I am writing to you to bring a major issue to others' attention. The law in reference to grandparents rights. My older brother Willard "Willy" Baker was murdered Jan. 12, 2012. His murderer was caught and recently sentenced to life with parole in 52 years.
My brother leaves behind a 3-year-old son, whose mother moved him to Williamsburg, Va., when they separated in November 2011 and she moved back to Williamsburg. At first she was letting us have contact with him, phone calls, Skype, and we even got to bring him to Ohio for two weeks in February 2012. In April communication started getting very little. We were supposed to get him for two weeks in June and a week before, she texted me and said we could not get him. We went down to Virginia to see him on June 22 and that was the last communication we have had with him. She has blocked our phone calls, emails, etc.
My parents (the grandparents) and I hired a lawyer in the state of Virginia to try to get visitation. We went to court Nov. 28. Since Virginia does not honor grandparents' rights, we were denied visitation. Her reason for not letting us see him is because he throws tantrums when he goes back home.
I ask for your help. My nephew Hunter is my parents' only biological grandchild, as I can never have children. We only want to be in Hunter's life. We want to talk to him, we want to see him. He is all we have of my brother. My family has endured so much pain this year. We want to see Hunter and let him know we love him and how much his father loved him.
We have created a website which includes my family story, along with a petition for people to sign to try and get the law changed, not only for us but other families as well: www.thewillylaw.com.
Christy Drake
Marietta
