Mom Wants Custody of Son from Her Parents! | Part 1

[@jennifer_mertens]

To yank a child away from the only parental figures and home he's known for TEN YEARS is the height of cruelty.

[@melissachatwin9673]

He knows who his mother is and spends time with his mother, so they are NOT the only parental figures he knows. They are only seeking guardianship now so had all intention of it being a short term situation and should have raised him as such with those expectations

[@traciemartin3785]

​​​@@melissachatwin9673 Oh, stop! People can't always allow others to care for their children mostly, when it's convenient for themselves, but once things begin to get easier & the children are older & are starting to become more self-sufficient, they feel they may just snatch the children from the only true & healthy stability they've ONLY known, when they desire to. By the way, 10 years is not temporary. She should just keep things the way they are for her child's sake, not hers. Leave well enough alone.

[@happy9249]

Maybe the grandparents didn't have the money to seek guardianship sooner. Also apparently the only ones who had a desire to raise him. Mother visits but that is not a someone who is acting in a parental role. The person raising is. The grandparents are the only stability the child has ever had. You got to wonder why the sun does not have a better relationship with his mother. This is all her own fault. She needs to leave the child where it is because obviously she was fine with it for 10 years. You're going to let someone do all the hard work of potty training and raising the child and then when the child is half grown decide to come get them. Pull them out if the only home they've ever known. That is the epitome of cruelty. That is the epitome of selfishness. If she wanted to pay a parent she should have started before he was 10. She could have done that in the first first 3 or 4 years.​@@melissachatwin9673

[@ferrisulf]

Don't let someone else raise your kid--for 10 YEARS--and then demand you get the child back to raise them. At that point, you are not the parent. They do not see you as such.

[@betterwithwinebetterwithwi2359]

They will always see her as such do not assume

[@gloriaramirez1109]

She had him at 16.

[@sheerri]

@@betterwithwinebetterwithwi2359”They will always see her that way” is an assumption.

[@gingercake0907]

@@betterwithwinebetterwithwi2359 The ten year old will know she’s his mother but he will relate to the grandmother as mother because she actually did the work. The ten year old child is not a toy to be passed around because now the mother wants to experiment with mothering. The ten year old needs to stay with the grandparents.

[@NeoPelon21]

She may have had the baby, her parents ARE the child's parents.

[@elliebellie7816]

This case was in 1995. Both children are grown by now - hope they are healthy and happy adults.

[@TalyaT922]

After some FB sleuthing, it seems Freddie spent some time in jail.

[@PartyOf8Please]

@@TalyaT922 That’s too bad. I hope he gets himself together.

[@mirandafaire4275]

@@TalyaT922 That's too bad! But after watching this & seeing the kind of lifestyle his biological mother seemed to be living, it's not surprising. She no doubt brought a lot of chaos into Freddie's life, too.

[@JoanRechards]

​@@PartyOf8Please, he's a 40 year old man now in 2025

[@purplelove3666]

​@@mirandafaire4275 and where is the father?

[@SkinnyGuruinaMumu]

Has a kid that’s been living with his grandparents for his whole life and then decides to have a baby with some guy she doesn’t even see. Now she wants to play mommy with the first kid but can’t understand why he’s angry with her. Mother of the year!

[@M2161]

Let alone she doesn’t even know who the father is of her first born.

[@Esther-lm6pm]

​@@M2161she doesn't even know the child.

[@trinity72gp]

1 minute in and I don't like this case 😑

[@PartyOf8Please]

@@trinity72gp Exactly the same

[@mirandafaire4275]

@@trinity72gp The case is very interesting to me, but the litigants aren't likable on either side! Especially the defendant & her witness!! Both seem shady.

[@lisasim]

3:00 JJ: Well, who is his dad? Defendant: Ummm... I'm not sure Guy in the back: 😮...😲...😏

[@natalieprendergast5620]

😂😂

[@Godzillalovesbunnies]

😂

[@jeffreyclinard2002]

Messy. The defendant apparently got pregnant at 15 or 16, has no clue who the father is, and doesn't seem to be doing well ten years later.

