Please be seated. Hello, Your Honor. Hello. This is the case of<i>
Serfozo v. Miller.</i> Thank you, Jerome. You're welcome. Good day, everyone. Miss Serfozo, you call your
daughter, Synite, your "miracle baby." SERFOZO: Yes, Your Honor. JUDGE LAKE: Because you were
told, you'd never have kids. And when she was born, she had
three possible fathers,
including Mr. Miller. Yes, Your Honor. Now, Mr. Miller, you
and your fiancee, Miss Draher, say, Miss Serfozo is
lying about paternity, and you have physical proof. Yes, ma'am. So, Miss Serfozo,
I have to ask you this. How do you end up
with three possible fathers
for your miracle baby? Ma'am, at that time, I did
have a... I do have a past,
just like everybody else. At that time, it was
party central for me. I was just partying
all the time. When I found out
I was pregnant, I was involved with
somebody else. JUDGE LAKE: Okay. So. You were dating one man? SERFOZO: Yes, ma'am. And you assumed he was
the father of your child. SERFOZO: Yes, ma'am. JUDGE LAKE: But the truth is,
you were also intimate,
obviously, if you believe there are
three possible fathers, with two other men. Yes, ma'am. One of which was Mr. Miller. SERFOZO: Yes, ma'am. Now how did you
and Mr. Miller meet? Through one of his
family members. So the relationship
became a sexual relationship. Yes, ma'am. And you had sex
without using protection? SERFOZO: Yes, ma'am. And, Mr. Miller, you
agree that happened? No ma'am, I have no... JUDGE LAKE: You have not? (AUDIENCE MURMURING) So, how do you
remember this going? I vaguely remember
meeting her at my family member's
house, at a party. I was partying a lot, and they said
I took her upstairs
and I don't remember. JUDGE LAKE: They said? Yeah. SERFOZO: Your Honor... You really don't remember
the sexual relationship? No, I don't. Wow. So that means
you can't say for certain, whether it was
protected or not. SERFOZO: That is
a blatant lie. We went and picked
Mr. Miller up, I sat on his lap. And so we got to the
family member's house. It was not a party. He came over casually. He actually asked me
if he could come over. And that's when... JUDGE LAKE: So you're saying
you felt more like this particular encounter
between you two was a date. Not as a date, but as
friends with benefits. So, was this
a one time benefit, or did they extend... No ma'am, it happened multiple
times throughout months. It did not happen
throughout months. JUDGE LAKE: Because surely
you might have forgot, or not be able to remember
one time but, months? Yeah, there was no possible
way there was months. Well, how long
were you with her? That night, if any. JUDGE LAKE: So wait. SERFOZO: Okay. All right, so you're saying,
you're with her once, maybe, and she is saying,
you were together for months. Well, luckily for
this courtroom, we only
need the once, and since you can't remember, (AUDIENCE CLAPPING) we'll just go with
Miss Serfozo's
testimony right now. And the DNA evidence
will be the jury. Moving on, so, there are other possible
fathers as well. Yes, Your Honor. Please elaborate. The reason we had broken off, is because he went to
my best friend. I caught him. I caught his
car at my best friend's house. And at that time,
I found another. Okay, so he started sleeping
with your best friend, so you found somebody else. Yes, Your Honor. There was no us
to begin with, so... But you do remember
moving on and sleeping
with her friend? Yeah. JUDGE LAKE: That
part he remembers. (AUDIENCE LAUGHING) So, Miss Serfozo, you got
pregnant, you gave birth. Who did you tell?
Were any of these men, these three possible fathers, were they with you
through your pregnancy, did they go to doctor's
appointments with you, did they support you, were they in the
delivery room,
something? One of them actually
was throughout my whole
pregnancy with me, cut her umbilical cord, and actually pursued on it,
so he was excluded. You've had a DNA test
with that gentleman, and, unfortunately,
he has been excluded as
a potential father. Yes, Your Honor.
That is why I'm here today. There is another man. SERFOZO: Yes, Your Honor. Right? Yes, Your Honor. Did you contact him? No, Your Honor,
because I believe without
a doubt in my mind, that is Michael Miller's baby. What makes you so convinced? Because my daughter
looks exactly like him, and all his children. JUDGE LAKE: <i> Do you see
a resemblance, Mr. Miller?</i> MILLER: <i> No.</i> JUDGE LAKE: Not at all? Mr. Miller, so, how did
you and your fiancee
find out about the child? Uh, she told us through, told
her through a text message. I never actually got a message
that she was pregnant,
or that it might be my baby. JUDGE LAKE: So you got
a text message? Uh, through Facebook. Now Miss Draher,
what did you find out? Okay, that, she never
texted me or him,
or anybody to start with. In December of 2013,
I was talking to my ex, who had ended up
with Miss Serfozo, and he says, "Well you know,
I'm here with Michael's baby." Your children's father
is now with Miss Serfozo. He was with her,
for like, two months. Four. JUDGE LAKE: Okay,
so he was in a sexual
relationship with her. Yes. JUDGE LAKE: Called you
and said, "I'm here with... DRAHER: Michael's baby. "Michael's baby." And he said, "Did you know
he's got a baby that's
about six months old?" I was talking to my ex, who had ended up
with Miss Serfozo, and he says, "Well you know,
I'm here with Michael's baby." And he said, "Did you know
he's got a baby that's
about six months old?" JUDGE LAKE: And what
did you say? I said, "I didn't know that, "but I'll ask him about it
when I get home." He's like, "What are
you talking about?" He's like, "I've never even
heard about this," you know. We looked up on
Facebook, he says, "I don't even remember
meeting this girl.
