Ms. Melody,
you and the defendant
are separated and living in different states
because he says he's not the father
of your nine-month-old
baby, Savannah. You've brought him to court
to prove your case and demand he move home
and be a father. Yes, Your Honor. Mr. Smith,
you say the plaintiff's
continuous lies and infidelities are proof
that you are not the father
of her daughter and you refuse
to move back in. Yes, Your Honor. So, Ms. Melody,
how has this all
affected your family? Well, he's...
We live in totally
different states. He's hundreds of miles
away from us. My girls ask for him
all the time. (CRYING) Um... Sorry. It's okay. Take your time.
He moved
hundreds of miles away? Yeah. We live
in different states, like... We don't even talk
on the phone,
we talk through... When we talk,
it's on Facebook. No, no, no.
I moved
hundreds of miles away because when my baby
was born, she came out five shades too dark
compared to me, I mean... MELODY: No. We're both very...
No, no, no... She was two months early. We're both very white... She was two months early. I wasn't fully dilated
when she came out.
She was bruised. She's not a different color. That's the excuse you like
to tell everybody. MELODY: No. No, I have the pictures here. He hasn't even seen
our kids in months.
He's been gone for months. SMITH: No, you can see... He doesn't call,
he doesn't help. I'm doing it all by myself. How did this relationship
get so broken? I... To the point where
you're movin' away?
From your children? Yes, I've caught her, uh,
talking to people on several different dating
websites like Craigslist... No. I need to know the specifics.
Tell me exactly what happened. Okay, Your Honor.
I was going through her phone,
like normal... I believe normal
married couples do,
they check... They check up
on each other's stuff,
I mean, I do. They don't. SMITH: But only because
there was a history of infidelity
in the relationship. Ha! Now I'm getting the facts. So, you've had
a history of infidelity
in your relationship? In the marriage too? Yes, Your Honor. All right. So you were doing
a little investigation? SMITH: Yes, Your Honor. Going through her phone. So, I'm going
through her phone, looking, and I see that
she's talking to some guy. What do I do?
I pick up my cell phone,
I call him, and I say, "Hey, who is this?" That's when he tells me,
"Oh, I had an ad
on Craigslist, "looking for a girlfriend,
and, uh..." No. No. No, I buy cars
off Craigslist... SMITH: My wife, Ashleann... ...and I fix 'em up. ...is the one... We used to do it together,
we buy and sell. We buy cars, we sell 'em,
we fix 'em up, we sell 'em,
we make money on it. So, this was a person...
I don't... If he had an ad on Craigslist
for a girlfriend,
that's his business. But that's not why
I contacted him. You contacted him
because of a car? Yeah. And so, Mr. Smith,
in this ad, describe to the court
exactly what you saw. I never saw the ad,
that's what he told me. It was... He told me
that the ad was, that he was searching
for a girlfriend... And what else did he tell you? Nothing really, I mean...
After I started
questioning him, that's when he shut down,
he would not answer me, he hung up and then...
He would never answer
my calls again. So, I really don't know
to what extent that went to. But your spidey-sense then... SMITH: Yes. Yes,
telling me there was more. Told me there was more. Right. JUDGE LAKE: All right.
So, Ms. Melody, why is it that
when your husband called him, to ask about
his Craigslist ad, he wasn't like, "Yeah, man,
I got a car to sell." I mean, I don't know.
We weren't like "together." Okay. Okay. Yeah, we ended up talking.
We ended up talking. JUDGE LAKE: There we go. So,
let's just get to the truth. But, it didn't start off like... Okay. Look, let's just start
with the truth. You called him,
maybe about the car at first. Yes. JUDGE LAKE: But then,
you kept talking. And how did
that conversation go? Um, we were supposed
to go out for drinks,
we were supposed to meet up, we never actually did... AUDIENCE: Ooh. Oh! Okay, now we getting there.
Look... That's why we're here.
