but you didn’t find me. So you did not search hard enough. I want to have closure. I want to know who I am. There’s so much to me that’s missing. It’s a whole another side of me missing that I don’t have.”

You think I’ve been missing things? You think the years that it took you growing up—if you go to Google and just put in “Anetta Tillman,” it pops up. It’ll even bring you to my address. For years now. So I don’t understand. You can’t tell me you probably have more children. I probably have brothers and sisters. Could have looked.

What are your hopes? I was just glad to find that she was still alive, ’cause I didn’t know if she was alive or she was dead.

How you feel toward me like it was my fault? If I was you, I would just quit.

Mr. Tillman, address me. Listen to the judge. All right. I’m sorry. Y’all, what are your hopes today? Now that I know where she’s at, I always want to be a part of her life. I don’t intend to lose her again. To me, it was stupid in the first place why I had lost contact with her. They knew better than that.

Gentlemen, we can keep arguing about this. Ms. Tillman, I realize how hurt you are. I see. I do. Mr. Johnson, what are your hopes today?

“My hopes today is that I am her father.”

Okay. But I think it’s time to get the results. Are we ready?

Well, these results were prepared by DNA Diagnostics and they read as follows. In the case of Tillman versus Johnson, when it comes to 31-year-old Anetta Tillman, it has been determined by this court: Mr. Johnson, you are not her father.

The next result, please, Jerome. As it relates to Mr. Tillman, in the case of Tillman versus Johnson, when it comes to 31-year-old Anetta Tillman, it has been determined by this court: Mr. Tillman, you are her father.

“I knew it. I knew it. I knew it. Come on. Come on. It’s all right, little baby. I’m sorry. But it was not my fault.”

No matter how much you try to blame me, they took you away from me.

“Nobody took her away from you. They didn’t give you no opportunity to contact you. They took you away. He couldn’t. They took you away.”

Mr. Johnson, you are here to prove you are not the biological father of Ms. Kirby’s 11-month-old son, Kaden. You claim her accusations are causing trouble in your relationship, and you are certain the results will clear your name. Is that correct?

“Yes, Your Honor.”

Ms. Kirby, you are positive your son was conceived during your sexual relationship with Mr. Johnson, and you say your son struggles with health issues and you need Mr. Johnson to step up and be a father. Is that correct?

“Yes, sir.”

So, Mr. Johnson, you claim Ms. Kirby is causing issues in your life. Explain.

“Yes, Your Honor. She’s trying to pin a child on me that ain’t mine, and she’s causing problems in my current relationship.”

How am I causing issues in your current relationship when you just called me yesterday? So what are you talking about, sir?

“I’m not trying to keep up with you. I just wanted to know, is this really happening?”

So you think she’s trying to pin a baby on you?

“Yes, Your Honor.”

And you have doubts?

“Yes, Your Honor.”

So, Ms. Kirby, I have to ask you, are you trying to pin this baby on Mr. Johnson?

“No. I’m trying to get my baby situated. He has health issues. I’m trying to see where he’s coming from, because it’s not on my side of the family.”

So I see you’re emotional already. What are you feeling right now? How does it feel to know the man you are saying is the father of your child is not acknowledging your child?

“We planned this baby. He told me when we first met that I was going to be his baby mama. Now that he’s here, he don’t want to step up. Either he step up or he step down.”

Excuse me. Why do you have tears in your eyes?

“My baby.”

Yes. I told her that she was going to be my baby mama, but it was just talk. It was nothing like that. We only had sex. That was it. Nothing more. And plus, she’s trying to pin this baby on me because she needs help now.

“I don’t need your help. My baby is well taken care of. He’s been taken care of for almost a year now.”

Well, why you threatening me with child support?

“Because I know you ain’t going to do nothing.”

All right. Let me ask you this, Mr. Johnson. Did you grow up with a father in your life?

“No, Your Honor. I was premature. I was in the hospital for six months. And while I was in the hospital, my baby—my father abandoned me.”

Now you have a baby that has health issues?

“Yes, Your Honor.”

And you would never do a child like that that you know is yours?

“I would never do that to a child that I know is mine. Because I made a bad—you not taking care of Kaden because it’s not mine. It ain’t my baby. That baby don’t look nothing like me.”

So you’re convinced that Kaden is not your biological child?

“Yes, Your Honor.”

All right. How did you two meet?

“Well, Your Honor, we was working at this job, and then we had a blackout. And during the blackout, we decided to go to the store. So we in my car driving to the store, and Ms. Kirby started talking sexually.”