Who is this?" you know. That's pretty funny. This fuzziness is
questionable, Mr. Miller. I said, "I vaguely remember
meeting her at a party." But you didn't tell your
fiancee you may or may not
have slept with her. No, because I was so
tore up that night,
I don't even remember. In August, when the time
was supposed to happen, I was in South Carolina, and I have a ticket
right here to prove,
that I got in August. Jerome, hand me
that evidence, please. SERFOZO: And he
was also, in August, gone for a whole week where
nobody could find him. No, I was not. JUDGE LAKE: Mr. Miller,
your contention is you weren't even in town. No ma'am. So how could it be you? That's right. So August, you're gone. I was gone from that
place before August. When was Synite born? SERFOZO: June 14th, ma'am. February... I'm getting
through the year, hold on. So, you're claiming
you were not around during the window
of conception. Yes, ma'am. But if my
math is right, sometime in September
could have also been a window of conception
for the baby. (AUDIENCE MURMURING
IN AGREEMENT) I was not there. All of her friends
even say, she sleeps with guy
to guy to guy to guy. She jumps from guy to guy. SERFOZO: She don't
even know my friends, Your Honor. I know her friends... So, that's okay.
That's okay. ...because they're his family. Like, she's trying to
butt into his family. MILLER: Her friends
are my friends. DRAHER: She's a
delusional tramp. JUDGE LAKE: So, hold on. Okay, Shamu. Your contention is there are
no other possible fathers. There is no other
possible fathers, ma'am. She looks like him. <i> His own mother says that she
acts like him as a baby.</i> She comes up with
all these stories, she's even told me stories
about my own kids' father. In December, she was
texting me, telling me that my kids should be told
that their father is dead, because he had a new life
with her and her child. Ma'am, that was never said. And that he was no longer
gonna be their dad. And that's what
she said to me. That was never said. Well, isn't this a mess. He has known since
she was five months old that he was possibly
the father. He could have went
to Welfare and said, "I want to do the
DNA on this child." But you say this
is your miracle baby. This is my miracle baby, and
I hate the situation I'm in. I hate that I have
to come up here. And I hate that I don't
know who her dad is. And it kills me every day. I do apologize.
I never thought I would be in this
predicament, ma'am. That is my miracle baby, and every day,
I thank God for her. But I'm the one standing
here, struggling to make sure
she has diapers, where he's standing there,
refusing to tell Child Support
where he is so he could do a DNA test,
but y'all found him. So, ultimately, your
position is, "I need to
do this for my daughter." Yes, ma'am, my daughter
means everything. That she deserves the support, and he's supporting
his other children, and Miss Draher's children, and you believe, if your
daughter is his daughter, he should be supporting
her as well. She deserves to know
who her father is. And she deserves to
know who her father is,
that is correct. (AUDIENCE CLAPPING) Yes, I had a party phase, I'm
not going to deny that, judge. I'm not. I was 21 when
I met Mr. Miller. I was having fun,
I was kicking it. But why should my daughter
pay the consequences,
for my mistakes? DRAHER: She says that
he wouldn't know where
Child Support is. He has a child support
case with his ex-wife. He pays child support
every single week. So how is that,
we're not telling
Child Support where he is? Child Support does have
his address, Your Honor. We called the Child Support, in Ohio. And they said, And they sent it back. they'd never even
heard from her. So your contention is, They sent it back. "We're not trying to duck
or dodge any responsibility." MILLER: No, ma'am, I'm not. No, ma'am, I'm not. If I'm the dad, I'll
step up to the plate. He takes care of my
four, plus his three. Yeah, I have three,
she has four. And I take care of them. And he takes care
of all of them. So how am I a deadbeat,
like she claims I am? I called the Child Support,
and they said that the postal thing
was sent back, that he doesn't live where I
gave them the address to. Then obviously you
don't know where it is. Well obviously you don't even
need to be in this, because
this isn't your child. JUDGE LAKE: Well, if you all
would stop arguing long enough to exchange contact
information, maybe Synite... Your Honor, I have the same
number I have had for 5 years,
the same phone number. JUDGE LAKE: So why has
this been so hard? I don't know. If I was that
in contact with her, why can't she dial
the phone number Because I've been in denial. I've had for five years? I don't have your phone
number anymore, I deleted it. JUDGE LAKE: You've
been in what? I've been in denial.
