Two years after ex-wife is accused in alleged murder plot, dad is still seeking custody of daughter
There’s a new twist in a battle between a Connecticut dad and his ex-wife, who has been accused in an alleged plot to have him murdered.
Frustrated in his bid to obtain custody of his daughter, Eric Stevens has filed an ethics complaint against the girl’s court-appointed guardian ad litem that alleges corruption and perjury, the Associated Press reports.
A Hartford judge rejected Eric Stevens’ bid for custody of his daughter, filed after the July 2012 arrest of his ex-wife, Tiffany Stevens. Still pending is a motion for custody filed by the ex-wife’s parents.
Tiffany Stevens is accused of offering to pay a maintenance man $5,000 to kill Eric Stevens. She pleaded not guilty and posted $1 million bond.
Eric Stevens is allowed to communicate with his daughter, who turns 9 in a few weeks, only through phone calls. He says he is unsure who has custody of the girl. The parent who succeeds in obtaining permanent custody will also have use of a $50 million trust fund for the girl’s benefit.
The ex-wife’s parents are Edward Khalily and Diana Rabbani. Khalily is a principal of chemical distributor WEGO Chemical & Mineral Co. They have alleged Eric Stevens is an unfit parent. Tiffany Stevens’ lawyers have filed court documents alleging that Eric Stevens has depression with “psychotic features.”
Eric Stevens pleaded guilty to misdemeanor reckless endangerment after he was arrested in August 2009 for violating a restraining order, allegedly for going to his daughter’s school and trying to buy a gun for $10,000 at a pawn shop, the AP story says.
The guardian ad litem did not return the AP’s phone messages for comment. Last week, meanwhile, the legislature voted to reconfirm the judge in the case, Leslie Olear, despite opposition by families frustrated with the family court system.
FoxCT has prior coverage.
Updated at 8:50 a.m. to make clear that court documents alleging depression with “psychotic features” refer to Eric Stevens.
