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Is This Woman Seeking Death Benefits for Her Children? (Full Episode) | Paternity Court - YouTube
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[2]
Please be seated.
[5]
Hello, Your Honor.
[5]
Hello.
[7]
This case
is <i> Cameron v. Melvin.</i>
[8]
Thank you, Ron.
Good day, everyone.
[10]
AUDIENCE: Good day.
[13]
Ms. Cameron, you tragically
lost the love of your life
three years ago
[16]
and now find yourself standing
before me fighting to prove
[20]
<i> that he is your child's
biological father.</i>
[23]
<i> Furthermore, you claim</i>
[25]
you desperately
need to determine paternity
[27]
so that you can file
for the death benefits
[29]
to support your family,
is that correct?
[31]
Yes, Your Honor.
[33]
Ms. Melvin, you say
your brother is not the father
[35]
and you claim you have more
than enough evidence
[38]
to prove Ms. Cameron is lying
[40]
about who
her child's father is.
[42]
You believe she's trying
to receive death benefits
[45]
she is not entitled to.
[47]
So, Ms. Melvin, tell me,
[49]
what upsets you
most about the situation
[51]
Ms. Cameron finds
herself in today?
[55]
Well, I'm speaking for myself
as well as my family.
[58]
This has disturbed us all.
[60]
My mom would have liked
to be here today as well,
[62]
but she's very distraught.
[64]
And she would not...
She just couldn't face it
to come.
[67]
<i> Um, so, just the whole
situation of my...</i>
[70]
<i> Losing my brother as well.</i>
[72]
<i> I have a picture
of my brother.</i>
[73]
Um, we lost him
[75]
and just the whole situation
[77]
of her getting pregnant,
it just all doesn't,
[79]
it just doesn't add up.
[80]
You don't think
this child is his?
[82]
MELVIN: I don't think
it's his.
[84]
She already receives
the benefits for one child.
[87]
And the other one,
with the dates not adding up,
[90]
I just feel that
she's just not trying to work.
[92]
JUDGE LAKE: Ms. Cameron. So...
[92]
Yes.
[95]
You say today's court date
is very important.
[97]
Yes, because his father's
name is not on
this birth certificate.
[101]
JUDGE LAKE: Let me see
the birth certificate.
[103]
And that breaks my heart,
because my father's
on my birth certificate.
[106]
Uh, he's on my other child's
birth certificate. So...
[110]
JUDGE LAKE: So, because he's
not on the birth certificate,
[112]
this child, um, is it Malaki?
[115]
CAMERON: <i> Yes.</i>
[117]
JUDGE LAKE: <i> Is not entitle
to death benefits?</i>
[119]
CAMERON: <i> No, because
they said I have no proof</i>
[122]
of him being his son,
because he passed
[124]
when I was 12 weeks pregnant.
[127]
JUDGE LAKE:
So, the stakes are very high.
[129]
CAMERON: Yes,
they really are.
[131]
I need help, I'm a single
parent of two kids.
[134]
I need help.
[136]
It, it's hard.
[137]
JUDGE LAKE: I want to get
the background on this.
[137]
Okay.
[140]
Please tell me about
your relationship
with the deceased.
[142]
All right. I was 19
[144]
when I met him.
[146]
And it just started off
from there.
[148]
Like, we was attached
to the hip from that point on.
[151]
<i> I got pregnant
with my first child</i>
[154]
<i> within two months
of being in...</i>
[156]
And we went
and got these pictures done,
[160]
like, a month
after we got together,
[162]
because we fell in love from,
[164]
like, it was love
at first sight.
[166]
<i> We was planning our son.</i>
[168]
<i> Which, nobody knew about that.</i>
[170]
Only me and him,
because we didn't...
[172]
Just in case I did not get
pregnant, I did not want...
[174]
Right there he is,
look how juicy he is.
[177]
JUDGE LAKE: Mm-hmm.
[177]
(AUDIENCE LAUGHING)
[178]
You know? Look how cute he is.
[180]
JUDGE LAKE: Yes, he is.
[180]
And he looks...
[182]
Like, he does look like me,
[183]
'cause I guess
I got strong genes,
[186]
but he looks like Jackie.
[187]
JUDGE LAKE: So, you have
an older child together?
[189]
CAMERON: Yes.
[190]
And then you planned
for the next one.
[193]
Yes, 'cause I was like
an only child
[195]
and it was not fun.
[197]
I wanted someone
for my other child
to play with.
