Rollercoaster Head IS Genetic (Full Episode) | Paternity Court

Please be seated. Good morning, Your Honor. Good morning.

This is the case of McDaniel v. Wells. Thank you, Jerome.

Good day, everyone. AUDIENCE: Good day. Mr.

McDaniel, you opened your case today in hopes of salvaging your marriage with the defendant. You claim you two have suffered a great loss and should be grieving, but instead, due to rumors, your husband is denying your two-year-old daughter, Ava Wells, and 18-month-old son, Darryl Wells. Is that correct?

Yes, Your Honor. JUDGE LAKE: Mr Wells, you claim you have substantial evidence to prove you didn't father Mr. Wells kids and say you cannot give 100% of yourself until you have proof you did.

Is that correct? Yes, Your Honor. JUDGE LAKE: All right, Ms.

McDaniel, what is your husband's denial doing to your family? It's destroying us, like, we don't need to go through this because we just lost a son six months ago, and we need to be grieving with each other. And for him to deny my kids, it's destroying us even more.

We barely talk to each other. We sit in separate rooms. You know, we don't do what married people are supposed to do.

JUDGE LAKE: How long have you been married? Since, um, February 14th, 2014. And so, just since 2014 and already the marriage, it's being torn apart.

Yes. Due to this paternity question. I wanna get into these rumors, but before I do, I just wanna get a little background on your family.

Take me back. You all met. .

. We met, um. .

. He was with his sister. And it was at a convention center.

And he tried to get his five-year-old to give me his number. And I was like, no, you. .

. JUDGE LAKE: A five-year-old? It was my.

. . He called me friend.

WELLS: It was my nephew. He called me friend. It was my nephew.

I seen this. . .

She spoke with my sister and them, so my nephew knew her. So I asked my nephew to go. .

. JUDGE LAKE: Your nephew was five? Yeah, at the time, he was five.

(AUDIENCE LAUGHING) How does your nephew know a grown woman when he's five? WELLS: They knew her. And so he would call me, "Hey, friend.

" And I'd be like, "Hey, friend. " You know. Oh, the nephew would call you friend?

BOTH: Yes. Because he was used to seeing you? BOTH: Yes.

Okay, you all gotta get this story straight 'cause I'm like, you have five-year-olds. . .

Okay, so. . .

(ALL LAUGHING) He knew you already. And so, you wanted to get to know Ms. McDaniel?

WELLS: Yes, ma'am. So you sent him over. To say what?

Yes. I'd sent my nephew over to ask for her phone number. JUDGE LAKE: Oh!

Five? Yes. Starting them young.

Okay. So did he do it? BOTH: Yes.

But I told him, Your Honor, "You need to get my number. " So we talked on the phone for hours and hours, you know. To me, it was love at first sight.

WELLS: It was. It was. But.

. . I talked on the phone hours.

We'd meet up with each other, you know. And from there we've been together since. .

. Since then. This has been since 2010, 2011.

JUDGE LAKE: All right, Mr Wells, so tell me, why do you believe you are not the father? Well, Your Honor, I heard rumors that she was cheating on me. Now I'm grieving too, you know, we.

. . We both, you know, we both lost a son.

But it's just the rumors and everything that I can't deal with it no more. How long have you been hearing rumors? WELLS: I've heard them since the first one was born.

The one we lost. JUDGE LAKE: So since you all basically got together and started having children, you've heard rumors that your wife is with someone else? Yes.

That my kids belong to somebody else. And who told you that? My ex.

JUDGE LAKE: So, Mr Wells, you are in a relationship, a longstanding relationship. You get married. You begin to have children and all of a sudden your ex comes to you and says I've got news.

Yes. . .

Tell me what she told you. She was like, uh, Meghan is the THOT of the. .

. Of the place where they work at. But this is your wife she's talking about?

Yes. Yes. So she just decides she's gonna call you out the blue and tell you your wife is a THOT?

WELLS: I mean. . .

(AUDIENCE LAUGHING) Well, not out the blue, but. . .

She heard that she was pregnant. So she was like, I just wanna let you know that might not be your baby. JUDGE LAKE: Oh, so she was warning you?

Yeah. And so, when she told you this, did you have reason to believe or to suspect? At first I didn't.

No. At first? No.

'Cause, I mean, she's. . .

She's a good woman. You know, she. .

. Only time I don't see her was when she would be at work. You know, so I don't know what she's doing there, but at home.

. . JUDGE LAKE: And so, okay, well, then let me ask you this.

If you've got a good woman that you don't have any questions about, you trust her, she only goes to work, she comes back home, she's a good wife, she's, you know, gonna be the mother of your children. How is it that some ex can come in and tell you something about your wife? Well, it wasn't.

. . I mean, after that then this.

. . She, uh, she's been sneaky on the phone.

Ms. McDaniel starts acting sneaky? Yes, she's covering up her text messages, erasing them.

