Please be seated. Hello, Your Honor. Hello. This is the case of<i>
Adams v. Spencer.</i> Thank you, Jerome. You're welcome. Good day, everyone. AUDIENCE: Good day. Ms. Adams, you say you were
caught in a love triangle and now the defendant
doesn't believe he fathered
your 13-month-old twins, K'Mariyon and K'Mariyonna. You testify that
you are 100% certain he is, and plan to prove it
today in court. Is that correct? Yes, Your Honor. JUDGE LAKE: Mr. Spencer, you say the plaintiff
needs to make up her mind about who
her children's father is. You state
that another man was claiming
the babies were his. And you say
when the results reveal
you are not the father, you plan to cut off
all communication. Is that correct? Yes, Your Honor. So, Ms. Adams, how did you get caught
in a love triangle? Well, to be honest with you,
I got caught up in
a love triangle because um, I was with
the same man for 13 years. I had separated. When we separated,
I had, was... Kinda going through
my vulnerable stage,
and things like that. I had went out actually
one day, you know, to the bar. And that's when
I had met Markeith. And when I met Markeith,
that's when, um, we started,
you know, having dealings
with each other and things like that. All right. So... You... You were in
a long-standing relationship. ADAMS: Yes. And then you broke up. ADAMS: Yes. And during that time,
you were intimate
with Mr. Spencer. Yes. JUDGE LAKE: Did you use
protection? No. All right.
So, were you and Mr. Spencer
in a committed relationship? No. JUDGE LAKE: No. And so, Mr. Spencer,
you agree with this testimony? You met Ms. Adams,
you all had started
having a sexual relationship, you didn't use protection? Yes, uh... Yes, Your Honor. But you weren't
in a committed relationship. No, we weren't. So did you know
whether or not at that time she was also intimate
with anybody else? Uh, no, I didn't. JUDGE LAKE: Ms. Adams,
were you intimate with anybody else
during that time? No, I was not. So how soon after
you broke up with your ex did you meet
with Mr. Spencer? I would say, like about
two and a half months later. All right. So during
this window of time you were intimate
with Mr. Spencer, you were not dealing
with your ex at all? No, I was not. Okay. So take me to
the point where you
find out you're pregnant. Well, I had found out
I was pregnant during the time that, um,
Markeith Spencer had went away. <i> Um, when Markeith went away,</i> I had found out the same week
that I was pregnant. All right. At the point you
found out you were pregnant,
who did you tell? I told, um, a family member
of Markeith Spencer that I was currently pregnant
and that I needed to speak
with him immediately. So you told
Mr. Spencer's family member. ADAMS: Yes. And you were confident
at that time that Mr. Spencer was
your child's biological father? Yes. JUDGE LAKE: And so Mr. Spencer,
your family member informed you that Ms. Adams was pregnant? Yeah, she called me
and then... She told me, like, that
Ms. Adams was pregnant
or whatever. And then I called
and checked with her
and was like, you know,
for confirmation, to make sure this is what
I was hearing. Then you know, we just, like... We talked about,
like, her pregnancy.
How she got pregnant, how this was possible,
how it happened. And so did she ever tell you there was another possibility, that there was someone else who could be the biological
father of the twins? No, Your Honor.
She never told me that. JUDGE LAKE: So you're
thinking to yourself, "I'm about to be a dad." Yes, yes, Your Honor. So... How did it get to the point
where this becomes
a paternity issue? How did we get here? Well, what happened,
the way that my ex came
into the picture is because once
I had the babies, the pictures went out
on the Internet, <i>and that's when my ex's mother</i> <i> called me and said that,</i> <i> "Those are my grandbabies.