[199]
So, I went and talked
to Mr. Rathert, like...
[202]
So, he was like, "Okay,
we can go ahead and try
[205]
"just let, let's keep it
under wraps."
[206]
JUDGE LAKE: So, wait, I want
to understand this first.
[208]
Now, Ms. Melvin,
during this time,
[211]
your brother is in
a relationship
with Ms. Cameron,
[212]
you know about her, right?
[212]
Correct.
[214]
JUDGE LAKE: You know
about the children.
[216]
Correct.
[217]
JUDGE LAKE: And so, you still
feel like she's trying
[220]
<i> to get something
that isn't entitled to her?</i>
[222]
<i> Why do you think
she's not entitled to it if...</i>
[225]
MELVIN: Well,
there's a couple things, um,
[227]
he had came to me,
[229]
like, it was a month
before we found out
she was pregnant and said that
[232]
she had gave him an STD.
[234]
And I work at an
urgent care,
[237]
and I see a lot of stuff,
so he told me.
[239]
I said, "Are you sure?"
[241]
He's like, "Man, I haven't
done anything, I loved her."
[243]
And so, I'm like, "Oh, okay."
[245]
I said, so, I said,
"Go up there and get tested."
[247]
"Take her to get tested."
And he said
they both got treated.
[250]
JUDGE LAKE: So, that made
you believe,
[252]
she was cheating on him
[253]
because of this situation.
[253]
MELVIN: Yeah, the situation.
[256]
Ms. Cameron,
is that what happened?
[259]
I found out that I had the STD
[261]
when I was pregnant
with my daughter.
[263]
So, we don't know
who that came from,
[264]
because he was out
in the streets, his lifestyle.
[268]
The bottom line is,
the family began to bleed
[270]
you weren't just sleeping
with their brother.
[270]
Correct.
[274]
JUDGE LAKE: Did you have
any idea they were trying
[276]
for this second child?
[277]
Yeah, I didn't know anything,
because if I would have known,
[281]
I definitely would have cussed
my brother out,
[282]
because he has two daughters,
besides the daughter with her
[286]
and he was not doing good
for them either.
[288]
Ms. Cameron, you said
he passed away when you were
12 weeks pregnant.
[291]
CAMERON: Yes,
and we did not know
the sex of the child.
[294]
JUDGE LAKE:
Had you told anyone?
[296]
Yes, I told my best friend,
April.
[299]
And I told my mother.
[302]
And I told my father.
[303]
I don't know who he told,
[305]
but I know that's
the three people I told.
[307]
JUDGE LAKE: And at the point
that you told him,
[309]
did he tell his family?
[311]
CAMERON: No, he said
wait for a couple of days,
to make sure,
[313]
because it was
a home pregnancy test
that we took.
[316]
So, how soon after you found
out you were pregnant
[320]
did Mr. Rathert pass?
[322]
I was 12 weeks when he pa...
No, 13 weeks.
[325]
I'm sorry, 'cause I started
bleeding at 12 weeks.
[328]
And he rushed me up
to the hospital,
[330]
'cause I have blood
all the way down my ankles
[333]
within five minutes
I started bleeding.
[335]
So, I thought
I was going to lose him.
[337]
So, I was stressing over that.
[337]
MELVIN: Your Honor.
[339]
And then, the next week,
he passed away.
[342]
And how did you find out
he passed away?
[344]
I went downstairs
to go to the bathroom,
[346]
and I came back upstairs
to go to bed
[348]
and he was snoring
before I went downstairs.
[351]
So, I didn't
think nothing of it.
[353]
When I came back upstairs,
he was not snoring.
[356]
And 'cause of the lifestyle
he was living,
[360]
every night, I would put
my hand on his back
[362]
to make sure
he was still breathing.
[364]
And by that time...
[365]
By the time I put my hand
on his back, he was...
[367]
He was already gone.
His lips was purple.
[372]
And I was trying
to flip him over,
[375]
so I could give him CPR.
[377]
And I was calling 911,
[379]
screaming like,
"Wake up, wake up."
[381]
Smacking him in his face
and he just would not get up.
[384]
I'm sorry.
[385]
JUDGE LAKE: It's okay.
[396]
JUDGE LAKE: Ms. Melvin.
[396]
Yes, ma'am.
[397]
Did you accept
the baby at first?
[399]
Well, the thing was, is, um...
[402]
It went so fast.
[404]
So, when we found out
she was pregnant, okay,
[408]
um, which they didn't tell us.
