You may be seated. Hello, Your Honor. Hello. This is the case of<i>
Murphy v. Myles.</i> Thank you, Jerome.
Good day, everyone. ALL: Good day. Ms. Murphy,
you claim you had a short, passionate
relationship with the defendant,
Mr. Myles, and then you became pregnant. Yes, Your Honor. Now you say he's married
and wants to forget he has a three-year-old son. AUDIENCE: Aw. Yes, Your Honor. Mr. Myles, you argue
that the only person you're trying to forget
is Ms. Murphy. Yes, Your Honor. AUDIENCE: Oh. JUDGE LAKE: You deny
paternity of her son and say her friends
and family have told you another man is his
biological father. AUDIENCE: Oh. Ms. Murphy, how has
Mr. Myles participated
in your son's life? Your Honor, this man
has not done anything
for my son. I can count
on one hand how many times
he's ever even came to visit his son. AUDIENCE: Aw. On top of that, he refers
to my son as "the boy." <i> "The boy."
"How's 'the boy' doing?"</i> <i> "How is your son doing?
What's his name again?"</i> Him and his daughter
they all look alike. They all have the same face,
but he doesn't... He won't acknowledge
that at all. What happened when you told
him you were pregnant? He said, "I don't want you
to have this baby. "This is not okay. "I don't need this
type of attention." He didn't need it,
you know. He was man enough
to make that baby but he can't be man enough
to take care of it. (AUDIENCE APPLAUDS) MURPHY: He has not
done anything. He wasn't
willing to pay for the paternity test
any other way. And that's not true. He said he didn't have
the money for it. If that's the case,
Your Honor, we would not be here. It would be already
taken care of. So, sir, are these
assertions true? What is going on
with this situation? Well, Your Honor,
first and foremost, um... I never said that I didn't want to
do things for him. I just was under
the impression that it was not my son, due to the fact of stuff
that was told to me by family members,
you know. She would tell me one minute
she's pregnant by me. Then I asked her,
"What's the reason "you got hickies
on her neck?" And she tells me... Oh, my... Really? And she tells me, because the guy that's,
at, um, at her mom's complex pushed her up against
the washing machine and put hickies
on her neck. Really, Keba? JUDGE LAKE: Really? Now, that didn't
fly with me. Your Honor, that's a lie. When I was talking to him,
I was only talking to him because I was
so busy about, "How I am going to
get back to his house? "How am I gonna
get over to see him?" I really liked him
at the time that we were seeing each other. I was not talking
to anybody. All that he is saying
is a lie. I've never even had... JUDGE LAKE:
So, in your opinion... Sir, what was the nature
of the relationship with
Ms. Murphy? Your Honor, um, to say
it was a relationship... I couldn't say that. I could say
it was more of... We were cool,
we were friends, you know? I wouldn't say
it was a relationship. Were you both committed
to one another? I couldn't even
say that, Your Honor. JUDGE LAKE:
Were you aware, um, whether or not she was
sleeping with anybody else? Yeah, her family members
told me specifically... The family members that
you were sleeping with. The family members told me
that she was getting around. Family members told me
that she was getting around. The family members
that he sleeping with
told him that. Ms. Murphy knew
that I was already dealing with one of her
family members. She knew that. Never did I. So you were in
a sexual relationship
with a family member? Correct, and she knew that. JUDGE LAKE: Before you two
had a sexual relationship? MYLES: Yes, and she was
fully aware of that. And what did that person
say specifically? She told me specifically, "I don't know why you're
dealing with Tenesha..." Um, well, Ms. Murphy,
"...because she gets around." And she's not the only person
that told me that. I get around? Friends of hers
have also told me that she gets around. But Mr. Myles, do you think
that information is credible, given the fact you were
in a sexual relationship
with that person? Um, well, not really, um... Yes and no, Your Honor.
And what I mean by that is, I tried to give Ms. Murphy
the benefit of the doubt to not listen to what
everybody else was telling me, but she pretty much painted
the picture for herself on what she was about. Your Honor, that's a lie. Ms. Murphy, I need you
to respond specifically to these claims. Okay, about the family part. I never knew
that he was dealing with
any of my family. That's ridiculous. Were you dating, seeing
Mr. Myles exclusively or were you all in
an open relationship? I never knew about it
being an open relationship. He told me plenty of times
that he loved me, you know,
all this type of stuff. Um, I went over there
any time I could. There's possibilities
I could be the father. There's possibilities
I am not. Because the type of lifestyle
that she carried around. Now, one thing about me... You got around
too, though! Every girl in Fresno
knows Keba though. One thing about me... And a lot of the men
know you, okay? No, they don't.
