Buffalo, NY (WBEN) Family Court is the scheduled setting for Friday's custody hearing regarding a three year old boy found on a porch earlier this month. That boy mentioned a burning car, later discovered with human remains inside, but it's unclear if those are the remains of the boy's parents.
"This will be an Article 10 hearing, which means the department of social services has taken custody of a child as a result of either abuse, neglect, or they simply cannot determine where this child should be," says attorney Mark Carney. "The court will always prefer to place the child with a family member. If the court cannot determine a family member is available and appropriate and in the best interest in the child, then the child will be place with a foster parent.
What if the parents are still alive? "This case has a lot of complications. If the parents are still alive, there's a different standard for a non-parent to bring an action to custody. In that case, the court has to conduct a hearing to determine extraordinary circumstances that would allow a non-parent to ask for custody," says Carney. "There are a lot of rumors surrounding this case. If it's determined the parents were here trying to conduct a drug deal, as evidenced by drugs in their hotel room, then the court will want to inquire about what the grandparents knew about that drug deal. Did they know the parents were taking the three year old to sell drugs. This may or may not work in their favor," explains Carney.