Local News
>
News
>
Local News
Joint custody of 4-year-old to continue
By MARK MARONEY — mmaroney@sungazette.com
WILLIAMSPORT — In a case that likely will be revisited down the road, two grandmothers will continue to share custody of 4-year-old Gianna Barone.
Paternal grandmother Victoria Barone of Williamsport and maternal grandmother Vickey Warshaw of State College agreed to share legal custody.
They will exchange the girl every seven days, according to Dana Jacques, a child custody officer and law clerk for Lycoming County Judge Richard A. Gray.
The women and Gianna’s grandfather, Donald Warshaw of Florida, were in the second day of a partial custody hearing before Gray last week when the dispute abruptly ended.
“They decided to settle,” Jacques said. “That’s what we would rather see.”
Jacques said while things are resolved for the moment, the issue may resurface when Gianna is about ready to enter school, about a year and a half from now.
For that to happen, one of the grandmothers would have to file a petition for a modification of the judge’s order, Jacques said.
“A lot can happen in a year and a half,” Jacques said, a reference to the uncertainty that surrounds the case going forward.
Judge Gray didn’t have to make a decision, she said, because the parties agreed to the existing schedule, with some stipulations.
The major changes relate to scheduling, transportation and geography: Now each grandmother is to pick up the girl at the other’s home. Before the stipulation in the order, the women were following a schedule where each would exchange the girl at designated spots, including restaurants.
Also, a special schedule will allow the girl’s grandfather visitation rights.
Little Gianna had already been the subject of an ongoing custody battle at the time of the death of her estranged parents last Easter. That dispute rose to another level when Benjamin Barone shot his wife, Jodi Warshaw — from whom he had been separated — and then himself in a murder-suicide at the Sheetz convenience store in Mill Hall.
“I’m not in a position to make any comments,” said J. Paul Helvy, attorney for Vickey Warshaw, who was reached by telephone Tuesday after the judge issued the order. “I don’t on custody cases.”
Attempts to reach Christina Dinges, Barone’s attorney, and Jennifer Bierly, Donald Warshaw’s attorney, were unsuccessful.
Gray’s order states that neither grandmother can make a self-serving decision that significantly affects their granddaughter, including decisions related to the child’s health, education, religious upbringing and extracurricular activities.
Both grandmothers will have access to Gianna’s educational and medical records, according to the order.
The grandmothers will continue to use the counseling and psychological services of Robert Meachum. Costs for the therapy sessions will be shared, Gray said.
Donald Warshaw also may take part in the therapy sessions by telephone and can attend them personally when he is in the area.
Dr. Dan Egli, a local psychologist, also will take part in the families’ lives by providing therapy.
Egli said it was vital for the grandmothers to lay down their arms and consult each other, participating equally in major decisions affecting Gianna’s best interests.
Paternal grandmother Victoria Barone of Williamsport and maternal grandmother Vickey Warshaw of State College agreed to share legal custody.
They will exchange the girl every seven days, according to Dana Jacques, a child custody officer and law clerk for Lycoming County Judge Richard A. Gray.
The women and Gianna’s grandfather, Donald Warshaw of Florida, were in the second day of a partial custody hearing before Gray last week when the dispute abruptly ended.
“They decided to settle,” Jacques said. “That’s what we would rather see.”
Jacques said while things are resolved for the moment, the issue may resurface when Gianna is about ready to enter school, about a year and a half from now.
For that to happen, one of the grandmothers would have to file a petition for a modification of the judge’s order, Jacques said.
“A lot can happen in a year and a half,” Jacques said, a reference to the uncertainty that surrounds the case going forward.
Judge Gray didn’t have to make a decision, she said, because the parties agreed to the existing schedule, with some stipulations.
The major changes relate to scheduling, transportation and geography: Now each grandmother is to pick up the girl at the other’s home. Before the stipulation in the order, the women were following a schedule where each would exchange the girl at designated spots, including restaurants.
Also, a special schedule will allow the girl’s grandfather visitation rights.
Little Gianna had already been the subject of an ongoing custody battle at the time of the death of her estranged parents last Easter. That dispute rose to another level when Benjamin Barone shot his wife, Jodi Warshaw — from whom he had been separated — and then himself in a murder-suicide at the Sheetz convenience store in Mill Hall.
“I’m not in a position to make any comments,” said J. Paul Helvy, attorney for Vickey Warshaw, who was reached by telephone Tuesday after the judge issued the order. “I don’t on custody cases.”
Attempts to reach Christina Dinges, Barone’s attorney, and Jennifer Bierly, Donald Warshaw’s attorney, were unsuccessful.
Gray’s order states that neither grandmother can make a self-serving decision that significantly affects their granddaughter, including decisions related to the child’s health, education, religious upbringing and extracurricular activities.
Both grandmothers will have access to Gianna’s educational and medical records, according to the order.
The grandmothers will continue to use the counseling and psychological services of Robert Meachum. Costs for the therapy sessions will be shared, Gray said.
Donald Warshaw also may take part in the therapy sessions by telephone and can attend them personally when he is in the area.
Dr. Dan Egli, a local psychologist, also will take part in the families’ lives by providing therapy.
Egli said it was vital for the grandmothers to lay down their arms and consult each other, participating equally in major decisions affecting Gianna’s best interests.
Facebook
MySpace
Digg
Stumble
Mixx
Fark
del.icio.us
LiveSpaces