They look just like my son."</i> JUDGE LAKE:<i> Oh.</i> And so once she said that, had you been thinking of that
in the back of your mind all this time... ADAMS: Never. Never? ADAMS: Never. I was starting
to hear it so much and I was getting
so many phone calls from like,
my ex's side of the family
and everything, about the boy. K'Mariyon, they were saying
he look like my ex
and everything. <i> So, it got to the point
where I'm just like, "Whoa."</i> Um, I never thought that
Markeith was not the father but then, you know,
she was just telling me all, "Khristian, put two and two
together. Just think about it, "you know, it don't make sense, "you already had
the babies early, "so you could have been
already pregnant "when you was
messing with Mr. Spencer." You know, she was just...
You know, saying things
like that, and stuff, and so then I start saying, "Well, you know what?
You never know." And I was also just
going off of emotion knowing I was still
in love with my ex
and things like that. So I just wasn't
really even looking
at the whole situation. I just was like...
Whatever it was it took
to get back with him, that's what it was.
So I kinda just
went with the story. I never said
out of my own mouth, "Okay, Mitchell
is the child's father," but I just was like,
"Well, you never know." JUDGE LAKE: All right. So, you are being
very honest in this moment... ADAMS: Yes. ...and you're saying once
your ex's mother called and said, "I believe
these children "are my grandchildren..." ADAMS: Yes. You were still in love
with your ex... Yes. And so you did not defuse
that, that sentiment. You didn't say,
"Nope. No, there's no way." You just kind of
left the door open because you
wanted that door open... ADAMS: Yes. ...as an opportunity
to get back together
with your ex. Yes, yes. Got it. Mr. Spencer, when did you
get wind of the fact that these twins,
the beautiful twins, <i> may not be
your biological children</i> <i> after you were told
that they were?</i> SPENCER:<i> It was like,
probably a couple months
after I was away.</i> I'd been going...
You know, I talked to her, kept in contact with her
the whole time. Like, her pregnancy
or whatever, we talked. You know, she was, you know,
writing me letters and stuff, saying how these was my kids, how she wanted me to come home,
be a family with her... <i> Stuff like that, you know.</i> And then the communication
was changing. Like, her attitude
was changing. Everything. So I kinda knew it was
like, "Either you back
messing with Mitchell "or there's something going on, "'cause you having
an attitude more, "like, you ain't really
keeping me up-to-date
with these kids." And like, it was like... So you noticed it. Yeah, like I kinda
noticed the change. So I kinda knew there's
somebody else in the picture. Like, it was then
they, uh, it read that...
They told me like, "Well, we did
a DNA test already.
Mitchell is the father." This what they told me. (AUDIENCE EXCLAIMS) Really? Ms. Adams, where are you
in this story? You're telling
both men now at this point it's their twins? Um, after I had the babies, Markeith was around
for the first month. Throughout that whole month, it was like, so much drama
with his ex, so much drama with him. It was like, all over again. I was like, I... When I got the phone call
from, from Mitchell... JUDGE LAKE: Yes? ...'cause his mom called him. <i> So he called me
and he was like, "Khristian,</i> <i> "I'm hearing that
there's a chance that
those babies are mine.</i> <i> "Is that true?"</i> Um, I said that I knew
that they were Markeith's,
as I said. But to this point,
you just never know. ADAMS: "Just come back,
'cause I want you
to come back regardless, "and we can just start over." And once that happened,
he said, "Okay. Well, I'm gonna
go ahead and come back." Once he came back,
without a shadow of a doubt I didn't even want to deal
with Markeith at all. (AUDIENCE MURMURING) WOMAN: Wow. All right, so once
your ex came back, you were done with Mr. Spencer because you really wanted
to be with your ex. ADAMS: Yes. Yes. Any way he was able
to get in contact with me... (STAMMERING) I... I changed everything,
you know. And when he did
contact me, or his ex contacted me, it was like, "Oh, we already
did the DNA already. "You don't have
to worry no more,
these is Mitchell's kids." So you did tell that story. Yes, I did. JUDGE LAKE: So you said it, and you knew it was a lie