[410]
Um, then it was...
She almost had a miscarriage
[413]
or whatever the situation
was in the hospital.
[415]
I ended up going there.
[417]
And when I,
[418]
I had to take my brother
to walk away.
[420]
We walked over to,
like, the snack machine
[424]
and on the way to the thing,
the snack machine,
[426]
my brother J, he told me,
he was like,
[428]
"I'm not sure if this baby
is even mine anyway."
[430]
Why would he say that?
[431]
He's the one
that wanted it too.
[433]
JUDGE LAKE: So, your brother
said to you directly,
[436]
"I don't know
if this is my child."
[438]
CAMERON:
I don't believe that.
[440]
Yes.
[440]
'Cause he was excited
when I told him
[442]
that I was pregnant. He wa...
[443]
He jumped up and down saying,
[445]
"Please, God, let it be a boy.
[446]
"I need a boy in my life."
[449]
MELVIN: <i> And then, you know,
when...</i>
[451]
<i> After... So she's pregnant,
I was taking her
to her appointments.</i>
[455]
And I brought a calendar, um,
to show you some things
[459]
that, um,
[461]
from when we went to
the appointment, on June 28th.
[464]
So, from June 28th,
[466]
with her due date
[467]
of her supposed to be getting
pregnant was,
[469]
this would have been
when she got pregnant
[471]
and my brother
was not even around,
[472]
'cause the due date changed.
[474]
So, this calendar shows...
[475]
MELVIN: Me going to
an appointment with her and...
[477]
JUDGE LAKE: <i> You went
to the doctor with her
on June 28th.</i>
[479]
MELVIN: <i> Yes.</i>
[480]
JUDGE LAKE:<i>
And the doctor said,</i>
[481]
<i> she's six months pregnant.</i>
[483]
MELVIN: <i> Yes.</i>
[485]
JUDGE LAKE: And so
when you count back
six months...
[486]
Yes.
[488]
Is it during the window
of time when...
[490]
MELVIN:
My brother wasn't even there.
[492]
The time
just doesn't match up.
[494]
So, that's another reason why
I feel like...
[496]
JUDGE LAKE:
It's not his child?
[496]
Right.
[498]
JUDGE LAKE:
And so, Ms. Cameron...
[498]
Yes.
[500]
Do you... Did you know
where he was then?
[503]
CAMERON: He was out
running the streets.
[505]
JUDGE LAKE:
So, he wasn't with you?
[506]
CAMERON:
We was in a relationship.
[507]
But he was not at home.
[509]
I stopped taking
my birth control
on January 16th
[512]
'cause we talked about it
on the 14th,
[514]
about trying to conceive
our son.
[517]
And that very next night
is when I got pregnant.
[520]
My son was born
on October 17th,
[522]
if you added that up,
[524]
<i> I would have got pregnant
on January 17th.</i>
[526]
JUDGE LAKE: <i> Well,
Ms. Melvin's saying</i>
[527]
the doctor said at the
appointment
[529]
on the 28th of June, that,
you were six months pregnant.
[533]
So, if you got pregnant
in January,
[535]
if you count that back,
one, two, three, four, five.
[540]
Maybe the dates was off.
I don't know.
[542]
That's a huge discrepancy.
[545]
I have an ultrasound picture
right here.
[547]
I know this might sound crazy,
[549]
but I posted it on Facebook
and if...
[552]
Okay, this is his face, like,
[554]
like we're looking
at each other.
[555]
If you look in the eye,
that is Jackie.
[558]
Look at that bald headed
self up there.
[560]
And look at the bald headed
in the eyeball.
[562]
And actually, there's another
face right here
[564]
that looks
how fat Jackie's face was.
[567]
I know I sound crazy,
but it gave me peace of mind
seeing that,
[571]
'cause I posted it on Facebook
[572]
and I didn't even see it
at first.
[574]
And then people started
commenting, like,
[576]
"Oh, there's somebody
in the eyeball."
[578]
<i> "There's somebody
in the eyeball."</i>
[579]
<i> I'm like,
"No, there's no way."</i>
[581]
<i> And I zoom...cause it was
on my phone, I zoomed it in</i>
[584]
and there is somebody
in that eyeball.
[586]
And I believe,
with all my heart,
[587]
that is a sign from Jackie
saying that
[590]
he was still with me,
[592]
when I had that ultrasound
done.
[595]
'Cause I cried and I begged
God to give me a sign
[599]
that Jackie was still with me.