[@FuriousStylez93]

Not knowing who your kid’s father is at 15 years old is crazy work. Realistically speaking, How many partners could she have been having around that time at only 15 if her own dad was in the picture? I probably don’t want to know but her story is worse than the young lady last month who was sleeping with 3 men, 2 of them roommates, all at the same damn time crying about she felt unsafe around them 😂😂😂

[@stephanieyee9784]

​@@FuriousStylez93 , I forgot about that case. 🤦🏻‍♀️

[@lsblake2652]

she didn't get pregnant. An irresponsible MAN got that 16 year old child pregnant. Time men take responsibility. How about keeping it zipped?

[@FuriousStylez93]

@ No one here knows nor can they prove that. If it’s true, then have compassion. But let’s please not gloss over the fact she was still a selfish, irresponsible, dishonest, and entitled ingrate of a child. Who sues their pwn parents after they cared for your their grandchild for the better part of a decade. Being a victim is no excuse for being ungrateful to the people there for you when you needed it most

[@jeffreyclinard2002]

@ I always wear the condom. No diseases. No pregnancies. Is that responsible enough for you? I'm not naive enough to think people are going to stop having sex. I want people to use birth control if they don't want to get pregnant. Men should wear the condom, and the women should insist on it being used as a condition of sex. I have my suspicions about why you might not need physical birth control.

[@louiserichardson8174]

Aw the way rhe Dad's head dipped when his daughter said they haven't raised her son well 😢😔

[@jennifer_mertens]

He looked like his daughter punched him in the gut. So sad.

[@queenbee3647]

She called him out, said he was a bully.

[@Jamie-h5b]

@@queenbee3647 If that's true, then why did she leave her son with him for 10 years? Seems like everything was fine for 10 long years until she decides she's ready to be a mom....suddenly her dad's a bully.

[@bbykayy4901]

Crazy how rent for 5-6 months was $1,975 & now you’re lucky to find something lower than that for a month.

[@vickil3256]

No sh!t! It’s ridiculous.

[@bellalegendre2644]

The defendant looks the same age as her mother. I'd think they were sisters and that's not a compliment. I hope Freddy and his sister are doing well as adults.

[@MegaQueenOne]

You must wear glasses

[@Mandy_H36]

Parents did a good enough job from infancy to age 10 when she wasn't interested in Freddy enough to make another baby. Now that she's interested in him they did a lousy job. That statement alone makes her a lousy parent for leaving him for 10 years with lousy people.

[@HJRO]

But they also raised her, so... Doubtful they were doing a "good enough job."

[@Mandy_H36]

@HJRO such a dilemma but if they did so lousy, she's unfit for leaving him with them. I had an ex that waited for 6 months to petition the court for custody. I was fit enough when he moved out and he left our daughter with me. A forensic psychologist recommended I have custody - he has supervised visits. Can't have it both ways and the mother won't do well with an evaluation - especially after abandoning him for 10 years.

[@NoahMcleany]

26??? She looks like she’s in her late 30s

[@mirandafaire4275]

IKR! She looks older than the grandma.

[@yung1717]

No she doesn’t

[@lukerinderknecht2982]

That vest SCREAMS 90's 😂

[@Julie-sl8ul]

DAMN! The evil eye from the daughter 😈

[@sophie2084]

Her parents raise her son and then she has the audacity to criticise her son and say he's like his grandfather

[@armygurl399]

My dad always said, be mindful of who you have kids with. She doesn’t know who the father is, so therefore she shouldn’t say that her son takes after his grandfather. She doesn’t know what type of issues the dad had as a child.

[@elizabethgalligan1805]

How ungrateful and irresponsible is the defendant. Her parents had to raise her child and she goes and has another one!😑😑

[@13104180]

Yes,because that is what a « smart » and « responsible « person does😂

[@trekgirl65]

Child support misuse. Defendant admitted on television. LMAO!

[@bellalegendre2644]

My mother raised my niece from 6 years old to present. She's turning 18 this year. My sister has Bipolar Disorder that was untreated and she was abusive and neglectful. She lost custody of my nephew who is a year younger than my niece. I will say my mother has been a much better parent to my niece than she was to us.

[@yung1717]

8 years later. Who cares that she had a second one

[@TyDanie]

$1900 for 6 months of rent 😩 what a time to be alive

[@susanpage8315]

We paid $350 a month for our first apt in 1985. And that wasn’t even the cheapest place!

