Opinion ID: 2403283
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 3

Heading: W. Gibson, D. O.

Text: Edina, Missouri May 16, 1963 To Whom It May Concern: This is to certify that I treated Kevin Lee Shepler on February 12, 1963 for a viral influenza. I gave him antibiotics and prescribed further treatment with same. On February 13, 1963 I saw Terry Rae Shepler, who showed listlessness and a run down condition for which I prescribed a vitamin tonic. Yours truly, /s/ C. W. Gibson, D.O. C. W. Gibson, D.O. The subsequently submitted grade cards state that on the basis of work made up during the summer, each child had been promoted to the next grade for the 1963-1964 school year. Moreover, the only oral testimony introduced on the part of petitioner was that of himself and his present (third) wife. A reading of petitioner's own testimony leaves much to be desired, and it is not surprising that the circuit judge would not have been favorably impressed by it. The substance of some of it (including that bearing on the timing of his subsequent marriages, the indefiniteness of his several employments, and his admitted persistent noncompliance with the divorce decree directing reasonable payments for the support of the children) appears in the opinion of the Court of Appeals, but the intangibles do not, nor can they be readily depicted. In the interest of brevity, that set forth in the opinion under scrutiny should be read in connection with the present opinion. On the other hand, there are disquieting intimations in the cross-examination of some of respondents' witnesses to the effect that Mr. Sayres drinks intoxicating liquor to excess. Even so, he was not called as a witness. Perhaps this is merely illustrative of those instances where a record is made in the light of a trial judge's known familiarity with local conditions, and there is carelessness in preserving the record to be reviewed in other surroundings. In any event, on appraisal of the record anew here, and taking into account the history of the prior litigation, and the variant results in the different courts in the instant case, and the other considerations to which reference has been made, we have concluded that an adjudication on the merits of the custody issue cannot be sanctioned in the absence of a more searching and exhaustive exploration of the facts on which that issue must turn. The submission is therefore set aside, and the cause remanded to the St. Louis Court of Appeals so that such evidence may be taken, and, in the light thereof, a new judgment entered. All concur, except HOLMAN, J., not sitting.