when you said it. Yes, I did. Yes, I said it. But you were at a place where you decided
you were gonna erase
Mr. Spencer out the picture... ADAMS: Yes, yes. 'Cause you didn't
want the drama. Yes. Now, Mr. Spencer,
when this was happening, did you realize she was
just trying to cut you out, or did you... Did you feel
like she had determined you weren't the child's
biological father, and so she was just moving on? SPENCER:
Well, when I was away, my ex sent me pictures of Khristian's page. And I seen pictures of her
tagging Mitchell's mom... <i> As her grandkids.</i> <i> So I was like...</i> JUDGE LAKE:<i> Oh.</i> (AUDIENCE EXCLAIMING) "And you telling me
this whole time
these were my kids." And what did she say? And she was like,
"Oh, I ain't telling 'em that. "Mitchell just automatically
assumed these were his kids." She told me that,
you know, like, he automatically came back
and was like, "Oh, them my kids. I'm gonna be
taking care of them kids." So I kinda fell back,
like, you know... All right. So we actually have the grandmother who's tagged
in the pictures, here in court, and I would like
to hear from her. Jerome, will you please escort Ms. Jernigan
into the courtroom? JEROME: Yes, ma'am. Thank you joining us,
Ms. Jernigan. Thank you. So, just to be clear,
you are the mother of Mitchell which is Miss Adams'
ex-boyfriend. Yes. JUDGE LAKE:
And I have to ask you, do you believe these are
your son's biological children? Yes, I do. Please explain to the court. The first week
that they was born, uh, Khristian's mom called me. So, she said, "Bonnette, look.
Take a look at the babies. "Look at these pictures,
something ain't right." JERNIGAN:<i> So, she sent
me the pictures,</i> <i> I'm like, "Oh, my God."</i> So, I went looking for some
of Mitchell's baby pictures and I started sending them
through the family. And the family's like,
"Oh, my God, these are
Mitchell's babies." JERNIGAN:<i> So, as I talked
to Khristian, I'm like,
"Are you sure?</i> <i> "We just left here
at the end of December.</i> <i> "You said you met
Markeith in February.</i> It's not adding up. So, I'm calculating.
I'm calling, and... Everybody's calculating. What does your son believe? He believes that
these are his kids. He does? Yes, he does. JERNIGAN:<i> Yes, he does.</i> <i> When they was two weeks old,
I went down there.</i> Yes, he saw pictures of me
on Facebook, because
I was the grandmother. So, I would go every two weeks, helping Khristian, being there, and when I went, Mitchell was
on the passenger side. We talked all the way
back to Minnesota, saying, "Are you sure, Ma? "I want this to work, Ma. "I don't have two kids,
I got four kids now. "I think we can work it out." And the reason
we started backing back,
because all of a sudden I saw Markeith at one
Khristian's friend's house. Yes? He said, "These are my babies." So, he was trying to show me some pictures... JUDGE LAKE: So, wait,
you saw Mr. Spencer? Yes. So, you... That was
the first time you had
seen Mr. Spencer? Yes, in person. So, Mr. Spencer, do you
remember this encounter? Yes, Your Honor. JUDGE LAKE: And what did
you say to Miss Jernigan? Uh, well, you know, originally,
I came over there and Mitchell was
coming in the door, and he wanted to talk to me. So, Khristian's like,
"Mitchell wants to
talk to you." He was like,
"Do you think my... Do you
think these kids are yours?" I said, "Yeah."
He said, "I think
K'Mariyon look like me." <i> And that was our only
conversation right there.</i> <i> He stopped, and that's
when I seen his mom.
And then she was...</i> She was, you know,
ecstatic, she was... Your Honor, I just wanna say
something about that situation. Uh, okay, we talkin'
about eight months later, because for a whole
seven months, Mitchell,
I mean, Mitchell was the only one
in the picture. Markeith was trying
to get in contact with me
for about seven months. But you had blocked him
out of your life. ADAMS: I had
blocked him out, yup. Actually, me and Mitchell
wasn't even together. Mitchell had actually
went back to Chicago. Me and him
wasn't together at all. Mitchell decided,
'cause I started back, uh, talking with Markeith
and everything and let him start come back
to see the kids. Mitchell decided on his own
to come back from Chicago, and Markeith popped up
just to come see the kids. And that's when
Mitchell was like, "Well, where he at?