You don't come all the way
to <i> Paternity Court</i> to come up here and tell a lie
because at the end of the day, the DNA is gonna show
whether you're lying or not. (AUDIENCE APPLAUDING) I went...
I went through her phone. No. And I seen
she was talking to him. No, we weren't together. So again, just like I did
the Craigslist guy,
I called this guy off my phone and he didn't want
to talk to me at all. You know, I'm at the point
in the relationship
where I'm like, you know, I really wanna know
what's going on. So, I sent him
$100 cash, for him to tell me,
just tell me, what's going on
with you and my girlfriend. So, you call her ex? SMITH: Yeah. JUDGE LAKE: And he
took your money? He took my money. And he told you? SMITH: And he sent me
the pictures. What did he tell you? He didn't say anything.
All he did was send me
the pictures back that she had sent him. AUDIENCE: Ooh! SMITH: Yep. They were all topless
nude pictures. (AUDIENCE MURMURING) Recent pictures? Yes, Your Honor. She actually
sent me the same ones. (AUDIENCE GASPING) Oh, boy! So, Ms. Melody,
you're smiling,
so he's not lying. Oh, there's so much more
to it that... He's... Yeah, he's gonna give
his part, he's not gonna
bring up what he has done. And I really don't wanna like,
bring that up right now.
But, yeah. He knows what he did,
he knows exactly what he did. And he cheated on me
with many people. Okay. And he's standing here,
trying to act like he's the... Such a good person.
No, he's not. AUDIENCE: Mmm. Okay, we've all...
We've all made our mistakes,
but before... But let me... (LAUGHS) (ALL LAUGHING) Let me be clear, just so
you know, Ms. Melody. Uh... I don't think for one minute
either one of you are angels. (AUDIENCE LAUGHING) Uh, what I'm trying
to figure out
are the circumstances... (AUDIENCE APPLAUDING) ...surrounding the issues
relating to the paternity claims. So you sent the pictures
to this ex, right? Mmm. Because you all had
a falling out, were there only pictures sent?
Or was there also
a sexual encounter? No, just pictures. (AUDIENCE MURMURING) So, Mr. Smith, when you...
When the guy sent you back
these pictures, you thought she may have
slept with this guy too? Yes, Your Honor.
And I just recently
found out that right around the time
that she sent
those pictures to him, was when he actually
came into town. Right around the time
she got pregnant. No. This is exactly what
I'm trying to figure out.
Now, you have... You have tattoos
of the children's names
on you? Yes, Your Honor. The kids you now say
you don't think are yours? SMITH: <i> Yes, Your Honor.</i> (AUDIENCE MURMURING) JUDGE LAKE: <i> Well, what day
did you get that tattoo?</i> (SMITH SIGHS) SMITH: <i> I got them...</i> The point of that question is, as you all talk, it's like,
you're off more than
you're on. But you're married. When you're married
and you have an argument, you're not broken up. You just had an argument. It's more like we're roommates
with kids. I mean, that's how it's been. No, we're... Then why get married? MELODY: I want my kids
to have their father,
I want us to be a family. I didn't have... The bottom line is that
if the kids are not mine,
I want a divorce. I mean,
I have the papers here, I'll go ahead and sign
my half of the papers. AUDIENCE: Whoa! If they are not mine,
that's it. Good,
I'll sign it too. I'll sign it
even if they are yours,
if you're not gonna step up. Then whatever... JUDGE LAKE: So, Mr. Smith,
you're over there... Jerome, hand me that paperwork
he just signed. (AUDIENCE LAUGHING) I'll sign it too.