Oh, I. . .

I delete my text. . .

It's been a habit since I was little. I delete my texts every day at midnight, and I can admit to that. Now, I'm a straight shooter in this courtroom, Ms.

McDaniel, that really doesn't sound too good. You delete your text messages every night? Yes.

Now clearly, you know, text messages are not what's getting her pregnant. But, at the same time, you usually smell a little smoke before we get to the fire. WELLS: Mmm-hmm.

Fire. Do you believe that your wife has been unfaithful to you? Yes.

You do? And that's why you question paternity? But he might be thinking of.

. . Of.

. . This time we went to a club, and this is another reason he probably, you know, don't think it's his kids.

Because I was in a club with my friend, and I was dancing on my friend. But the guy spanked me. JUDGE LAKE: And so, Mr Wells, you saw this happen?

Yes. What happened? With the guy, she starts dancing and twerking.

He stuck his whole hand up her dress and he was smacking her butt. JUDGE LAKE: So you're dancing with a friend. Yes.

And some other guy, out of the blue, puts his hand up your dress and smacks you? That she was talking to. JUDGE LAKE: Oh, this is who your friend was with.

Yes, Your Honor. Oh. Does it make it any better, Jerome?

No, it doesn't. JUDGE LAKE: Uh-uh. Uh-uh.

So, Mr Wells, you see this happening. WELLS: Yes, ma'am. And so, in your mind, at that point, that's before you even get married.

Yeah. But the bottom line is you filed it away in your mental Rolodex. Mmm-hmm.

How does this fuel your doubt about Ava? The rumors, and then she doesn't look like me. All of my kids, they all favor me in some way, you know?

McDANIEL: He has told my daughter, "I'm not your daddy, go find your daddy. " JUDGE LAKE: What? I did not say that.

I did not. . .

Mr Wells. I did not say that. What did you say?

I probably told her, like, "I ain't your daddy. " Like, you know, meaning today. .

. It's just a joke, though. I'm just playing with her.

JUDGE LAKE: No, that's not a joke, 'cause if you were playing, you wouldn't be in this courtroom. You dead serious. (APPLAUSE) And so your doubts have gotten you to the point where you're looking at a two-year-old child who potentially could be your child.

You don't believe it. And you say, "I'm not your daddy. " And how does she react when he says that?

I don't know how she feels or anything 'cause I'm not her. But it hurts. I mean, she loves him to death.

Like, she's a daddy's girl. I mean, she is my twin, all the way. But she has his nose, and she has a smart mouth.

JUDGE LAKE: And so, you. . .

(AUDIENCE LAUGHS) And you believe she gets that from him. Yes. Okay, but you don't believe she looks like you.

WELLS: No. Not at all. JUDGE LAKE: And so, for two years, you've looked at this child with doubt in your mind and in your heart.

Yes, I have, Your Honor. JUDGE LAKE: And I can see that really does bother you deep down inside. We're already got a heap of doubt around Ava.

I wanna move on to your doubt around Darryl now. WELLS: For one. .

. I have this, Your Honor. Jerome, will you hand me that, please?

Sure. And what is this, Mr Wells? WELLS: That is the birth certificate.

As you can clearly see, I'm labeled as Ava's father, I'm not on the birth certificate of him. JUDGE LAKE: But you two were married at the time. McDANIEL: Yes, and he was there for the delivery.

He was the only one in the delivery room. Since you're married, and the child's born within the marriage, he is the legal father under the law. But why leave his name off of this birth certificate?

I don't know, Your Honor. I mean, I can't sign it. So you all don't remember the execution of this birth certificate?

You don't remember this happening after the baby? I swore he signed it, but obviously he didn't. That's the proof.

So, Mr Wells, you feel like there's some part of this that was intentional on your wife's part. WELLS: Yes. You believe that, somehow, she maneuvered or said, "I don't want him to sign that," because she was unsure?

Maybe, yes, ma'am. That's my thoughts, yes, ma'am. And then, it's his skin tone.

He got ginger hair, and he's too light. He's too light. (CHUCKLES) JUDGE LAKE: Well, I mean, his mother is white now.

But, Your Honor, he calls him "white boy. " That's not acceptable. He calls him what?

McDANIEL: White boy, and that's not acceptable. I call him my little white boy. (AUDIENCE MURMURING) He has curly hair.

He's just light-skinned. JUDGE LAKE: Mr Wells? You're gonna have to get some better child dialogue, okay?

'Cause what you're saying to these children. . .

(APPLAUSE) No, no, no, no, no. You refer to the baby as "my little white boy"? No.

You really believe he was fathered by a white man? He's too light, for one. You know, the ginger hair, and then like the way his head is shaped.

I brought an exhibit. JUDGE LAKE: The what of his head? WELLS: The way his head is shaped.

The shape of his head? WELLS: Yes. And you brought an exhibit?

WELLS: Yes, ma'am. Please step over to your exhibit and show the court what you brought. Okay.

