You may be seated. -Hello, Your Honor.
-Hello. This is the case of<i>
Carr v. Villa.</i> Thank you, Jerome.
Good day, everyone. [audience]
Good day. Mr. Carr, you state
that Ms. Villa
is a notorious cheater who tried
to pin her daughter
Trinity on you. Yes, Your Honor. You claim
there is no way
you are the father and had to open
today's case because she's been
running from you
and a DNA test -for three years.
Is that correct?
-Yes, Your Honor. Yes, Your Honor. Ms. Villa, you admit
to making mistakes
in your relationship with the defendant,
but you and your best friend
want to prove he fathered
your daughter, Trinity. You hope today's
DNA results help you get
Mr. Carr back.
Is that correct? Yes, Your Honor. All right, Mr. Carr,
you say you had
to open up today's case. -Yes, Your Honor.
-Tell the court why. Your Honor, because
her nickname is Heartbreaker. What does that
have to do with Trinity? [Carr] From the beginning
of the relationship, that we had together, she was a liar,
a cheater, and
no good for nothing. -Just to be honest.
-But you still
stayed with me. That's what I was just
about to say. -[Carr] Actually, Your Honor,
she slept with me.
-Yes, you did. You continued
to have sex with me
and everything else. And you allowed me back. The reason I kept takin'
her back because I wanted
to prove to... Like, we both have a history,
and a past... Like me, before I
became a loyal man, I was just like her,
jumping from person
to person to person. But over time,
I noticed that it was time
for me to settle down. -[Judge Lake] Okay.
-You tell her different
than what you told me. She was the person that I
wanted to settle down with. All right, so you decided
this is the woman
you wanted to settle down with, but unfortunately
she was behaving
the way you used to behave in relationships. -[Carr] Not in relationships.
-You gonna save her? I tried to.
You can't play. [chuckles] All right. So Ms. Villa,
now I understand
what's happening here. How did the relationship
start for you? He hit me up on Facebook
and it went from
one-night stand -to us havin' a kid.
-Wow. That is a huge jump,
Jerome. Jump with a capital J. [people laughing] -And it turned
into a relationship...
-[Carr] Yes. ...from just meeting
on Facebook. Yes, Your Honor. [Judge Lake] All right,
so you all decided
what is this love at first sight
for you all, like,
what, you were just like-- -No, Your Honor.
-We wanna do this. The problem was
I couldn't get rid of her,
Your Honor. You said you wanted
to save her. If you wanted
me gone, you would've spoke up
and told me to get out. -[Carr] And I did.
Yes, ma'am.
-No, you didn't. [Judge Lake]
And that's not what
you just testified to. You said you met a girl
that you liked, and you really
wanted to try to build
a relationship with her, but she was not acting
in a way that was conducive
to a committed relationship. [Carr] For an example-- So how did you
find out she was
cheating on you? -For an example,
when we had--
-I told him each time. -When we had
went to Athens--
-I told him each time. He would let me leave
and I would come back and I'd let him know
that I did it. And he
still took me back. And what would you
let him know, Ms. Villa? That I messed around
with the person I left with. Was it always
the same person? -[Villa] Basically, yeah.
-[Carr] No, Your Honor. -Yes, it was.
-She cheated
eight different times with eight
different people. -Eight different times
with eight different people?
-[Carr] Yes, ma'am. -Yes, ma'am.
Yes, Your Honor.
-In the beginning, no. [Judge Lake]
She... Hold on, hold on. -You're a liar, Tony.
-Wait a minute. She cheated on you
eight different times
with eight different people? -Yes, ma'am.
-[Villa] No, that's not
how it went. There was times
I did cheat on him,
and there was times we were broken up
and I messed around,
just like he kicked me out... You are sitting here
admitting that you cheated
now, -so with that being said--
-...to sleep with another girl, so you need
to get your story straight
and tell your part too. My whole point is,
you're admitting
that you cheated, why not admit
the full truth? Because the whole truth
is the only thing that's going
to set you free. I admitted I cheated.
But each time
it happened, -we was together.
-[Judge Lake] How did you
find out, Mr. Carr? How did you come to know
she was cheating and sleeping
with somebody else which would warrant
you believing Trinity
is not your biological child? The times of conception.
The times of conception
was she slept with a man on the 31st of January.
Me and her slept together
on February the 14th. Three days later, 17th,
she tells me
that she's pregnant. -And I'm like,
how are you pregnant?
-[Villa] Tony, you're a liar. We just slept together
on the 14th, then how did
you know that you're pregnant? How in the world
do you know
that you're pregnant? -You told me
I was pregnant--
-So you have sex, three days later,
and she tells you
now I'm pregnant. -[Villa] No--
-So you thinkin'
like how do you know you pregnant
three days after
we just had sex? -Exactly, Your Honor.
-Tell her some more lies, Tony.
Keep going. -[Carr] I don't have to lie,
it's the truth.
-I conceived her February 14th,
when we had sex
in (bleep) car. So you're saying,
Ms. Villa, you had sex
with Mr. Carr where? In one of his friends' car
when he picked us up. He picked us up
and we did it right there
with him driving. -[audience exclaiming]
-[Carr] That was on the 14th. Tony, I didn't tell you
I was pregnant till
a couple of weeks later. So, wait a minute.