You can hand it to me. In the case of<i>
Melody v. Smith,</i> as it pertains
to nine-month-old Savannah Melody, Mr. Smith... (SNIFFLING) You are Savannah's father! AUDIENCE: Whoo! No. I love you. (SNIFFLING) (MELODY SPEAKING INDISTINCTLY) JUDGE LAKE: I'm so glad... But now he's
missed out on all this time. You know,
Savannah's crawling now. And he's missing out
on all of it. (SNIFFLING) You are missing out
on some very
important moments, Mr. Smith. Yes, Your Honor. I really hope we can
work this out now. Now that I know for sure
that they're both mine. JUDGE LAKE: So... If you're willing
to work it out. I am. (MELODY SNIFFLING) What did I hear,
Miss Melody? (CHUCKLES)
Yeah, I am. JUDGE LAKE: You're willing
to work things out? Yes. So with that said, I have your
divorce papers here. (AUDIENCE CHUCKLING) You can keep 'em,
Your Honor. I can keep 'em? Yes. So I can rip 'em up? Yes! All right, can I rip 'em,
all right! I like it. (AUDIENCE APPLAUDING) That's what I wanna hear. JUDGE LAKE:
Ms. Cleveland you say your 18-month marriage
is in jeopardy because your husband denies he is your son, Hunter's
biological father. Is that correct? STEPHANIE: Yes, Your Honor. JUDGE LAKE: You have no doubts
and you are desperate to prove he is the father and
save your marriage? Yes, Your Honor. Mr. Cleveland, you admit that your
wife was unfaithful and you have good
reason to doubt Hunter is yours,
is that correct? Yes, Your Honor. Additionally, you have petitioned the court for a lie detector test
for your wife to determine the extent
of her infidelities. Yes, Your Honor. JUDGE LAKE: Ms. Cleveland, what is the state of your
marriage right now? Our marriage are...
Is currently on the rocks. We argue on a daily... I see him treating our son differently than he does his
daughter and it bothers me... I try not to treat
him any differently. I try to treat him
like he's mine. You said you try to,
Mr. Cleveland. Yes, ma'am. I mean,
it's a little hard sometimes. I'm not gonna lie,
Your Honor. I mean, there's that thought
there that he is not mine
and that makes a person really emotionally upset. There are times
that I'm holding him, <i> I look at him and, you know,
I don't see me in him.</i> <i> And I have to sit him
down and walk away</i> <i> because it's just...
It's too hard...</i> He is only one and
a half years old. He has a whole life to grow
and to get more features that resemble my husband. ADAM: Yes, he does. But... STEPHANIE: He is so young. And a handsome little guy. ADAM: He can grow to look like me but I just...
I don't see it. I see so many
features of... I see so many features that aren't me and
it makes me wonder. So, you just don't see
yourself when you hold him? When did you find out you
were pregnant with Hunter? I found out two weeks
before we got back together. And once you found out
you were pregnant, you all reconciled? Yes, Your Honor. JUDGE LAKE: You decided
to reconcile, Mr. Cleveland? Yes, Your Honor. JUDGE LAKE: And why is that? Did you reconcile
because you believed Hunter was your
biological child? ADAM: Yes, Your Honor and... Oh. I talked to her belly
every day, you know, I went... I went to work,
you know, I sung to him while he was in her...
In her... In her belly. I played him music, you know,
I've talked to him. I went to work to
provide things for him, you know, his crib,
you know, to get everything set up
before he came along. So, how did it go wrong and get to the point where
you didn't believe this
child was your child? A month after he was born she informed me that he
could possibly not be mine. STEPHANIE: Your Honor,
that is not true. <i> You are not...
That is not true.</i> <i> I told him the first month
I was pregnant</i> <i> that it could be his
or his friend's.</i> ADAM: No, no, no. Wait, what? Hold on. Don't just
gloss over that. You told him a month...
What did you say? I was a month pregnant and I told him
it could be his child but it could also
be his friend's because me and his friend had a sexual relationship. No, she didn't, Your Honor. Otherwise, I would not
have stuck around through that pregnancy
if I knew they're... JUDGE LAKE: Wait a minute.