(AUDIENCE LAUGHS) Now, what I'm saying, Your Honor, is that the way my head is built is like a rollercoaster, you know. It has a lump in the middle, you know. Most of my kids, they have that.

All of them. As you can see, my head is the same way. As for little Darryl, his head is more flat, and his hair is ginger, like a reddish hair, you feel me?

I don't. . .

I've never had that in my family. So you have a rollercoaster head. That's what you call it.

Yes. Because there's a dip in it. Yeah.

And the child's head is flat. Yes. Ms.

McDaniel, do you have a rollercoaster head? No, no, Your Honor. (CHUCKLES) JUDGE LAKE: So.

. . You have decided that this physical attribute you say that your other children possess.

WELLS: Yes, Your Honor. But how many other children do you have? I have.

. . Between them two is five more.

Five additional? WELLS: Yes. (AUDIENCE GASPS) And they all have a rollercoaster head?

Yes. But these two children don't have it. WELLS: Yeah.

And that leads you to doubt. Yes, Your Honor. JUDGE LAKE: At the end of the day, all of this doubt is truly tearing your family apart.

You have this beautiful connection, this beautiful relationship, and now you are barely talking, sleeping in different bedrooms. Yes, Your Honor. You're not even at a place where you can grieve the loss of your child together.

That's a lot. And that's hurtful. McDANIEL: That was my firstborn right there.

He was the world to me. So, for him to deny my other ones tears me apart. And so, when you're dealing with this grief, and you're by yourself.

He's all I got. My family don't grieve with me or nothing, so, I mean, I have nobody but him and my kids. You are dealing with this by yourself.

Yes, Your Honor. Each and every day. Yes, and no parent should have to go through it.

JUDGE LAKE: Absolutely not. I mean, for you to be in a position where you've lost a child and have no one to lean on, both of you, really. Yeah.

That is difficult. And then, to have the doubt seeping through all of this, there is a lot at stake. So, at the end of the day, these results truly mean everything.

BOTH: Yes, Your Honor. Mr Wells, I can see that this makes you very emotional. WELLS: Yes, it does.

What are you feeling in this moment? It's unexplainable. I feel lost, especially without that little boy, and I wish that these kids be mine, you know, I want nothing more than that, even though I do say my little joke names to them, believe me, I love them.

JUDGE LAKE: Well, I'm hard on you because children are precious beings. Yes. .

. And the words we speak to them have power. And you may not think that they feel them, but it may be the intonation and the intention behind them, even if they don't understand the words.

WELLS: Yeah. They may feel something. And I can see that you are a loving person.

I can see that from you standing here. Yeah. And I just want to make sure that in your own grief and in your own doubt, you don't damage children who potentially could be yours.

And that's why I'm hard on you. (APPLAUSE) Now, have you prepared yourself if these results don't come out favorably? WELLS: I know it's going to be hard.

I haven't prepared myself for anything. I just fight for the best. That's all I can do.

If one of the children or both of the children are not your biological children, would you still continue and try to make this marriage work? I don't know, Your Honor. I don't know.

JUDGE LAKE: Hearing your husband say that, Mr. McDaniel. It hurts.

I mean, 'cause my kids really love him, so, I mean, I would have to deal with it, but I can't change the way he feels, but it would hurt and it would really tear my kids apart. JUDGE LAKE: Well, I think the only way we are going to start to get down to the bottom of this is to get the results. Jerome.

Here you go, Your Honor. Thank you. You're welcome.

We've two results today and these results were prepared by DNA Diagnostics and they read as follows. In the case of McDaniel v. Wells, when it comes to two-year-old Ava Wells, it has been determined by this court, Mr Wells, you are the father.

(APPLAUSE) (WELLS CHUCKLES) You look relieved. I am, I am. Very relieved.

Very relieved. JUDGE LAKE: Good. Second result.

In the case of McDaniel v. Wells, when it comes to 18-month-old Darryl Wells, it has been determined by this court, Mr Wells, you are the father. (APPLAUSE) (INDISTINCT) WELLS: Sorry, baby.

(CLEARS THROAT) (WELLS CHUCKLES) JUDGE LAKE: Now that we have this result, tell him how it makes you feel. I love you, and I want our marriage to improve, but we need to grieve over our son and be there for each other, and I hope you start believing things I say, not your ex or any family members. AUDIENCE: Yes.

Yes, babe. I'll do that. McDANIEL: All right.

I will. JUDGE LAKE: I'm so glad everything turned out the way we all wanted it to, but there's more. I'll meet you in my chambers now.

WELLS: All right. Court is adjourned. You all have been through an unimaginable loss, and you have not had time to grieve because you've had these questions surrounding paternity, and so this court would like to offer grief counseling services to you, because it's important that you all go through the grieving and the healing process together, and I'm hoping that will help with your healing and you being able to allow your son to rest in peace.