You may be seated. Hello, Your Honor. Hello. This is the case of<i>
McMahon, Wilridge
v. Swan, Williams.</i> Thank you, Jerome. Good day, everyone. AUDIENCE: Good day. Ms. McMahon and Ms. Wilridge,
in your previous appearance
in our courtroom, you learned your deceased dad
had kept a secret from you
your entire lives. Yes, Your Honor. AUDIENCE: Wow. JUDGE LAKE: It turns out that
he had cheated on your mother, and you discovered that a good
friend of yours was actually
your biological sister. BOTH: Yes, Your Honor. AUDIENCE: Wow. Today, you're back because
you say your father may
have had an affair with yet another woman. AUDIENCE: Wow. MCMAHON: Correct, Your Honor. We'll soon learn if her son
is your biological brother. AUDIENCE: Wow. Yes. Ms. Swan, you're the woman who
claims to have had an affair
with their father. You admit that you kept it
a secret because he was
a married man. Yes, Your Honor. You believe your son was
a result of that relationship and he is indeed
their brother. Yes, Your Honor. Your son, Mr. Williams, is
waiting outside of the
courtroom <i> and we'll meet him
in just a moment.</i> Ms. McMahon, how did you find out that
you may have a brother
you never knew of? Yes, Your Honor. Well, back in 1999,
I was shown a picture. Um, I was up at... Someone we considered a
cousin because we were
so close growing up, we were at their house and
I was shown a picture of a little boy, I think he
probably had to be
about seven at that time. Um, I was told that
it was my brother. Um, I looked at the
picture, but I didn't see
any resemblance so at that time, I just
passed it off as something
that they were trying to say. And I never thought
about it again. Um... But, in 2001,
there was someone that
showed up at my mom's house, and he claimed to be
my dad's son. AUDIENCE: Wow. And at that particular time, I was not at the
house at the time, but my other sisters
and my mom got a chance
to meet and talk to him. And... My sister
Gloria was there, and she actually got a
chance to meet him. Yes, Your Honor. You did. Ms. Wilridge, explain. What happened on that day? Well, a few days before
we did see him, um... My sister had said, well,
we think, possibly, this
guy could be your brother, so in the next few days
he came over to
my older sister's house, and he met my older sister and
my mom, and I kinda hung in the back a little bit
and then I went out
and I greeted him. When I first seen him,
he didn't have
any similarities <i> of my father, so</i> <i> they sat and we talked
a while in the living room</i> and we had a little
conversation and he left. And from then on,
I just kind of let it go, it didn't really
come back to me
until, you know, just now. And in your mind, your parents
were a happily married couple. Yes, Your Honor. That's what you knew. Yes, Your Honor. Well, well ma'am, Your Honor. We were young. We knew that there
were problems. But we were too young to
understand the full spectrum
of what had been going on. We have heard that
he could have been sleeping with
another woman, but we didn't know
about Ms. Swan. JUDGE LAKE: Ms. Swan. Yes, Your Honor. So... You did have a relationship
with their father. Yes, Your Honor. JUDGE LAKE: Did you
know he was married? Yes, Your Honor.
'Cause when we first met
one another he told me he was married. But why would you
still mess with
a married man? I... I... (AUDIENCE APPLAUDING) Why would you do that? And not only was he... Not only was he a married man,
but you were also messing
with a guy that you knew was messing
with your neighbor. Your friend. Your neighbor. And was your friend. You know, and there
was this, like... You're sleeping behind, uh,
with a married man, and you're sleeping behind
your friend's man or
your neighbor's man. Why would you
do such a thing,
being a woman? (AUDIENCE APPLAUDING) I didn't... I knowed
he was married, <i> but I didn't know he was
sleeping around with no
other woman or nothing.</i> I don't let that come up
in no conversation. JUDGE LAKE: But you said when the relationship started,
you did know he was married. Yeah, he told me
he was married. WILRIDGE: Okay,
and you still... JUDGE LAKE: And so... Then a sexual
relationship developed. Not at the first. JUDGE LAKE: Okay. Not at the first. Explain, how did it turn
into a sexual relationship
with you? Well, uh, a good while.
It was a long time before we had any...
A relationship. I'd say about, oh... A month passed,
or something
like that. It passed, and
after that... After a month. Do you feel bad for what
you've done, to a family,
a wife? (AUDIENCE APPLAUDING) A good wife? <i> A good wife,</i> <i> who cooked, cleaned,
took care of her kids.</i> <i> Do you feel any remorse
for what you've done?</i> Knowing that he
was married? Knowing that he
was married. That part didn't
even bother me. WILRIDGE: Yeah.