[602]
And two hours later,
I got that.
[604]
JUDGE LAKE: Well, I'm going
to tell you something.
[607]
In this courtroom,
I handle paternity.
[609]
So, this is beyond my area
to refute.
[609]
Okay.
[612]
But I will say this.
[614]
Listen, they say
when people pass to the next
[618]
level of life and living,
that they don't leave us.
[621]
So, if that's what you see,
[623]
I am not the one that's going
to tell you, you don't.
[625]
So, Ms. Melvin,
when you look at that,
[629]
do you feel like,
maybe your brother was
[632]
sending a sign that
he was still with Ms. Cameron
[637]
and his unborn child?
[638]
I don't.
[639]
Why?
[640]
You can't see Jackie's head
in that?
[642]
MELVIN: <i> Mm-mm. I don't.</i>
[644]
MELVIN: <i> Your Honor.</i>
[644]
JUDGE LAKE: <i> Yes.</i>
[645]
MELVIN:<i>
There's another incident</i>
[647]
that was about a couple weeks
before the time frame
[650]
of her getting pregnant.
[651]
There was a time where,
[653]
which I have a signed
statement from my mom,
[655]
'cause they live next door
to each other,
[657]
that she was, like,
creeping around the corner.
[657]
Creeping?
[662]
To get to a car
which was with another man.
[666]
I was in love with Jackie.
[667]
I would have never cheated
on Jackie.
[669]
Let me give this to you. Okay.
[669]
I'd like to see that.
[673]
So, this is a statement
from your mother.
[673]
MELVIN: Yes.
[676]
She couldn't join us today.
[678]
<i> And it says, "I am testifying
that I do not believe</i>
[681]
<i> "Malaki Rathert is my grandson</i>
[683]
<i> "because I know Ms. Cameron
cheated my son</i>
[686]
<i> "shortly before
she got pregnant.</i>
[688]
<i> "In January 2013...</i>
[688]
How does she know?
[690]
<i> "...my son
and Ms. Tomarrow Cameron...</i>
[690]
Did she lay down with me?
[693]
<i> "...lived next door to me.</i>
[694]
<i> "One night,
I witnessed Ms. Cameron</i>
[696]
<i> "getting in to a parked car
with a male.</i>
[696]
Did she go with him?
[700]
<i> "The car was parked
around the corner,</i>
[702]
<i> "instead of in her driveway</i>
[703]
<i> "as though
she was trying to hide.</i>
[703]
She was not even with me.
[706]
<i> "About two months later,
Ms. Cameron...</i>
[706]
No.
[708]
No.
[709]
Ms. Cameron, let me get
through the statement.
[709]
CAMERON: I'm sorry.
[711]
CAMERON: Okay.
[713]
JUDGE LAKE: (READING) <i>
"About two months later,</i>
[715]
<i> "Ms. Cameron announced
she was two months pregnant.</i>
[717]
<i> "I do not believe
my son is Malaki's father."</i>
[721]
JUDGE LAKE:<i>
Statement is signed.</i>
[722]
So,
you say that never happened?
[724]
CAMERON: No, that did happen
[726]
and I told Mr. Rathert
that I went out with him,
[729]
because I felt guilty
even though nothing happened
[732]
between me and him.
[733]
I was looking for comfort,
because I was by myself
[737]
at that time,
'cause that happened
[738]
right after he went MIA
somewhere, wherever he was at.
[742]
Yes, it was a guy.
I have a lot of guy friends.
[745]
I don't really...
[746]
She's the only female friend
I have.
[748]
If I went out...
[750]
I'd actually like to hear
from your witness.
[751]
Can you please stand, ma'am?
[752]
WOMAN: Yes.
[754]
State your name.
[755]
April Webb.
[756]
April Webb, thank you
for joining us, Ms. Webb.
[758]
Do you have knowledge
[760]
that Ms. Cameron was cheating
with this other guy?
[762]
No.
[764]
Ms. Melvin,
she was not cheating.
[766]
This is my best friend.
[767]
And it's been my best friend
for 16 years.
[769]
When that date did occur,
[772]
she came to me
and she told me,
[773]
because she felt so guilty
about it
[775]
that, she had went on a date
with a past friend.
[779]
But, they just hung out,
[781]
talked, went to the movies,
ate.
[783]
But how do you really know
she didn't have sex?
[787]
I can only go off of
what my best friend
has told me
[789]
and she's never,
to my knowledge,
[792]
has lied to me before.
