‘Aunty is the best’

The little boy at the centre of a bitter custody battle between his parents and a female relative has indicated his desire to stay with the relative who has cared for him from infancy.

Sitting in the front porch of his Gasparillo home yesterday, nine-year-old Shawn Supersad said his aunt, Monica Hamilton, 52, was more like a mother than an aunt to him. “I prefer to stay with my aunt,” he said, adding Hamilton made sure he was well taken care of from the “minute I wake up, to the time I go to sleep.” “Aunty is the best,” he said, adding, “I know she loves me because she does see about me first before anybody else.” But, the Standard three student at the Gasparillo Government Primary School seemed oblivious to the controversy surrounding the custody battle, saying he was also on good terms with his parents, Sherry Ann and Deoraj Supersad. “Whenever they visit me I  talk to them,” he said, adding he was also on good terms with his older brother, Vishnu, who also attended the same school.

However, Shawn said when asked by the court which relative he preferred to be with, he had answered “Aunty.” “When the judge asked me who I wanted to stay with, I told him Aunty,” he said, with a broad smile. Monica Hamilton said it was never her intention for custody of her niece’s son to reach the courts, saying all she wanted was the best for the little boy. “I just want peace in my family,” she said, adding Shawn’s parents were “always welcome to visit” their son. However, Sherry Ann Supersad disputed Hamilton’s claim, saying joint custody had been awarded to both parents by the court. “We can see Shawn whenever we want,” she said, adding Hamilton wanted sole custody of her youngest child. “She wanted full custody but the judge did not give her full custody,” she said.

Supersad indicated her intention to visit her lawyer, Indrani Persad, on Monday, to discuss the ruling and what steps were available to the family. “I intend to tell my side of the story after I talk to my lawyer,” she concluded.