[@stephanier1000]

The minimum wage was lower was like 4.50 per yr

[@TyDanie]

@@susanpage8315 it’s so amazing hearing stories of how cheap rent was ! Regardless of what minimum wage was, 350 is insane ! I moved to upstate ny and rent was 550 for a 1 bed 1 bath in 2015. It lasted all of 1 month I was here 😂

[@thedesertmisfit]

do you have any idea of what an average paycheck from that magical time was? didn't think so

[@susanpage8315]

@@thedesertmisfit my now ex and I made about $35k in 1985.

[@BramptonAnglican]

Hoping they can resolve their family issues.

[@palmz4u]

Wow, this episode is almost 30 years old!

[@tonianderson8726]

Anytime family sues each other its sad

[@scottmcwave9479]

Retro Judge Judy! Let’s go!

[@MadisonPaige]

Gurl nah. At best you get to have an opportunity to know this child. You want to yank him away from the only parents he’s ever known? That’s not love. And you still aren’t stable. New baby. No partner. Girl get!

[@rb3751]

26 years old hit different back in the 90’s 😅

[@youtoo2233]

These early JJ shows are nearly 30 years old, you wonder what became of these people later on

[@carlairving]

While I 100% agree that Freddy belongs with his parents - a.k.a. the people who've been raising him for a decade and who love him - rather than his genitor, I disagree with JJ's point that a single parent means irresponsible. The defendant is clearly irresponsible, but even if she'd married her 2nd child's husband and was living with him, it wouldn't change that part. Many single moms, and single parents really, regardless of the situation, raise up to the task. Not the defendant, definitely not her, but it's not because of her marital status or even her age. It's her character and selfishness.

[@lindamcshain9507]

Really 10 year's child with her daughters parents..Now want back Wtf does not you know you,??

[@SRFAA]

This is why I'm always in favour of the older cases. We get so much variety from them that you don't see in later seasons (probably due to legal reasons and viewership).

[@4tihomirov]

The producer realized that ratings were better when JJ evolved from her familiar family court cases. It's true, viewership greatly increased. But it's nice we have these cases available to view here

[@Julie-sl8ul]

She's still irresponsible. Let them live with Grandparents ❤️

[@trekgirl65]

Not anymore, that was 20 years ago. Children are grown and making babies now. LOL!

[@mirandafaire4275]

@@trekgirl65 Probably, but that's certainly nothing to laugh about! Just a lot of generational trauma & mistakes repeating themselves. ☹

[@mdstanton1813]

I'll never understand why some people choose to breed if they can't take care of them or aren't willing or prepared to do so. Having children can be the most selfish thing a person does

[@garybaltiejus7248]

Mummy dearest, absolutely no accountability

[@ishahcanah7351]

Wow! She doesn’t know who the father of her child is but says her child took after her father being a bully.

[@themermaidstale5008]

Apparently raising their daughter’s child, now 10 yo has been a fountain of youth to the grandmother; she appears as young as her daughter. The child has been in a stable environment for 10 years; he has his school, his neighborhood and classmates, teachers, and friends that he’s grown up with. The defendant, with a one yo, whose father is in Las Vegas, isn’t thinking about her son.

[@frankiecavanagh1749]

See these are the ones where she's compassionate and she tries to work it out with the people. Her kindness wins me over her intelligence is the best that you could ever want to listen to.

[@sothathappened]

so they took child support money that was supposed to be used for the roommate's child and used it to pay back parents for loans.........i'm surprised jj didn't say something about that. i'm sure the new jj would.

[@greenmtnman7714]

Umm is not a word!!!!!!!

[@mojisoladeji]

The guy in the checkered shirt behind the defendant, his facial expressions I think reflects how we all feel. 😅

[@silentmessiah1]

Anyone else notice the defendant was 16 when she had her first child?

[@mirandafaire4275]

Yep, which would've made her ~ 15 when she got pregnant! And doesn't know who the bio father is?! What a hot mess!! Too bad she didn't give him up for adoption, he likely would've had a much happier & stable life.

[@FioreLiberi]

In the girl’s defense, she isn’t wrong. The grandparents raised her and look how she turned out.

[@FuriousStylez93]

Not knowing who your BabyDaddy is at only 15 is crazy work. She must take after her momma or something 😂😂😂

[@xubarze]

Defendant about her son: "He's a bit of a troublemaker, he has an attitude, he has a bad mouth, he's a little bully": Well, maybe the reason he's all that it's because he might feels a little bit angry for being abandoned my his own mother for 10 years and not knowing who his biological father is, because his own mother doesn't know who he is. I don't know, maybe it's just me, but I'm positive all that had something to do with his behaviour problems.