I need to see him now." You know, so it
wasn't like I was... So... ...being messy about it
or anything. Well, no, but what is clear,
though, Miss Adams, from your testimony is,
you have allowed, at certain times,
both men to believe they are the twins'
biological father. JUDGE LAKE:<i>
That's just the truth.</i> <i> Look, this is a lot.</i> Because everybody wants
the twins to be theirs. Yes. And it seems like, Miss Adams,
you have allowed the story to unfold in a way that suits your
possible opportunity to get back with your ex... Yes. ...but secretly knowing
all the while that you really believed
the children are Mr. Spencer's. Yes. But because you allowed
that door to be open, the family has gotten
attached to the children. ADAMS: Yes. I can see how emotional
Miss Jernigan is right now. (SIGHS) JUDGE LAKE: When you
look at the babies,
you love the babies? I love them.
There's nothing gonna change. Nothing. Those are my babies. And look, Miss Adams,
as wrong as it may have been, I respect your courage in the fact that
in this moment, you did... We see this all the time,
children getting used as pawns. Children getting used as pawns, we gonna either get back
with somebody, or get back at somebody. Yeah. JUDGE LAKE: You're admitting
that you came in here today and you used your twins
as a pawn. ADAMS: Yes. And you allowed them to believe
there was a possibility because that, then, allowed
there to be a possibility that you get back with your ex. Yes. But you do get now that,
now your children have two different families
completely attached to them. Yes. I know I got
a connection with them. I mean, they know who I am,
you know? They come near me and stuff like that,
but it's like... I feel like I've built
that connection
like I wanted to. I wanna get the results
for you. Jerome? (AUDIENCE APPLAUDING) These results were
prepared by DNA Diagnostics,
and they read as follows. Since the twins are fraternal,
we have two separate results. The first result
is for K'Mariyonna. JUDGE LAKE: In the case of<i>
Adams vs. Spencer,</i> pertaining to whether
Mr. Williams or Mr. Spencer is the father of one-year-old
K'Mariyonna Adams Spencer, it has been determined
by this court, the biological father is... Mr... Spencer. (AUDIENCE APPLAUDING) JUDGE LAKE: The next result
is for K'Mariyon. In the case of<i>
Adams v. Spencer,</i> pertaining to whether
Mr. Williams or Mr. Spencer is the father of one-year-old
K'Mariyon Adams Spencer, it has been determined
by this court, the biological father is... Mr... Spencer. (AUDIENCE APPLAUDING) (EXHALES) JUDGE LAKE: Mr. Spencer,
you are the biological father. What are you feeling
in this moment? Like, if she'd known
these was my kids
all this time, then... You should've never
not allowed me to build
that relationship with them. JUDGE LAKE:<i> I will say that we
have to count our blessings,</i> and the children
are only 13 months. And you do have the time
and the opportunity to establish a bond with them,
and to be there for them. Can I say something
to Markeith? JUDGE LAKE: Yes. I don't know you,
but I really would
like to get to know you. You know, and... I will always respect you
as their dad. Love your babies. And I respect you
and thank you. (AUDIENCE APPLAUDING) Um... Let me tell you
something, Ms. Adams. We could be really hard on you. But I can tell how hard
you probably have been
on yourself. But I hope, in this moment,
you understand you are one blessed
and lucky young woman. JERNIGAN: Amen. Right? Yes. And what your children
have gotten is people in their lives who love them unconditionally. All you have to do is step out
of the wings of denial, lies, shame... (ADAMS SNIFFLES) ...and step center stage
in your life as a mother. And raise your
children with their father and all of the other
people in the family who've decided to be
the cast of characters that raise and support
these beautiful twins. All you have to do now
is show up. Yeah. Do you understand? Yes. (AUDIENCE APPLAUDING) All right.
We have counseling
and resources for you all. I wish you all
the very, very best of luck. Court is adjourned.
Thank you.