So, wait. He told me he'd be there... You had sex with your
husband's friend? He was my friend initially before I knew they
were friends, but yes. They were friends also. You basically informed him that the father of this
child could either be, "You, my husband,
or your friend." How do you end up
sleeping with his friend? Um, his friend was giving me
a different lifestyle. He was cleaning
my lifestyle up. Um, I was involved in
church every Sunday. I wasn't out
running the streets like I was with
my husband at the time. I was doing something
with myself and it made... JUDGE LAKE: You were going
to church every Sunday and you end up sleeping
with your husband's friend? (AUDIENCE LAUGHS) STEPHANIE: No. No, Your Honor. (AUDIENCE APPLAUDING) ADAM: No, Your Honor. I mean... She liked that he
had money, Your Honor. And I was down. Your Honor, that's not true. I was at a down and
out point in my life and I was in
a financial crisis and he... She liked the fact
that he had more money. He didn't even have
a job, Your Honor. ADAM: I don't know what... So, Ms. Cleveland, what was it about
this relationship that attracted you? Because you had
unprotected sex
with this person. Yes. Yes, Your Honor. JUDGE LAKE: And that's why you had to admit
to Mr. Cleveland, your husband, that this child may not be your
biological child. Yes, Your Honor. I... JUDGE LAKE: Was it
just one time or were you all in
a full relationship? Um, no. It was just once. It was just a one-time thing. I felt horrible about it. My heart was with my husband. I love him with all my heart. And I knew that
it was wrong for me to be having sexual
relationships with him when I didn't even
care for him If he's not mine and
if the lie detector test proves that she is lying, I'm afraid this marriage
is gonna be over. I can't continue to do this. I really can't. Ms. Cleveland. STEPHANIE: Yes, Your Honor? The stakes are
high here today. You were asked if you
had sexual intercourse with the man you admitted
to kissing recently, you said, no. The lie detector determined that was... The truth. (SNIFFLES) Thank God. (SNIFFLES) Thank God. JUDGE LAKE: Are you okay,
Mr. Cleveland? That makes me feel
a little better. I told you. (ADAM SNIFFLES) Mrs. Cleveland,
you were asked, since you have been married, have you had sexual
intercourse with anyone besides your husband, you said, no. Yes. JUDGE LAKE:
The lie detector determined that was... The truth. (SOBBING) Good news, Mr. Cleveland? Yes. That makes me feel
a little better... A little better about
the situation, it does. It has been determined
by this court, Mr. Cleveland... Yes, Your Honor? JUDGE LAKE: You... ...are not the father. (AUDIENCE GASPS) (SOBBING) ADAM: I thought so. I really thought so.
I mean, I can... I just... I see it. I... I strongly looked
at all the pictures and made myself wanna believe that he was mine but... I just knew he wasn't.
(SNIFFLES) I'm so sorry. ADAM: It's okay. (SNIFFLES) JUDGE LAKE: Ms. Cleveland? Yes, ma'am? You had told him
that it possibly could be someone else's
biological child. Yes, ma'am. Does this other person know? Yes, Your Honor. He does know and he wants nothing
to do with him. That's right.
He wants nothing to
do with his child which is one of the reason
that I literally stayed through this because
I know in my heart, honestly, I wanted to
leave before now, but... I couldn't pull
myself away from it because I knew
that this little guy
needed a father. So, that's the only reason
you're staying with me? No, it's not just
because of that. It's... I love you, you know. I want this
marriage to work. I'm glad to
find out the truth. Ms. Thayer,
you are here today in hopes of saving what is left
of your marriage. In doing so,
you summoned your husband Mr. Thayer
to Paternity Court to prove that not only did he father your 19-month-old
daughter Kaydence, but also your
three-your-old son,
Matthew Jr., is that correct? Yes, Your Honor. JUDGE LAKE: Mr. Thayer,
you say you absolutely do not trust your wife and you are prepared
to get a divorce today when the results reveal
that either one or both kids are not yours? That's correct,
Your Honor. JUDGE LAKE: So, Ms. Thayer, what is the current status
of your relationship
with your husband? AMBER: We don't even
have sex anymore. What married couple
doesn't have sex?