And you was of age
where it should have. You're not a child. You were just low down
and dirty and trifling. JUDGE LAKE: So, hold on... That's what you are, and apparently you
still are that way if you
don't have no remorse for what you've done. JUDGE LAKE:
Hold on, Ms. Swan. (AUDIENCE APPLAUDING) You said that part
didn't bother you. No, the reason
I said that is because... Once, okay,
a married man told
you he was married. Okay, I didn't keep on
after the man. But as a woman
you can say no. And you could have
turned away. You could have even
told my mom. If you were decent... Ms. Swan, how many
years did this affair last? Uh, a year and a half. JUDGE LAKE:
About a year and a half. MCMAHON: Ma'am,
I... I don't know. You go from one
extreme to the other, because from what I've
heard it was 29 years,
I've heard 10 years. Now it's a year
and a half? You have to
make up your mind. MCMAHON: As to how long... I don't know. And I don't know... The affair
lasted a while,
that's all I can say. 'Cause I can't remember
the years and how long it was. I don't remember
none of that. So, you attempted to name
your son after their father. Right. Well, you didn't
attempt, you did. You named him Ellis. Right. Right. And that was their
father's name. And so, when was the last
time you saw their father? The last time I saw
their father, he left the house and
he got towards the driveway. And he got out of his car
and told me he would
see me in heaven. <i> And that was
the end of it.</i> <i> That was the last
time I seen him.</i> JUDGE LAKE:
He'd see you in heaven? Well, I don't think you're
all going to be in heaven... Yeah... AUDIENCE: Whoa! I don't think... And you're saying
you're not remorseful? (SPUTTERS) I don't think
it's going to be... Y'all meet somewhere,
but it won't be in heaven. Yeah, and I think
that the thing was that he was kind of
feeling remorseful for
the things that he was doing. And that's why,
he kind of like... Gave up women. JUDGE LAKE: And so, how... In what proximity was the last time you saw him
till when he passed away? That night. JUDGE LAKE: That night? (AUDIENCE GASPING) 'Cause I... That night
when he left my house, a friend of mine came
and told me that
he was dead. WOMAN: What? MCMAHON: He didn't die. My dad was found deceased
at 5:30 in the morning. My mom was getting up
to fix him breakfast, and she thought that he was
just staying... Sleeping in. She went to go wake him up
and tell him that breakfast
was ready. My dad had passed...
I think, um... I think it came to him
to where he was... Emotionally drained. That's what some of his
friends was telling us, like
he was emotionally drained. And he felt that
his time was up. Yes, I just believe that
all of these affairs...
All of his busy work had really gotten him. It caught up with him. MCMAHON: It caught up to him. JUDGE LAKE: So, Ms. Swan. Did your son ever meet the man
you say is his father? SWAN: <i> No.</i> JUDGE LAKE: Never met him? SWAN: No. So you're destroying
more lives. You pretty
much let him... Well, I didn't, I didn't
stop him from not
meeting his daddy. Okay. So. Ms. Swan, I have to ask you,
and this is respectfully, but were you intimate with anyone
else during the time you were
intimate with their father? Were there... Could there
potentially be another
biological father of your son? Not that I...
No, ma'am. Well, Your Honor, she's saying
no, but if she's sleeping
with a married man, she didn't think enough to be
respectful of herself and
sleep with a married man. I can... I can guarantee
that there may be more,
more men. Let's... Let's
bring out your son. Jerome, will you please
escort Mr. Williams
into the courtroom? Thank you. (AUDIENCE APPLAUDING) Go right up here,
on the left. Mr. Williams. Yes, ma'am,
how are you doing? Thank you so much
for joining us today. We're here discussing,
of course, the very
sensitive subject surrounding your paternity and the plaintiffs'
late father. It is asserted that
he is, perhaps, your
biological father. Yes, Your Honor. Now, we asked your mother,
had you ever had an
opportunity to meet this man? I remember certain things
of him, but I don't
remember too much. I remember the van
that he had. And I remember
riding in his van, and some noises that I
used to make with the
little horns and everything. But... My dad fixed cars and
he used to modify all his vehicles.
That was one of his things,
he used to build things. A very handy person. So that
van, that big green van, you're right. JUDGE LAKE: So the van
he's speaking of, it was your father's. WILRIDGE: Yes. When you look at
Mr. Williams... Wow. Do you see your father? Yes. Yes. AUDIENCE: Wow. Yes. (AUDIENCE APPLAUDING) And you know, Your Honor,
I can't really tell you
how I feel about it. Because, in a... (SOBBING) I know, hon. Your Honor, I would just
like to say that... WILRIDGE: I'm angry
that she had an affair. MCMAHON: I'm angry that he had an affair
on my mom, because that's the only
person that hurt here. Mmm-hmm. But at the same time,
when he came in 2001,
my mom accepted him. <i> She said that that
was not his fault.</i> You know, she
accepted him. (AUDIENCE APPLAUDING) Because she said he was
innocent in this whole thing. I've never gotten a
chance to meet him. WILRIDGE: Yeah,
and that's a shame 'cause we had to grow... We grew up without... We're 30-something years old,
we already lost a sister.
And now... You know, we have to have
a relationship now.
