Custody Case Resumes For Detroit Mom Charged With Killing 2 Kids, Hiding Bodies In Freezer
DETROIT (WWJ/AP) - A Detroit mother charged with killing two of her children and hiding their bodies in a freezer has returned to court for a custody hearing involving two surviving siblings.
Testimony resumed Thursday in Mitchelle Blair's parental rights case in Wayne County Circuit Court. Similar to her behavior last week, Blair entered the hearing holding up her shackled hands with her right middle finger extended -- apparently in the direction of her children's fathers.
Authorities want to terminate Blair's rights to her 17-year-old daughter and 8-year-old son, who are currently in protective custody. The state also wants to end the parental rights of their fathers. The state says the fathers rarely see the kids and owe thousands of dollars in child support.
Blair was arrested March 24 after court deputies carrying out an eviction at her apartment found the bodies of 13-year-old Stoni Blair and 9-year-old Stephen Berry in the home's deep freezer. Police believe they died months apart in 2012 and 2013.
[Father Of Boy Found In Freezer Says He Failed To Protect Son]
Blair was briefly removed from the ongoing hearing last Thursday after an outburst. As a videotape played in court, which showed Blair's surviving son telling a social worker that he saw his brother killed, Blair yelled that he "didn't see me kill Stephen, 'cause it was unintentional."
The next day, Blair entered the hearing holding up her shackled hands, with only her middle fingers extended.
[Mom Of Kids Found In Freezer Yells During Custody Trial That She Killed Them]
Blair is charged with murder, torture and child abuse. She is to undergo a mental competency exam before a June 19 hearing in the murder cases.
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