| Sources |
- [S24] The Newport Plain Talk, (http://www.newportplaintalk.com), 25 Jan 2003.
Danny McGaha family obituary
- [S24] The Newport Plain Talk, (http://www.newportplaintalk.com), 30 Jan 2003.
Victims of Saturday's fire will be buried together
Charles J. Locklear, of St. Pauls, North Carolina, sat quietly as he waited for Circuit Judge Ben W. Hooper's ruling on Wednesday. Locklear was seeking to take the body of five-year-old Cheyenne Locklear, who died in a house fire on Saturday, to St. Pauls for burial.
NEWPORT—A five-year-old girl who died in a house fire on Saturday will be buried with her mother and step-sister in Cocke County rather than being taken to a cemetery in North Carolina, as a result of a ruling by Circuit Judge Ben W. Hooper on Wednesday.
Hooper was faced with a decision on Wednesday after the man who says he is the biological father of Cheyenne Locklear, who died in the Saturday morning house fire along with her parents and two siblings, was served with a temporary restraining order intended to bar him from taking the girl's body to be buried in a St. Pauls, North Carolina, cemetery.
Cheyenne Locklear, as well as her father, Danny McGaha; her mother, Jessica McGaha; and her step-brother and step-sister, Daniel, 2, and Hanna, 9 months, died in a Saturday morning house fire at their home off Upper Broad Street.
James Dale Grayson and Lore L. Grayson, the parents of Jessica McGaha, the mother of Cheyenne Locklear, filed an injunction in Cocke County Circuit Court on Tuesday in which they asserted "that they are the next of kin of their granddaughter, Cheyenne Dale McGaha, and have full authority to make the final disposition of the remains of the child's body and it is for the best interest of all concerned that the child be buried with her mother, her brother and sister, and her father."
An emotional crowd packed the circuit courtroom on Wednesday during the two-hour hearing, which took place simultaneous to the family visitation at Manes Funeral Home and just two hours before the funeral was to be held for the family of five.
Newport Attorney Bill Leibrock, representing the Graysons, told the court, referring to Charles J. Locklear—the man who asserted he is the girl's biological father—"He was never married to Jessica, and has not seen the child in at least three years.
"The burden, in fact, is on him to prove whether or not he is the biological father," said Leibrock. "And we are prepared to prove that this man is not the grieving father of this child if, in fact, he is the father.
"We are also prepared to prove that the relationship between this man and Jessica was a violent one.
"But, basically, your honor, we are saying that this man should not be allowed to interfere with this child being buried in the arms of her mother," he said.
When Locklear took the stand he showed the court an uncertified copy of a certificate of live birth for Cheyenne Locklear and testified that he and Jessica had lived together until early 1999.
When questioned by Leibrock about whether he had ever gone to court to legitimize the birth of Cheyenne, Locklear said "no."
Locklear also said he had not paid child support for Cheyenne after 1999, but said the reason was that "I didn't know where Jessica was living.
"I didn't know where she was until I got a phone call from Jessica's stepmother telling me she was dead," said Locklear.
Finally, Locklear said, "You might think I'm no kind of father, but you don't live inside me."
After several witnesses, including the Graysons, Danny Roy McGaha Sr., Diane Gibson, and Terry Lynn Gibson, (James Dale Grayson's wife and stepdaughter) were questioned by Leibrock and Newport attorney Clyde Dunn, who represented Locklear, Hooper made his ruling, saying, in part:
"It would appear, on the face of this, that the critical issue here is who is the next of kin, but the right of burial can sometimes be discretionary with the court.
"I have no doubt that Mr. Locklear is the father of the child, but he has not been around the child for at least half her life, for whatever reason, and apparently no support has been paid or ordered for the upkeep of this child," said Hooper.
"But these factors don't have a lot to do with the court's decision in this case," he said.
"As I sit here, I couldn't help but think that, if Cheyenne had been left with Mr. Locklear and they had died in a similar way, and Jessica had attempted to bring the child's body to Newport, Mr. Locklear's family would have objected just the same," said Hooper.
"But, regardless of the circumstances, there's no doubt that Cheyenne was closer to her mother than her father. If she were here to answer the question [about] where she would want to be buried, she would most likely have chosen to be with her mother," he said.
Hooper said that courts seldom separate living children from their parents "and it may be that I am extending that to the deceased, for the injunction will not be dissolved.
"I hope, Mr. Locklear, that, after some thoughtful reflection on your part, you will agree with the court's decision," he said.
Gary Butler's e-mail address is gbutler@xtn.net
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(Age ~ 27 years)