Mr. Carr and his friend
came to pick you up, you had sex
with Mr. Carr in the back
of the friend's car -while he was driving?
-Yep. -And that's the day you think
Trinity was conceived...
-Yep. -...with Mr. Carr?
-Yep. -In the car?
-Yes. -[audience laughing]
-The back of the car. He was...
It was me and him
having sex. Right. But you say
that's not the case? I don't believe
that's the case
because of... The 31st of January
is when she slept
with the other guy. -[Villa] Tony, no, it's not.
-So with that being said... I have a memory,
it's burned into my head. I had her
three weeks later. It is burned
into my head. How do you know
it was the 31st? Because, Your Honor,
if you have your child
on October 31st, -that means
that it is the other man's.
-You're a liar. -Trinity was due November 21st.
-Because that's exactly
nine months. I had her
three weeks early. So you're saying
the conception window
was off, Ms. Villa, because, since Trinity
was born early, you technically
would've had a due date
of three weeks later. Yes, she was due
November 21st
of 2015. I had her
October 31st. And so, you're saying
that would've put you
during the window of time when you were intimate
with Mr. Carr in the back
of the car? [Villa] Yes. [Judge Lake] Okay. If you want more episodes
of Paternity Court Make sure to subscribe
and click on
the notification bell. I know Trinity
belongs to him. [Judge Lake]<i> But Mr. Carr,
you aren't so sure?</i> [Carr]<i> I'm not so sure,
Your Honor.</i> <i> And it's hurtful,
because I have to live with
this pain every single day.</i> -[Judge Lake] Mr. Carr--
-Tony, you chose
to do that. -Trying to think...
She would tell...
-You were there on and off. -On and off.
-Okay, anyways... -I live with this pain
every day.
-So Trinity is three years old. Do you have a relationship
with her? Yes, Your Honor.
I'm with her every day
of the week, just about. Just about every day
of the week. I played
my role as a father. -[Carr]<i> No matter what it is...</i>
-[Judge Lake]<i> She's adorable.</i> [Carr]<i> ...no matter
how much pain,</i> <i> or how much that
eats me up inside,</i> <i> I still treat her like she is
my own child.</i> -[audience applauding]
-And that hurts you? I can see how emotional
that makes you, why are you
feeling so emotional? Because I didn't
deserve that. I didn't deserve
to go through
what I went through. But you kept
taking me back. [Judge Lake] When you say
you didn't deserve-- Are you bragging
about being a cheater? Who in the world
would take you back
if you're sitting there -bragging about
being a cheater.
-You know, that's the problem. You don't
let me talk ever. You kept on saying,
"Oh, you kept on
taking me back." You did, Tony,
you kept taking me back. Okay, I kept on
taking you back. At least, somebody
loved you enough
to take you back, or even give you a chance. It eats me up,
it really does. No matter how much
somebody brags, "Oh, you kept on
taking me back." Like I said, because
somebody loved you. Tony, nobody's
bragging about that. That's the problem,
you don't let me talk. I'm gonna
let you talk, Ms. Villa. Because I want you
to have a chance to speak. He wants me
to understand his pain,
but don't understand mine. -I understand your pain
as much as I...
-You know how frustrating... -...it is, raising kids
by myself?
-...I'm sorry, I cannot... ...how somebody
can hurt... Raising kids
by yourself? Yes. You left five days
before I had Trinity. And then told me you slept
with three other girls
I knew you slept with. -Yes, I did.
-So keep on. Tell your part
instead of mine. I admitted three other
females I slept with after
we were broke up. It wasn't just three.
Okay, and I did a lot
of this when we were broken up, -but I'm a cheater?
-All right, listen.
Listen, listen. Both of you all
obviously weren't
doing the right thing. That's obvious.
You don't get to this point, with one person
being a saint and the other one
being a sinner. Life just doesn't
work like that. And I'm not
going to accept
you just painting that picture of her, because
I know there has to be
a yin to this yang. Right? So now, I want
to go back to
talking about Trinity, and I want to understand
the type of relationship you've built with
this beautiful little girl
over the past three years. And why it brings you
to tears when you think
about the fact that you may not be
her biological father. Your Honor, because to me,
she is my queen. I look at her
and she looks back at me and she smiles
back at me, that says, I'm doing
something right. At least she's happy.
Even if my happiness
never comes, at least she's happy. And that's all that matters. That's all. I think we also
have to be honest
about the fact that you look at her
and you see her smile, if we're being very honest,
you also look and say,
"I wonder if she's mine." -And that's also the pain
behind those tears.
-Yes, ma'am. It's both ways.
It's like a two-edge sword.
It cuts both ways. It heals me
but then it scars me
at the same time too. [Judge Lake] And as much
as you love
this beautiful little girl, you've been trying
to get a DNA test
for this little girl for a very long time. <i> You've actually
brought an exhibit
with you to court</i> <i> that outlines
this testimony.</i> -Yes, Your Honor.
Yes, Your Honor.