Why would I talk sexual to you when I’m dealing with someone? Wait, what was she saying? I think I want to know. Oh, my goodness. Okay. What did she say? Keep it PG, please.

“She was just saying that how she’ll—what she’ll do when she in the bed with a man.”

Oh, that don’t mean I was trying to lay down with you.

“Yes, you were. So why did we exchange numbers? And then the next day—Ms. Kirby, you just get in the car riding to the store and just talking about what you going to do in the bed? That’s your conversation?”

“No, Your Honor.”

That don’t even sound like a conversation riding to the store. That sound like a conversation when you trying to get with somebody. And that’s what we did. We exchanged numbers. Then the next day, boom, we having sex. It was just a sexual relationship. That’s it.

So boom. You said yeah, and you just started having sex. How long did the sexual relationship last?

“Well, it lasted for months. And during the time, she already told me that she was having sex with another guy—a month before you and a month after you.”

During the time we were having sex, she had already told me this. So when you met her, she was in the car talking about what you going to do to a man, that’s going to obviously lead to someone thinking—what man? What man are you doing this with? So you’re saying she told you, “I’m also having a sexual relationship with somebody else”?

“Yes.”

What did she say? She was like, “Well, I’m single, but I’m having sex with this dude also.” And plus, he was staying the night at her apartment.

So is that true, Ms. Kirby? Were you having a guy spend the night over during the time that you started having sex with Mr. Johnson?

“Yes, I was.”

Okay. Because he knew from the jump that I was sexually dealing with someone. I was dealing with someone at the time. Me and him met. I kept him up front. You just said it was a month? It’s been a month. But now you was dealing with somebody? From you talking about what you going to do to a man in bed to the point when you are actually in the bed together—that’s less than 24 hours—and now you admit you were also having a sexual relationship with another man. So seems pretty obvious how we got here.

Can you tell the court how you found out Ms. Kirby was pregnant?

“Yes, Your Honor. I was at this party, and I was scrolling on social media, and I seen her post something about she don’t need help with her child. So I hit her up. I was like, ‘Are you pregnant?’ She was like, ‘Yeah.’ So I’m like, ‘Is the baby mine?’ She was like, ‘No.’ So I left the party and went to her house. And then she flipped the script and was saying, ‘Well, yes, you are the father.’”

Wait a minute. You see the post, and you’re curious, right. So you ask her, “Is she pregnant?” She says yes. But she says, “No, you’re not the father.”

“Because I didn’t want to deal with him at the time.”

So why’d you go to her house after that?

“Because I wanted to be clear. Am I the father of this baby?”

Oh, you were taking it one step further, because as you stated in your earlier testimony, you’re not going to play around. If you think a child is your child, you’re going to step up.

“Yes, Your Honor.”

And so you went to her house.

“Yes, Your Honor.”

And so you get to her house, and what happens? How does the script flip?

“I don’t know. I guess she sees that I’m going to be around, that I’m going to help her take care of this child. She wanted me to be around.”

You haven’t done nothing for Kaden since he’s been here.

“Yes, because you were saying that it wasn’t yours.”

I told you what? He wasn’t— ’cause you wasn’t going to do nothing, and I didn’t want to deal with you.

All right, then. So why would I do something if you saying it ain’t mine? So, Ms. Kirby, did you tell this other guy that you were with that you were pregnant?

“Yes.”

Oh, you did? Yes. And so why are you threatening Mr. Johnson with child support?

“Because I did the calculations. We had sex June, July 10th. And that’s around the time that she conceived Kaden.”

So you looked at the conception window?

“Yes, ma’am.”

And you determined that that was during the time when you were sexually active with Mr. Johnson?

“Yes, Your Honor.”

But I thought you slept with him within a 24-hour window of meeting him, and you also were in a sexual relationship with the other man.

“Me and him had sex July 10th on our way back from Clarksville.”

Oh, so you’re basing this on the exact date of sex? Excuse me, Your Honor. Be mindful that we are talking about two different guys. She was having sex with another guy before this guy that she said is her baby’s father. So you are actually one out of three possible fathers.

“It was protected. It was protected, Your Honor.”

Well, we’ve learned in here, no protection is 100%. All right. So during the pregnancy, who stepped up for you? Who was there for you? Was Mr. Johnson there?

“No, sir.”

Was he there for the birth?

“No, sir.”

Excuse me, Your Honor. I wasn’t there because she didn’t want me to be there. The only time she called me was for sex and food.

