The custody battle over twin girls who were sold over the Internet took another twist yesterday with the news that the US couple in the affair had filed suit against the British couple.
Lawyers for Mr Richard Allen and Mrs Vickie Allen from San Bernardino, California, confirmed yesterday they had gone to court seeking to have their rivals' quickie adoption of the baby girls overturned.
"We've filed a petition to have the adoption set aside," said Mr John Giffen, lawyer for the Allens based in Valencia, California.
The Allen's attorneys have requested an expedited hearing in Arkansas where the Kilshaws filed adoption papers, and a date could be set for as soon as next week, Mr Giffen said.
It's the latest development in the complicated transatlantic adoption saga which has spotlighted the phenomenon of Internet baby brokers and the huge cash payments they demand.
Both the Allens and the Kilshaws were promised the twins by baby broker Tina Johnson whom they found on the web, and both paid her thousands of dollars in fixer fees.
But several months on, she has gone to ground and both couples have been left empty-handed. The seven-month-old girls have been placed in foster care in England, while authorities there try to work out what arrangement is best for their welfare.
The Allens were in the process of trying to adopt the girls when their biological mother, Ms Tranda Wecker, took them back on December 5 last year -- ostensibly for a visit.
In fact, she turned them over to the Kilshaws who had flown from Britain to California to pick up the new additions to their family. They were unaware the the Allens had been caring for the girls for almost two months, although when they found out they decided to proceed with the adoption anyhow.
AFP