-Can you please step up to the monitor
and let's review
this exhibit. So you say she's been
running away
from a DNA test? [Carr] Yes, Your Honor. I was in Alabama,
she was in Tampa, Florida. I tried to hook
the cases together, as soon
as she receive the letter, she moves from Tampa, Florida, to Muscle Shoals, Alabama. You were told I was moving. From Muscle Shoals,
Alabama, she moves
to Decatur, Alabama. That's when
we stayed together
for the little bit that we did. From Decatur, Alabama,
she moves from Decatur
to Chicago, Illinois. And I opened cases
each time then.
That you're wrong, Tony. Each time
she opened a case, she on,
I believe, she on purposely spelled my name incorrectly -because she had...
-I went to Decatur
to make sure -he was the father of my kid.
-...one of my work badges
on her each and every time. Anyways, from
Chicago, Illinois... She moved
from Chicago, Illinois
to Nashville, Tennessee. From Nashville, Tennessee,
she moves to Rogersville,
Alabama. From Rogersville, Alabama,
she moves to Russellville,
Alabama. From Russellville, Alabama, she moves back
to Decatur, Alabama. -These are a lot of moves.
-[Villa] Yes, it is. But each time I moved,
it was to get him
to be around the kid. -This was a span of what--
-She makin'
a music note, Your Honor. [audience laughing] We are not making music
in here. -[Carr laughing]
-That's for sure. You may step back
to your podium. -[Carr] Thank you, Your Honor.
-[Judge Lake] So, Ms. Villa,
what are you feeling now? -Tell me why are you crying?
-[Villa] Frustrated. -Why do you feel that?
-Because all he does,
he don't listen to me. He don't take in
what I have to say. Ms. MacDonald,
you're here supporting
your best friend. What has she expressed to you
about this entire
paternity question? She's been wanting it a lot. Couple of times
she's complained to me that he has not
been wanting it. -He doesn't want to go on...
-You mean, wanting
to get the DNA test? -...the child support.
-[Carr] I don't mind
child support. Why would you put me
on child support if I'm
supporting my child already? You help with diapers
here and there, -I've been doing this
since day one, Tony...
-If you don't want me to be... -...so don't try that.
-...part of Trinity's life,
just say so. -Tony, you've been
coming around lately.
-I learned from my... -Not from past three years.
-grandmother... Well, I learned
from a family member... -You have been coming around
lately because--
-Let's have order. Because she keeps moving
and people get tired
of reachin' out, reachin' out,
here, here, here... -No, Tony--
-She has reached out
plenty of times. Let's get some order. I know how frustrated
everybody is, but we're here
to tell our truth,
I'm giving everybody -the opportunity.
-[Villa sobbing] And Ms. MacDonald,
before you start
screaming across the aisle, I do want you
to testify as to
what you know. You say she confides in you. Did she ever say
that she was with
another man -during the window
of conception.
-[MacDonald] Yes. -She did?
-A one-night stand, yes. So she did tell you
that during the window of time when Trinity was conceived,
she did have a one-night stand
with someone else. Yes, Your Honor. So, Ms. Villa,
that's not what
you testified to, here. In the period of time
of me getting pregnant
and stuff, I messed around with a guy
a couple of weeks
before him. When I messed with that guy,
it was more of a revenge thing because of the stuff
he was doing to me. Ms. Villa, was that sex
protected sex
or unprotected sex? Unprotected. [Judge Lake] All right. And that's enough
to make paternity doubt. <i> Did you ever tell him
you were pregnant?</i> Yes, he...
I told him in front of him. I called him and told him. Even after I had Trinity,
he asked me for pictures
of Trinity and stuff. His family says
she looks like him
and everything. -The guy--
-So the other guy's family -says Trinity
looks like him?
-Yes. Looks like Tony. -Oh, looks like Mr. Carr.
-Yes. -He even denies it.
-All right, well... The only way
we can move forward now
is just to get the results. Jerome, I'm ready
for the envelope, please. These results
were prepared
by DNA Diagnostics, and they read
as follows. In the case of<i>
Carr v. Villa...</i> When it comes
to three-year-old
Trinity Villa, it has been determined
by this Court, Mr. Carr, you... [sniffling] ...are the father. That's your
beautiful little girl. Yes, ma'am. -Are you happy?
-I'm ecstatic. -Good.
-[Villa sniffling] Yes, ma'am,
I finally got my closure. [Judge Lake]
I'm so happy. So they say
when we close one door,
we open what? -Another door.
-Right. So we've closed
the door of doubt, now we need
to open the door of possibilities, -of communication, right?
-[Carr] Yes, ma'am. Of trust. If you all
want to try to be
a couple, you guys got a lot
of work to do. I've seen dysfunction
of epic proportion. And the things
that I've heard, no child should have
to endure. We have counseling
and resources for you, and we want you
to take advantage of it, because we want
Trinity to have
the village she deserves. -Right?
-[Carr] Right. -You say she's a queen, right?
-Yes, ma'am. Yes, ma'am. And so you all
have to get it together. So that she knows her worth and knows her value. Okay? -Yes, ma'am.
-I wish you the very best. Court is adjourned.