[793]
Okay, but you don't have
firsthand knowledge of that.
[795]
APRIL: No, ma'am.
[795]
Okay.
[797]
JUDGE LAKE: You may be seated,
thank you.
[798]
Thank you.
[800]
So, was that date
during the time
[803]
when Mr. Rathert disappeared?
[806]
CAMERON: <i> Yes, it was...</i>
[806]
JUDGE LAKE: <i> It was?</i>
[807]
CAMERON:<i>
It was December 27th.</i>
[810]
<i> 'Cause it was two days
after Christmas.</i>
[812]
JUDGE LAKE: Hmm.
[813]
You said you got pregnant
on January 17th.
[817]
CAMERON: Yes.
[818]
JUDGE LAKE: Even
if what you're testifying to
is true,
[821]
do you understand why
Ms. Melvin and her family
[824]
could count back and say,
[826]
"This is what I saw her do
in the month of December."
[828]
That's why they have doubt.
[829]
I know for a fact,
deep down in my heart,
[831]
I did not do anything
with him.
[834]
You know, Ms. Cameron,
[836]
I know this is very important,
because as you say
[838]
you're trying to get your life
together,
[840]
you're struggling and...
[841]
If, in fact,
this is Mr. Rathert's
biological child,
[845]
you would be entitled
to death benefits.
[848]
CAMERON: Yes.
[848]
And...
[849]
So, this is very important
for you.
[852]
CAMERON: Yes,
since I lost Jackie...
[853]
MELVIN:
But if it's not his kid,
[854]
why do you need
the death benefits?
[855]
Okay, if it's not his kid,
[857]
I'm not gonna ask
for the death benefits.
[857]
Okay.
[859]
JUDGE LAKE: All right, I think
I've heard enough testimony,
[861]
I'm ready for the result.
[862]
(AUDIENCE APPLAUDS)
[864]
RON: Your Honor.
[865]
Thank you.
[867]
These results were prepared
by DNA Diagnostics.
[871]
And they read as follows...
[873]
To be clear, because there
wasn't a blood card available,
[876]
to test the DNA of
the deceased, Jackie Rathert,
[880]
we performed a DNA test
with a surviving grandparent.
[885]
The results determine
[887]
if there's a viable
relationship between
the child, Malaki Rathert
[891]
and the grandmother,
Ms. Marjorie Duhamel.
[895]
In the case
of <i> Cameron v. Melvin,</i>
[901]
when it comes to
two-year-old, Malaki Rathert,
[918]
It has been determined
by this court
[921]
Ms. Duhamel
[925]
is related to Malaki Rathert.
[927]
(CLAPPING) Thank you, Jesus.
[929]
Thank you.
[931]
Now do you believe me?
[932]
I guess.
[932]
I was being honest with you.
[935]
JUDGE LAKE: I know
there've been challenges
[936]
in this relationship
because of everything,
[939]
but one thing Ms. Cameron
said, which is true,
[942]
is that, if...
[943]
Since this is
your brother's child,
[945]
this child is entitled
to whatever benefits
[948]
would be available to him.
[950]
And from her testimony,
[952]
they need it.
[954]
JUDGE LAKE: Ms. Cameron.
[955]
Yes.
[957]
It feels good
to just finally have it.
[959]
Yes, it does.
[961]
But, it still makes me mad.
[964]
Tissue? You want a tissue?
[966]
JUDGE LAKE:
Thank you, Ms. Melvin.
[967]
Can I hug you?
[969]
CAMERON: Thank you, Jessica.
[970]
(AUDIENCE APPLAUDING)
[971]
MELVIN: I love you.
[974]
JUDGE LAKE: It's not easy
to lose someone we love.
[977]
And it calls up a lot
of issues
and unfinished business
[980]
and unanswered questions
and things we can't address
[982]
with the person
that has gone on
[985]
and left us here to deal with
all of the rest of everything.
[989]
And that's not easy.
[990]
No, it's not.
[991]
JUDGE LAKE: But here,
[993]
in addition to the unanswered
questions and things,
[997]
he's left beautiful children
behind.
[999]
And I think that's where
we have to put our focus
at this point.
[1001]
Yes.
[1001]
JUDGE LAKE: Right, family?
[1003]
Is on the children.
[1004]
We have counseling
and resources for you.
[1006]
So, please, please,
[1008]
keep the children at
the forefront of your minds.
[1010]
I wish you the best of luck.
Court is adjourned.
[1012]
CAMERON: Thank you.
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