No, they don't. I've been with
three people in Fresno. That's not true. And you know. Okay, one thing
about me is, all my children that I have, I have a relationship
with my children. <i> This child, I don't know
if it's my child or not,</i> 'cause I know what type
of woman I was dealing with. The type of stuff that
you started doing. You let me see this stuff. She let me see this stuff
for herself. What stuff? He don't got no stuff. The hickies on her neck. Never had hickies before. Yeah. Yeah, you did. JUDGE LAKE: Okay,
you gotta have another piece of evidence
besides these hickies. MURPHY: Thank you. So move forward from that. My evidence is this, okay? Every male and female knows
what sex smells like. She came over to my house smelling like she had sex
with somebody. You can tell, she was potent. AUDIENCE: Oh! I came over to your house
smelling like sex? And what let me know
that she was getting around was the fact that
every single time she was around
my male relatives, she was always flirtatious,
wearing skimpy stuff. Really? Really? My mom wouldn't even
buy me skimpy stuff. She never listens to... She never listens to anything
that somebody tells her. Ms. Murphy did what
Ms. Murphy wanted to do. I have not heard
sufficient evidence to believe why
you wouldn't think you potentially could be
this beautiful young man's
father. I don't. I'm waiting
for the evidence. Don't you say "hickies" again! (AUDIENCE APPLAUDS) JUDGE LAKE: 'Cause hickies
don't make babies. I want to know
what evidence you have that fuels your doubt. I never said that
it wasn't a possibility he couldn't be my child. What I said was this,
I wanted to make sure because a mouth can
tell you anything. And she can sell
stories quick. So I wanted to
know for myself if that was my child. <i> I don't see none of
the features on him of me.
I don't</i> MURPHY: <i> And it's taken you
three years to do that?</i> It wasn't about the fact
of trying to put the blame
on her. I've been trying
to talk to you to get you to understand
what's going on. He likes singing
just like you. He cannot sing
just like you. It's all you. Well, listen, listen,
listen, listen, listen. I'm glad you did take
this opportunity to develop and further
your testimony, because in the beginning
you were pretty much saying, "Yes, I had sex with her.
Yes, the sex was unprotected. "However, there's no way "I could be the father
of this child." And that just
didn't make sense. Now, you have a witness,
I'd like to hear from her. Ma'am, please stand
and step to the podium. Your name? My name is Mrs. Myles. JUDGE LAKE: Mrs. Myles.
And you are Mr. Myles'... Wife. JUDGE LAKE: Wife. And, ma'am, how long
have you been together? About four years. JUDGE LAKE: For four years? Almost four years. MURPHY: Oh, wow!
And my son is three. Come on, now. She was nowhere
in the picture. I went over there
almost every day. She was nowhere
in the picture. I said "almost" four years. Almost four years? Almost. He's not even almost
four yet. I know nothing about
Tenesha or Te'korii at all. NARBAEZ: You're right. I found out... We got together in 2012. I found out in 2013. JUDGE LAKE: And so,
when you found out... That was just a year ago
that you found out. JACQUE: Right. If Ms. Murphy would have
thought that was her son, Keba would have told me
before we even got together. Not necessarily.
Not necessarily. (ALL TALKING) JUDGE LAKE: Hold on. Like he told me about
his other baby mamas. I know about them
before we got together. But I've been barely
findin' out... Now, hold on,
is this an issue... Do you take issue with
Ms. Murphy because of this or with your husband? Kind of both. Both. Because I felt like... As her being a woman, I felt like she
should have came to me. Not like the other baby mamas
saying that my husband's
a dead beat dad. No. No, no, no, no, no. I never said
he was a dead beat. But Ms. Myles, that's
your husband's responsibility. MURPHY: Never said
he was a dead beat. JUDGE LAKE: What
responsibility does she have to come to you to
tell you that your husband... Exactly, you're
with his father. You're with his father. You should have came to me
and said, "This is his son. "If it is his, I want him
to get in his life. "I want him to get to know
his brothers and sisters." Now, wait a minute.
Ms. Murphy, hold on, hold on. No, Ms. Murphy, hold on. You're saying, she should
have come to you? Honestly, Your Honor, I feel
that if she's with his father, if he sees him,
she's gonna be there. She's gonna have to
get around him. So in order to eliminate
all the problems, I felt like if she's saying
how she really felt, she would have came
and been like, "You know what? "We need to see if
this baby is his. "He needs to meet
his brothers and sisters." Look. Look, look, look,
I am all... Look, look, look,
I am all about... Let me have a statement
in this courtroom! Order in the court! NARBAEZ: Ladies, be quiet. I am trying to tell you all, you all are way off the path
to something constructive. Everything is leading us
in the wrong direction! And when we should be leading
to trying to find some type
of answer, peace, <i> and a positive future
for Te'korii.</i> May I say something? No! (AUDIENCE LAUGHING) JUDGE LAKE: He has to be
honest with his wife about the situations
he's involved in when they meet and marry. Whether or not the paternity
had been established, he still has to be
honest and say, "I potentially have
an issue in my life "that involves
a paternity suit "and I may have
to deal with this." Likewise, it is not
Ms. Myles' responsibility to come to you
and try to create a co-parenting situation between her husband
and you. Right. You all need to get that. Now, another man is raising
Te'korii as his own. And that's your witness. Yes. Sir, I would
love to hear from you. (AUDIENCE APPLAUDS) He has such a good
relationship with this man. I provided videos
and everything to see how much a father
he's been to this boy. Sir, state your name. My name is Mr. Narbaez. JUDGE LAKE: Thank you
for being here. Uh, Mr. Narbaez,
please explain the nature of your
relationship with Te'korii. Well, I've been with Tenesha
since Te'korii was two months. I'm his dad,
no doubt about it. Like, I'm not biologically,
but you know, like... <i> Everything this boy knows...</i> MURPHY: <i> There it is there.</i> NARBAEZ: <i> Everything he knows,
I teach him.</i> <i> He got favorite colors.</i> <i> His favorite color is
my favorite color, you know.</i> <i> We play games.