[@SG20251]

Girl, you had a baby at 16 and don’t know who the dad is. Then you had another baby with a dude in Vegas and are still single. You got some nerve saying your parents didn’t do a good job raising YOUR son.

[@sarahlynn7894]

I know everyone is being critical of the daughter, BUT her parents raised her and while I'm not excusing her choices, I believe there is some truth when she said her father was a bully. Girls go looking for attention from guys when they don't have good fathers. It's a void they try to fill. It's the wrong attention though. I think of the song "daughters" by John Mayer. I can tell she's in pain and it's sad. The cycle continues.

[@bamua]

I wished everyone could be sensitive like you, and see the daughter’s distress.

[@viniciuslima9430]

That is a possibility, maybe the father got tired of trying. There are some children who just don’t listen. We need to know from them

[@RocLobo358]

It's not really relevant what you imagine her issue to be. Her parents raised her son and she wants her son to live with her because it's a good time for her. That's a good example of her only thinking of herself. Her dad could have been a bully but that doesn't excuse continuing cruelty by uprooting children so she can play parent

[@sarahlynn7894]

@RocLobo358 Well what you say isn't really relevant either, if you want to put it that way, yet here you are regurgitating YOUR irrelevant imaginative opinion on here. I'm guessing you are also not a very good parent that blames everything on their children without taking any responsibility for it. This would explain your need to rant a comment back with such a snarky first sentence about relevance. I must have hit a nerve. You clearly are ignorant on the consequences of abusive parents or parent, particularly when it's a father against a daughter. Some of the things she said clued me in that her father is possibly a narcissistic father. These things cannot be known unless you actually lived it. The fact that she said them, is a good indication she was abused. And the fact that they brought her on NATIONAL TV to humiliate her even more, speaks volumes! What truly loving parent, regardless of the situation, wants to publicly humiliate them in front of the world, that you can never take back? Narcissistic individuals lack empathy and love conditionally, so it's really easy to believe the daughter when she claims abuse! But I wouldn't dare expect someone like you to ever understand. I never excused what she did, but I also hold the parents feet to the fire as well! They raised her and she's a reflection on the environment they provided. They hold a lot of responsibility for their clearly deeply insecure and lost daughter, as they FAILED to build a strong foundation of self esteem and virtue! Go read the effects of growing up with narcissistic parents, especially the father daughter dynamic. Case closed. Fade to black. Roll the credits.

[@magicicle]

My first impression of the defendant... She should get some cats instead -One feline per feeling-

[@mikelwrites]

Boy, do I know this story. My mom lived something like this one (the Defendant's side).

[@AnasCreativeCorner]

I'm thinking Heather and Dawn moved to Santa Fe and drive a Subaru.

[@BritPaun]

She would’ve been 16 when she had her son. What 16 year old has so many sexual partners that they don’t know who fathered their child? She doesn’t seem responsible enough to be a parent, however her parents clearly didn’t do a great job raising her either, so 🤷🏼‍♀️ Poor boy was probably screwed no matter who raised him.

[@mirandafaire4275]

💯💯💯 That's what I thought myself. I commented above that it's too bad she didn't give him up for adoption, even though I'm not one to push that issue on people. A loving adoptive home would've been the best chance this poor kid had at a stable, healthy environment IMHO.

[@mirandafaire4275]

And I agree, what in the WORLD was this girl up to if she had so many partners this young to NOT KNOW who the bio dad was??!! DNA testing was available then, too! And years later, when she claims she's responsible, gets knocked up by some guy in Vegas? She clearly will never learn from her mistakes!

[@Amanita-Minute53]

I thought the defendant was the mom at first. She looks older than her own mother.

[@martinboyle9163]

I know, right?

[@mirandafaire4275]

Thanks for saying this because I was just about to make the same comment! She looks older than the grandma, which makes me wonder how old the GM was when Heather was born. 🤔

[@GDeanG1963]

The parents should have gotten the money back that Heather agreed to pay back. Period.

[@AtomicKitten666]

I really really hope the son stayed with the grandparents. This daughter is a mess and she would only make this poor child's life so much worse.