You’re a liar. That’s a lie. The only time you called—you wouldn’t even buy a $5 box of chicken from Church’s.

“I was taking you to Burger King and going to Kroger, grocery shopping.”

Mr. Johnson, you know how to whine and dine a woman, honey. Yes. Fantastic. Okay. So Kaden’s almost a year now. What kind of relationship do you have with Mr. Johnson? Have you developed any relationship with this baby?

“No, Your Honor. Not at all.”

Not at all. Have you ever seen him in person?

“No, Your Honor. No, not at all. I only seen him on video chat.”

She was video-chatting me at first. And then after she started saying that Kaden needs Pampers, Kaden needs this, I’m like, “Well, call this real dad.”

“I only called you one time, and Kaden didn’t need you for that. I was just trying to see what you got.”

Call, text me. Text me, call me. I’m still telling you that I’m in a relationship. Boy, you hit me up first. I ain’t never hit you up first for anything. Kaden been good since birth. You’re lying.

So wait a minute, Ms. Kirby. You say he is Kaden’s father?

“He’s not mine.”

But what I’m saying is, why do you say you just going to hit him up to see what he was going to do? Don’t you want him to have a relationship with Kaden?

“Yes, I do.”

Yes. And so when you got in contact with Mr. Johnson, were you hoping he’d respond?

“Yes. But he didn’t.”

And that’s hurtful.

“Yes.”

So what’s it been like raising Kaden on your own?

“It’s been hard. But I manage.”

When you say it’s been hard, talk to the court about the struggles.

“My baby has health issues. He has a G-tube. So we’re back and forth from different doctors—ENT, G clinic, all that. And he’s also albino.”

So do you feel like that’s one of the reasons Mr. Johnson is not believing?

“Yes. Because of his albinism.”

Excuse me, Your Honor. I didn’t even know that this child was albino. And plus, no one in my family has albinism or has no trait of it.

So you feel like since you’ve never heard of this, it’s not in your family, that Kaden couldn’t possibly be your child? That’s another area of doubt for you.

“Yes, Your Honor.”

All right. Well, Ms. Kirby, does anyone in your family have albinism?

“Do they? No, sir.”

And if the other two men, do you know if—I’m not sure. It occurs in their family? You don’t know.

All right. Well, I wanted to learn more about this, and so I’d like to bring in Dr. Samantha Brown-Parks to explain in more detail the medical condition called albinism. Please, Jerome, can you escort Dr. Samantha Brown-Parks into the courtroom?

Hello, Dr. Brown-Parks.

“Hi, Judge.”

Thank you for joining us again. I’ve got more questions for you.

“Okay.”

Today we’re here talking about the paternity of beautiful baby Kaden, and his mother, Ms. Kirby, says that Kaden is albino. He has albinism. Can you tell the court what albinism is exactly?

“Sure. So albinism is a very rare disease—less than one in 20,000 children have it. And it is the absence of pigment, both in the hair, skin, and sometimes eyes.”

So is albinism passed down? How does it get passed down to a child? Is it through the mother, father? How does that work?

“So it’s both. Each parent, even though they look phenotypically—or to the eyes—normally pigmented, carry an abnormal gene. So one abnormal gene from mom, one abnormal gene from dad, come together to make an albino child.”

That’s fascinating. So, Mr. Johnson, after hearing Dr. Samantha Brown-Parks’s testimony today, does that change your mind? Do you understand with greater certainty what albinism is, and does that change your mind as to whether or not you could be Kaden’s biological father?

“Yes, Your Honor, I understand. But I still deny that he’s not my child.”

You don’t believe he is?

“No, Your Honor.”

So, Mr. Johnson, what are your hopes today? You say you know Kaden’s not your biological child, but that’s different from what you’re hoping. Do you hope he is?

“I’m hoping that he’s not, Your Honor, so I can move on with my life.”

Because you just had a baby.

“Yes, Your Honor. Congratulations.”

Thank you.

You may have another one in about ten minutes. You know what? Jerome, let’s just go to the results.

These results were prepared by DNA Diagnostics and they read as follows. In the case of Johnson versus Kirby, when it comes to 11-month-old Kaden Kirby, it has been determined by this court: Mr. Johnson, you are the father.

Congratulations are in order again. That’s your beautiful little boy.

“I mean, I’m the father of this child, and I’m going to step up.”

That is good to know, because Kaden deserves it, and he’s been waiting for it for 11 months.