We're young. It's the back and forth
arguing all the time. We argue so much
that my son is starting to get mad
and yell and repeat some of the stuff that we say and I wanna prove to him
that these are his kids. I've done nothing wrong
to him for him not to trust me and for him to say
that these aren't his kids and I have five kids total
and he treats the three oldest kids better
than he treats his own kids and I don't feel like
that's fair. Um, and I mean,
this is the last resort. So this doubt
is wreaking havoc
in your marriage? MATTHEW: Yeah, in my mind, we're basically separated
'cause we don't sleep in the same room no more. When we're around
each other,
she's on her phone and we just sit
in the same house and we don't even
communicate no more. <i> So I don't feel
that connection with her</i> <i> or the kids for that matter.</i> And all of this
is because of the doubts. MATTHEW: Yes, Your Honor. With regard to the paternity of the two youngest children? Yes, Your Honor. I wanna understand
how this all started. When we first met,
she told me that it was clear that she didn't want
no relationship. She just wants
friends with benefits and I wanted the same thing. I didn't want
a relationship at that time. Ms. Thayer,
what's this open thing? You do what you do,
I do what we do, we're in a relationship,
what is that about? I've been in some
really bad relationships to where I just didn't
trust men, I even went through a phase
where I started dating girls
for a little while, JUDGE LAKE:
So what you're saying is this whole open thing
that you agreed to was not because you wanted
to have access and opportunity to sleep
with other people. It was so that
you didn't have to expect fidelity or expect him to not cheat? AMBER: Yes, Your Honor. JUDGE LAKE: At some point,
you find out you're pregnant? Yes. That is correct,
Your Honor. And what happens from there? I didn't know what to say because I wasn't planning
on having any more kids. I mean,
I had three girls already, so I was already a single mom
for the three girls. JUDGE LAKE Were you all
using protection? No. Well, then you were planning
on having another baby. AMBER: That is correct. (APPLAUSE) JUDGE LAKE: <i> And so,
why do you doubt her
so much?</i> Just because of
some of the things
that she says when we do get in arguments, she brings up the fact
that she would sleep
with somebody else. That's puts a big,
big seed in my head thinking that
she's gonna go do that
and I work 11 hour days. So there's plenty of time
during the day for her to put
the kids down to sleep and go mess with somebody, clean up, and then
I come home
and give her a kiss like I normally do
when I come home. So, because of
these trust issues, you've asked the court
to administer a lie detector test? MATTHEW: Yes. JUDGE LAKE:<i>
We did in fact do that</i> <i> and I will have those results
for you in just a bit.</i> MATTHEW: <i> Thank you.</i> JUDGE LAKE: <i> All right.</i> I'd like to go to your doubts
surrounding Kaydence. That is your younger child. <i> You all have two children
together potentially.</i> Yeah, 'cause around the time
that she was conceived, we weren't really having sex. JUDGE LAKE: You find out
she's pregnant again and immediately doubt? Yes. How are we gonna
have a kid if we don't
have sex? JUDGE LAKE: So you testified
earlier, Ms. Thayer, that you were
in a sexless marriage? AMBER: Yes. I mean,
when he's talking about
with Kaydence, I uprooted
my whole life for him. So for me to uproot
my whole life into all of this stuff
for him and then for him
to turn around
and say stuff like, "I have doubts.
I don't think
that these are..." I'm only around you. I'm not around anybody else. I don't see why you would
think I would waste
my time to move... But I don't know that,
Your Honor. That doesn't... I'm not so certain that she's only with me. Because I'm not there all day
every day with them. We lived with his family... JUDGE LAKE:
So what he was saying is during that trip,
he claims
you weren't intimate? We were, we were.