[@elisa6212]

Is this real? The "daughter" looks older than her mother.

[@1brickrow]

I think Heather and Dawn are lovers. Back then you couldn't mention the word "partner" or "lover" it was always rooomates.

[@Jade-902]

No.

[@PinkAbigail]

How do we get to a stage where we don’t know who is the dad we have a small window of conceiving..it don’t make sense! Let the boy stay with his grandparents!!!

[@EchoGnoll]

Damn i wish Apts were still 400 a month

[@pinkosmondfan]

I thought Heather was mute at the beginning. Judge was asking her questions and she was just staring at her.

[@stevelozano9523]

Good question JJ. If her parents did a good job raising her son. She says no and a good reason to. Look how she's become prior to getting her act together?

[@experimentalhygene]

Groceries and food?

[@carolr7823]

The defendant is pathetic.

[@jessicap5010]

I was like 8 or 9 when this was made 😂

[@bobscratchett5346]

Good for you ❤

[@royalcrown11]

great

[@ladygwen2463]

She was only 16 when she had him

[@Grande-Dame]

The defendant looks older than her mother.

[@royalcrown11]

really liked

[@MegaQueenOne]

They obviously did not raise her correctly so who knows about her son

[@bo2720]

Mom looks younger than the daughter😮

[@caitlindooley7826]

They will get custody he has been living him all his life a judge isn’t going up and root him now that his mom wants him. He has an attitude and a troublemaker damn that sounds like a preteen.

[@strawberrywishes33]

Ok… I had to come back and watch this because Heather is the absolute worst! In THIS clip she says “not sure”as in “I slept with so many guys I can’t remember. Then in another clip she says she was graped! WHAT?!? I’m not buying it! She’s an awful person. She just threw her dad and his reputation under the bus like he was nothing too. This gets sadder and sadder the more you watch it.

[@KakashiandRay]

Wow, thought Pam is the daugther. It is probably the hairstyle, but Pam doesn't look like someone with a 27-year old.

[@LoadPuller]

The genetic pool is shallow.

[@Jermanskitchen]

It’s giving Janelle and barb from teen mom..

[@Random-xw1fg]

Freddie is 50 year old man now. ❤

[@Xdasilvamx]

50?! He should be 40 now I think

[@amandacarter7740]

I wonder if hes watched this!

[@Random-xw1fg]

@@Xdasilvamx you are right

[@Random-xw1fg]

@@amandacarter7740 I know

[@amandacarter7740]

@@Random-xw1fg another comment says hes on FB and thrres lots of happy photys with his mum nd seems to have a loving relationship with her! Very forgiving of him, but we only get 1 mum whom wev shared her body to grow in so its understandable

[@jdsiv3]

dude in the back at the @3:03 mark

[@TimeisUp22]

They have the same hairstyle

[@thatvalensteingirl]

Ma'am-- stop wobbling your head.

[@lisav6015]

Why the heel would anyone want to watch 30 yr old JJ shows???? It’s ridiculous

[@krystingrant6292]

Smdfh is she crazy

[@mrich9654]

This cat in heat needed to be fixed.

[@jazminefitzgerald2593]

He looks like a chubbier Jeffery dahmer

[@dijaworldworld3895]

She was raped that’s how she had first baby. That’s serious trauma.

[@Lenasevilla-yb4ei]

No she wasn’t she’s just loose

[@anchoredminds5514]

I was born in 1995

[@angelatarantini9184]

Why do they show cases this old?

[@mirandafaire4275]

Why not? I enjoy seeing the retro cases, including the bad fashion & hairstyles on the litigants! And it's a kick to see how JJ's patience & demeanor have changed over the years!

[@lounakin]

When we see this, it's easy to put the blame on the young mother. But we have to remember that this troubled young woman who had a child at 15/16 and doesn't know who, then had another with some rando was raised by these 'exemplary' grandparents. I'd say that's where the damage started.

[@pambennett3390]

Defendant is a ‘ho.

[@FaithFreeman-t9k]

First

[@rachelstratman8901]

Second! ❤

[@69misst1]

Dad looks like he’s pissed and heard it all before.

[@69misst1]

Child support is supposed to be for the child.

[@kennethjenkins5210]

blah blah blah said all the experts .

[@leehobkirk3442]

What a load of shit, who makes this crap.