Start right now. And there's too much
time that already... Been passed, you know? And it's not our fault. JUDGE LAKE: No, it isn't. MCMAHON: It's not. No. And it's
not his fault. JUDGE LAKE: Did you ever have
the chance to bond? Or to find a connection with
your late father? I always talked
to him in my head. I used to go to
his grave site, and... And sit there a lot. JUDGE LAKE: You did? Yes, ma'am. JUDGE LAKE: So you
went to his grave. Yeah, I went a lot.
A lot. So this was, I'm sure,
very emotional. Did your
mother go with you? Uh, no. Not at the times
I was going. Did she know you
were going? Yeah, I told her
a couple of times. And that would help you
feel closer to him? Yeah, like I said,
I always talked to him
in my head, and... You know, I know there's
someone up there
watching over me. AUDIENCE: Aw... JUDGE LAKE: And they say you
look like their father. Do you believe
you look like... Um, my mother used to tell
me that all the time, but... I don't remember
his face or nothing. JUDGE LAKE:
You don't remember his face? AUDIENCE: Wow. JUDGE LAKE: Have you ever
seen a picture of him? No, ma'am. He has his ears,
for sure. JUDGE LAKE: You've never? JUDGE LAKE: In 32 years? He has his ears, his mouth. You've never, in 32 years,
seen a picture of your father? AUDIENCE: Wow. WILRIDGE: Wow. You robbed him. You really did. Yes, I did, because
I didn't have no
pictures of him. And that was my fault,
or one of my faults, 'cause I didn't take
no picture of him. But he never did like
taking no pictures. Never did like
taking no pictures... But you could have at
least came to us. You knew
who my mom was. You knew who the people was. SWAN: I didn't know your mama. I did not know
your mama. You knew my mama,
you knew my mama's face. You done seen my mama,
you done been in
her company. I probably been in her
company, but I didn't know
that's who it was. WILRIDGE: You knew how
to get in touch with us. You could have got
in touch with us. You know what I'm saying?
Even though it seemed like
it wasn't a mistake to you. You don't feel any
remorse for it, but you could have been like,
there's a possibility more than what...
He came to us. So, as you stand there,
and the plaintiffs look at you
and say you look just like their father... Would you like to see
a picture of the man... That you believe
is your father? Yes, ma'am. Ms. McMahon, Ms. Wilridge,
is that okay? BOTH: That's fine. JUDGE LAKE: Because you
submitted one to the court. BOTH: He needs to. He needs to. JUDGE LAKE: Okay. WILRIDGE:
Look at that mouth. (LAUGHING) Look at the ears. Look at the ears! JUDGE LAKE: You see
yourself in that picture? WILRIDGE: I... I don't... (WILRIDGE LAUGHING) Yeah. WILRIDGE: Yeah. I... I do.
He probably don't. You know what I'm saying?
This is a whole lot to
soak in, but... I do. How do you feel? It's the first time. It's a lot going on inside
of me right now. Yeah. It has to be. I wish he was here. But there's nothing that
I can take from her
for what she's done for me. She bent over backwards for
anything that I
needed, always. (AUDIENCE APPLAUDING) And there's a mother
did what she was
supposed to do. Jerome, I think it's time
we go to the results. (AUDIENCE APPLAUDING) These results were prepared
by DNA Diagnostics, and they read as follows. In the case of<i>
McMahon, Wilridge
v. Swan, Williams,</i> pertaining to whether
Ellis Williams is the
half sibling of Denette McMahon
and Gloria Wilridge... It has been determined
by this court that you are half siblings. (AUDIENCE CHEERING) You know it! Now he needs to go
get his name changed,
he's a "junior". He's the only boy. The only boy. The only boy. That we know of. So, how does it feel
today, Mr. Williams? Uh, it's a lot lifted
off of me. Now I know for sure. You know, and
I really would like to
have a copy of that picture. JUDGE LAKE: Absolutely. All of the pictures
that we have. We can make you copies,
I can put them on CD
for you, everything. And we want you
to come by. Yeah. We want you to keep
in contact. I will. We want everything. I get to have somebody
to pick on. (LAUGHS) WILRIDGE: Don't you know? I've been picked on for
so many years, I get to
have somebody to pick on. But not by me. (LAUGHS) Just a little bit. Well, family... This was such a
wonderful ending. Yes. Yes. I'm so happy for you. MCMAHON: Yes. Take care.
Court is adjourned. SWAN:
Thank you.
Thank you. When I heard
the results, I was relieved,
of course. And I'm happy.
I'm happy. This is my dad
all over again. All over again.
This is like
giving us a piece of that. He was...
We were so young
when he passed. And it's like looking
at my daddy all
over again, you know. This is like
a missing piece. I feel good
to know that I'm accepted
now. (CHUCKLING) I didn't say that they didn't
accept me, but at
the same time we didn't grow up together,
so now that we're
all grown, we can live our life
together now.