I do not want Mr. Miller
being my child's father, because, as in the past,
he left me for my best friend. There was no us
to begin with. Okay, whatever. So how could
I leave you? Okay, but hold on.
You made a point
that I think is valid. This is for my daughter,
ma'am. I'm not
going to argue with him. The bottom line is,
you've had the idea that
he could be her father... SERFOZO: Ma'am, his own
brother said that she
looked just like him. Yeah, you said a minute ago
he's the only choice,
but the truth is, you've been denying it, you wanted it to be
somebody else's. I don't want to have to put
up with his fiancee, ma'am. She, she... But now when it's come
down to the come down... She's the one that's
chasing me on Facebook
and harassing me. You never even texted
him to tell him he
might be the dad. But, Your Honor, I blocked
her from Facebook, because she was calling
me all sorts of names. Yeah. I told her, I already took
it to Child Support. He will be contacting
within a week or two. I don't
know what she is saying. Your Honor, she causes so much
drama in our family because
she texts me and harasses me, trying to get us
to split up. Your Honor, I'll show
you my phone. And like I've told her... And you know what,
her and my kids' father were together
for two months, she didn't put it
on Facebook. He was with you from
December to January, and when he moved back
to South Carolina, he moved in with another
woman, the next day. Okay. So he loved you so much, why did he move
in with another woman
the very next day? Because you had
her ex-boyfriend living
with you and Michael. Oh oh! JUDGE LAKE: What? I don't need to know. (AUDIENCE LAUGHING) SERFOZO: But Your Honor, I'm
not here to argue with her... I don't even want to know. That is the reason I'm here. And that is the only
reason I'm here.
It's because of... That's the only reason... (BOTH CLAMORING) Excuse me, ladies. It never ceases to amaze me
when I see two grown women arguing back and forth,
back and forth over a man that's standing in the middle
with nothing to say. Oh, I don't want him.
She can have him. I don't want him. I never wanted him. He... Nothing to say. I already said,
what I had to say. I said, I would step up to the
plate if the baby was mine. That's all there is. JUDGE LAKE: And look, that's
all I need to hear you say. But it's still fascinating
that these two women are going back and
forth, back and forth... Because women do this. Arguing, this on Facebook,
"You told me this," "You trying to do this,"
"You trying to do that," when the focus should be, if you're this child's father,
this beautiful child's father, where do we go from here? MILLER: I'll step
up to the plate. JUDGE LAKE: Jerome,
in light of that... I'll do what I can. JUDGE LAKE: I think we're
ready for the results. SERFOZO: We did stay together
when she was conceived. There you go, Judge. DRAHER: Just like he
was up there the weekend
before he crashed, right? SERFOZO: He was there March 7. DRAHER: No he wasn't. SERFOZO: Yes, he was. Still going? He had my kids
that weekend. Okay. She's delusional. (SCOFFS) Yeah, okay. Results, or more
riff raff argument? No, ma'am, I want to
know the results. Yeah, I wanna know
the results. I wanna go to my child, I've been away
from her too long. These results were prepared
by DNA Diagnostics, and they read as follows. In the case of<i>
Serfozo v. Miller,</i> pertaining to one-year-old
Synite Plaza, Yes, ma'am. Mr. Miller... I was so tore up that night,
I don't even remember. These results were prepared
by DNA Diagnostics, and they read as follows. In the case of<i>
Serfozo v. Miller,</i> pertaining to one-year-old
Synite Plaza, Yes, ma'am. JUDGE LAKE: Mr. Miller, you... ...are not her father. MILLER: Told you. DRAHER: Thank God. Thank God. So now
where's the other men. I'm glad he's not. I'm glad, really,
that he's not her father. I'm sorry that I had to
put him through this. I just want to know
who her father is. I have to ask you, do you know who your
child's father is? No, Your Honor. I do not. (AUDIENCE SIGHING) JUDGE LAKE: You know, I want people to come
in this courtroom, and I want them to lay it
on the line for a child, and I want them
to tell the truth. And that was an ugly
truth to tell. SERFOZO: Yes, it was. But you told it and you were
brave enough to say it. And this court is going to
provide some resources to you, because I cannot imagine not knowing who
my child's father is. What that would mean for me, what that would mean, more
importantly, for my child. And having to figure out
how to work through that, and make it right for them. And you've got
that huge challenge on your hands, and
you've got to be strong. You're one step closer. Now at least you know,
he is not. And now you can begin
to figure out who is. SERFOZO: Yeah. Okay. Court is adjourned. MILLER: That's right. DRAHER: Thank you. (AUDIENCE CLAPPING) It's just one step closer
to finding out who my child's father is,
and I'm happy about that. Like I said, I'm happy
that he is not the father. I did not wanna have
to deal with him for the rest of my life. When I heard the
results, I knew, they were gonna
come back not mine, because I know for a fact
that I was not there.
