Opinion ID: 6335204
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 1

Heading: Pre-Petition

Text: A.A. was born in Washington, Pennsylvania, in July 2015. Shortly after her birth she and the biological parents, M.A. and D.A., moved to New Martinsville, Wetzel County, West Virginia. The record contains little to no information about A.A.’s place of residence from the time she moved to New Martinsville until the filing of an abuse and neglect petition in Wetzel County on May 3, 2018 (the “2018 petition”). The 2018 petition alleged that A.A.’s mother, D.A., appeared at the New Martinsville Police Department in April 2018 while under the influence of controlled substances. A.A. was with her at the time. D.A. informed the police that A.A.’s father, 2 M.A., had kidnapped the child from Petitioner’s home in New Jersey in March 2018. 2 The petition further alleged that: D.A. was homeless; M.A. was absent; both parents suffered from substance abuse issues; and there was no family to take custody of A.A. After a hearing, the Circuit Court of Wetzel County dismissed the 2018 petition on May 16, 2018, without explanation. There is nothing in the record establishing the reason for the dismissal, nor has an explanation been proffered by the parties to the instant appeal. That said, the parties make multiple allusions to Petitioner’s conduct after the dismissal of the petition, and in particular that she transported the child back to New Jersey. We can further glean from the record that A.A. returned to West Virginia at some point in the summer of 2018, as both Petitioner and the Respondent Foster Parents testified that A.A. was in the care of the Respondent Foster Parents for approximately two weeks ending in mid-August 2018 after M.A. left the child in their home. 3 After leaving the Respondent Foster Parents’ home in August 2018, it is undisputed that A.A. traveled 2 We note that there is nothing in the record which either substantiates these allegations or indicates that Petitioner, and not M.A., had legal custody of the child at this time. 3 The testimony presented below indicates that M.A. was in a relationship with the Respondent Foster Parents’ daughter, K.S., at the time, and that the two were engaged in the abuse of controlled substances 3 to Pennsylvania where she resided with M.A. and Petitioner until relocating to South Carolina at the beginning of February 2019. 4