At least four times, we were. And the house
that we were staying in, it was my aunt's house
in Mexico, so, it was almost impossible
for us to be intimate. I can see it in your eyes.
You really don't trust her. Yes. JUDGE LAKE: What in the world has gotten you to the point
where you can't trust
this woman? I've seen text messages
between her
and somebody else. Old times they spent together
and how much fun they had and just leaves me to
one thought and she's talking
to another man. He doesn't understand.
I wouldn't have married him.
I wouldn't... I've been in
so many relationships
throughout my life that I chose him to marry. This is the person
that I chose to marry. This is the person that I chose to spend... And I chose you too. That you were
the only one like... But not as much
as I've caught him
in his phone. We were having sex one night and he rolls over. We haven't even put
our clothes on yet and he's texting
another woman,
he loves her. So you've never seen me text,
"I love you," to anyone else. This was after
I'd seen the messages
that she was sending. So when I'd seen
that she would... That she wasn't...
That she wasn't all the way
faithful with me, of course I'm not gonna be all the way faithful
with somebody else and... He's just started
unlocking his phone
since we got married. He just started
unlocking his phone. His phone has been locked... MATTHEW: That's not true. ...our whole relationship
until around the time about a month and a half
before we got married then he unlocks his phone. That's not true. AMBER: I'm allowed to get
in his phone but his phone stayed locked.
It stayed locked. JUDGE LAKE: Ms. Thayer,
you are in court today saying you have never cheated
on your husband. I have never cheated on him. The only time
that I've ever messed with anybody else
is the break that
he's talking about because what happened was,
when I saw that text in his phone that
I told you about, I asked him about it,
he shrugged
his shoulders like it didn't matter
and that's all
that I got out of him. I didn't get a why...
I asked him why
he was doing it. "Do you not
wanna be together? "What is the issue?" MATTHEW: I did tell you
when we had that argument. Because I've been
a single mom for so long that I'm not trying to go into another relationship
and then just be like, "Oh, well, I'm gonna be
a single mom again." That's not what I want.
He's attached
to my other kids. And that's why
these DNA results
mean so much because it's not just
about Matthew and Kaydence. AMBER: <i> This is not boyfriend
and girlfriend.</i> <i> We took vows to be together.</i> I'm gonna stand by those. I'm going to stand by those.
These are his kids. This is gonna make
or break us. Because you're prepared,
Mr. Thayer, that you are gonna leave
if these children
are not yours? Yes, Your Honor. Ms. Thayer, you were asked,
"In the last four years, "have you had sexual contact
with anyone "other than the two men
you have
previously disclosed?" You said, "No." The lie detector determined you were being deceptive. Questions number two, "Since the first time
you had sex
with Matthew Sr., "have you had
sexual intercourse
with anyone "other than him,
since then?" You said, "No." The lie detector determined you were being deceptive. In the case of<i>
Thayer v. Thayer,</i> when it comes
to 19-month-old
Kaydence Thayer, it has been determined
by this court, Mr. Thayer,
you are the father. AMBER: I told you. One of them.
One of the two. AMBER: I told you. We still need Matthew. Just because one of them
is mine doesn't mean
I'm gonna stay. JUDGE LAKE:
It's the first time
I've seen you smile today. Yeah, I'm happy. I have the second result
for you. Are you ready? Yes. JUDGE LAKE: These results
were prepared
by DNA Diagnostics and they read as follows. In the case
of <i> Thayer v. Thayer,</i> when it comes to
three-year-old
Matthew Thayer Jr., it has been determined
by this court... JUDGE LAKE: Mr. Thayer, you are the father. I told you. (APPLAUSE) Can I give her...
Can I give her a hug? JUDGE LAKE: Absolutely. I love you. I love you too. MATTHEW: I'm at ease now. JUDGE LAKE: You look like it. (CHUCKLES) Yeah.
