Court Opinion

ID: 9571145
Source: CourtListenerOpinion
Date Created: 2023-08-21 20:29:20.790779+00
Date Added: 2024-06-11T12:28:49.659930
License: Public Domain

Baker, J.,
dissenting.
I respectfully disagree with the finding of the majority. As stated in its opinion, the trial court’s findings are entitled to great weight and ought not be disturbed on appeal unless plainly wrong or unsupported by the evidence. See Bailes v. Sours, 231 Va. 96, 100, 340 S.E.2d 824, 827 (1986); Code § 8.01-680. There is evidence in this record from which it reasonably can be inferred that prior to the death of her first husband (Mr. Moon), the child’s mother (Mrs. Mason) voluntarily relinquished custody of the child to Mr. Moon knowing that it would be the child’s paternal grandmother who would be caring for her. The record supports a finding that Mrs. Mason surrendered custody of the child prior to the entry of a divorce decree from Mr. Moon so she could live with Billy Robert Mason (Billy Robert), who subsequently shot and *224killed Mr. Moon.
While we do not have the benefit of a transcript of the homicide trial, the agreed statement of facts contained in this record indicates that the only witnesses to the homicide were the three year old child, Mrs. Mason and Billy Robert, whom Mrs. Mason married thirteen days after Mr. Moon’s death. Whether the child witnessed criminal homicide or merely the death of her father at Billy Robert’s hands, the trial court was justified in believing that the risk of an adverse psychological effect on the child was too great to place the child in a home with Billy Robert.
In child custody cases the best interests of the child are paramount and guide the exercise of the trial court’s discretion. The trial court sees and hears the witnesses as they testify and its decision ought not be reversed unless it is plainly wrong or without evidence to support it. Gray v. Gray, 228 Va. 696, 699, 324 S.E.2d 677, 679 (1985). In this case, the trial court did not need the opinion of an expert psychologist to conclude that there was sufficient likelihood of an adverse psychological effect on the child should she be required to live with the man who was the cause of her parents’ separation and who she saw shoot and kill her natural father. In my judgment, the facts on this record support the finding that the risk of an adverse effect was too great to order that the child be returned to the care and custody of her mother; accordingly, I find no abuse of discretion by the trial court. Even if Mrs. Mason otherwise may be a fit person to have custody of the child, it does not follow that living with Billy Robert, whom she married thirteen days after he killed the child’s father, is in the child’s best interest. Accordingly, I would affirm the judgment of the trial court.