I taught him his colors.</i> <i> I taught him his numbers,
his ABC's.</i> <i> Taught him everything
that he knows.</i> You know, like,
when he wake up... When he wake up in the morning
the first thing he do, he wake
me up. "Daddy, I'm hungry. "Daddy, I love you.
Good morning, Daddy." When he's hurt,
he don't go to Mommy
he goes to Daddy. When I got to work
he cries, <i> even though his mom
is there.</i> <i> To be honestly truthful,
it don't matter to me</i> <i> if Keba's the father or not
because I'm the dad.</i> (AUDIENCE APPLAUDS) <i> I've been there.</i> <i> I'm gonna be there
no matter what happens.</i> Truly speaking. I've been there. If Keba is the father...
I gave Keba chances to
be there for Te'korii, and he didn't take 'em. When you say
you gave him chances, what did you do
to reach out to him? Um, I told him
he can come and see Te'korii. I didn't care, you know. I let them go outside
have fun time, have father-son time. You know what I mean? Like, be a part of
your son's life. You know what I mean?
That's what I let them do. But he keeps coming
in and out. One minute it's his son,
the next minute it's not. JUDGE LAKE: Mr. Myles,
as you look at those pictures <i> of another man with a son that
could potentially be yours...</i> Well, Your Honor,
honest opinion, that's fine and dandy
that he is doing those things. That's great he is
doing those things. 'Cause you won't. No, it's not the fact
that I won't. It's the fact,
like I said beforehand, when a relative tells me that she's dealing
with other people, <i> that gives me reason
to wonder</i> <i> whether that's
my child or not.</i> <i> However, I'm not here
to argue</i> or try to make a fool
out of nobody. I'm here to find out
if Te'korii is my son. And if Te'korii is my son, then it doesn't matter
what she does or what he does, I'm gonna be
in my son's life. As simple as that. (AUDIENCE APPLAUDS) We'll see. Your Honor,
can I say something? And nobody is trying
to take away from you being a father figure
inside of his life. I'll put it like this.
Due to the fact that the whole time that
we've been knowing each other, it's always been
disrespect between her. Calling me at my name
all kinds of stuff. So we never had a good relationship type to be able to talk to her
and stuff like that. <i> Whether he's inside
of that child's,</i> <i> uh, Te'korii's life
or not, you know.</i> After I find out
if it's my son or not, I would never
pry that away, if you've gained
a relationship with him. But I'm gonna do
my part as a dad and do what I need to do. Good, that's exactly
what I needed to hear. Now, Ms. Murphy, if he is the
biological father, he's just stated that
he wants to step up and he wants to do
what he should do for his son. And I'm perfectly fine
with that. JUDGE LAKE: What if he is not? There's no way
that he couldn't be. No way? MURPHY: No way. MYLES: You was
dealing with people. I don't care
what you say. Jerome, I'm ready
for the results. (AUDIENCE APPLAUDS) These results were prepared
by DNA Diagnostics and they read as follows. JUDGE LAKE: In the case of<i>
Murphy v. Myles,</i> as it pertains
to the paternity of three-year-old
Te'korii Murphy, Mr. Keba Myles, you... Are his father. MURPHY: Thank you.
Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. I have no reason to lie.
I have no reason to lie. No reason.
No reason. That is such a relief. Because I have been
raising my son by myself for three years and it's hard. Not by yourself. It is hard. Not by myself,
but by myself, you know
what I'm saying? He don't have to do nothing
if he don't want to do it. But I have been
doing this by myself. I don't have nobody
to call. And so as a father,
let's work together. All this arguing,
all this disrespect that you do be doing. (OVERLAPPING CONVERSATION) JUDGE LAKE: You know, um, I'm so happy Te'korii
at least now knows
who his father is. You know, it's, it's... I don't know. I'm starting
to tune you all out because it's just... It's becoming heads yapping. And the DNA results are in. <i> You two are parents.</i> <i> But he also has stepparents.</i> You all are his village, but you're burning it down. (AUDIENCE APPLAUDS) You can begin again today for
this beautiful child's sake. <i> The court has
resources for you.</i> We're gonna help you begin
to go through this process. Take advantage of it.
Take it seriously. Step outside of yourself. Put my baby first. JUDGE LAKE: And decide
what's best for the child. I wish you the best of luck.
Court is adjourned. When I heard the results,
I felt relieved, I felt happy. It's been three years. My son deserves to know
who his father is. And also, now he knows
that that's his father but I'm his daddy.
I've been there for him and I'm not gonna
go anywhere. Well, knowing now that,
uh, Te'korii is my son, it's my responsibility
to be a father to him and to show him
a different life.
