With their 5-year-old son still hospitalized, entertainer Usher and ex-wife Tameka Raymond were in Fulton County Superior Court for a hearing Friday afternoon to determine if Usher will retain custody of the couple’s children. After nearly two hours of testimony, the judge dismissed the request.
R&B singer and modern day Micheal Jackson, Usher will keep custody of the two young sons after an emergency request for a change of custody was dismissed Friday afternoon.
With their 5-year-old son still hospitalized, Usher and ex-wife Tameka Raymond were in Fulton County Superior Court for a hearing Friday afternoon to determine if Usher would retain custody of the their children. After nearly two hours of testimony, the judge dismissed the request.
Raymond was granted an emergency custody hearing after 5-year-old Usher Raymond V nearly drowned Monday in a pool.
The boy got stuck in a pool drain at Usher’s rented Atlanta based home and was rescued by a contractor who administered CPR. The child was alert while being transported to the hospital.
Usher’s attorney contends the incident was an accident, and that those at the home helped save the child’s life.
“This was an accident that could happen to anyone with adult supervision,” Usher’s attorney, John Mayoue, told the court. “He wants to be at his son’s side at the hospital. He doesn’t want to be here today.”
Usher’s aunt, Rena Oden, was caring for the two boys Monday afternoon while Usher was at work, about five minutes away, Mayoue said. Oden’s emotional 911 call was played for the courtroom, and Tameka Raymond cried as she listened to it and during her testimony. Tameka gave a very powerful testimony while on the stand, but was constantly overruled on the grounds of hearsay due to her getting all information second hand,
On the stand, she told the court she was not kept informed of who was taking care of her children, despite calls and emails to Usher that were not returned. She also shared she was not aware he did not have a nanny anymore.
“I don’t know where my children are. I don’t know who my children are with,” she said. “He doesn’t confer to me regarding anything.”
Usher was called to the stand shortly before 4 p.m. He told the court he left and went to his studio less than hour before getting a phone call about the incident involving his son.
Furthermore, a hired pool service had cleaned and checked the pool earlier Monday.
Neither Usher nor his ex-wife looked at each other as they waited for the hearing to start. Both were looking down at phones or documents, seemingly oblivious to the crowded courtroom awaiting the hearing, which began around 2:30 p.m., above 30 minutes behind schedule.
Tameka Raymond looked amazing is dressed in black pants and an ivory blouse and jacket with her hair parted in the middle and pulled back in a ponytail.
Usher, dressed in a light tan suit and dress shirt with no tie, spoke briefly to his attorneys. Both were wearing what appeared to be hospital identification bracelets.
Usher was granted full custody of the two boys nearly a year ago.
Although, it was brought up that Aunt Rena was on disability due to a back injury sustained back in 2007 seven she seems to serve as nanny for the two very active boys. Additional, testimony about a gun left exposed for four days was not allowed to be heard on the grounds of hearsay.
Almost one year to the date Tameka lost her son Kyle by Ryan Glover her previous husband she is faced with loosing another one if her boys.
After court Usher went over to her and they hugged. It seems the two of them have a strange love hate relationship. While talking to Temeka and her expressing her disappointment, but she vowed to continue to fight she shared her son’s arm was not broken in the attempt to rescue him.
It was interesting that Usher’s mother did not appear in court today.
More details from my notes and photos to come!
Read my detailed notes below:
“My son basically had died,” Tameka Raymond said of the Monday incident. She said that Usher did not tell her about the accident for an hour after it happened and that he said the boy had a cut on his arm, only later mentioning the pool drain.
Usher and Tameka Raymond married in 2007 and divorced two years later. They went through a lengthy child custody battle, and Usher was awarded primary custody of the boys last year.
Tameka Raymond said Usher does not answer her emails or phone calls about her sons. She said she has not left the hospital since the accident except for Friday’s court appearance, but that the singer has not been there often. “Where has he been at night when his son is in the hospital?” she asked.
Usher’s attorney argued that the boys are thriving with him and Usher claimed that the accident could have happened to anyone. While their son is still in the hospital, Tameka took the stand today, breaking down thinking about her initial reaction to learning that their son was being rushed to the hospital. Tameka said initially she didn’t know if her son would suffer from permanent brain damage.
