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http://www.chicagotribune.com/sports/football/bears/ct-brian-urlacher-child-custody-shooting-spt-0113-20170112-story.htmlBrian Urlacher gets temporary custody of son after boy's stepfather is killed
Concerned about the safety of his son after the shooting death of the 11-year-old's stepfather in the family's Willow Springs home, Brian Urlacher filed an emergency motion in a Cook County courtroom this week and received temporary custody of the boy.
After Judge Abbey Fishman Romanek granted the request Monday, Urlacher moved his son, Kennedy, to Arizona, where the former Bears linebacker lives with his wife and two daughters.
"This is an unfortunate situation but my main concern is the best interests of my son,'' said Urlacher, who declined to provide details when contacted Thursday on the phone.
Urlacher, who has joint custody of Kennedy with the child's mother, Tyna Robertson, intervened after Robertson's husband Ryan Karageorge died Dec. 29 from a gunshot wound after a birthday party. In court documents, Urlacher cited "suspicious circumstances'' he believes surround the incident, compelling him to want Kennedy immediately removed from Robinson's residence.
Monday's evidentiary hearing at the Daley Center included testimony from Urlacher, Robinson and Willow Springs detective Sharon Soltis.
Reached Thursday on the phone by the Tribune, Robertson responded tersely, "Leave me alone."
Karageorge, 34, a native of Hobart, Ind., died when a gun belonging to Robertson fired as he attempted to unload it, according to Urlacher's petition. The couple married in September. The investigation remains open and the Willow Springs Police Department has not responded to Freedom of Information Act request for the police report the Tribune filed Wednesday.
Robertson's behavior in the hours following the shooting bothered Urlacher, according to the petition. Urlacher was with his son in Arizona just after 10 p.m. Dec. 29 when the boy received a Snapchat message from a cousin informing him that Karageorge had died. When Kennedy called his mother for confirmation she initially acted "happy and cheerful,'' Urlacher alleged, before she eventually claimed Karageorge was involved in a fatal car accident. The next morning, Robertson called Brian to explain that, in fact, Karageorge had shot himself after the couple had an argument and Willow Springs police confiscated her cell phone as part of the investigation into the death.
"The environment with Tyna is a serious endangerment to the child's mental, moral or physical health, and if the child is required to return to Tyna's care, it will significantly impair his emotional development,'' Urlacher's attorney argued in the court filing.
Kennedy's parents have a controversial past when it comes to the child's custody, including court battles and public spats.
In 2007, the California Supreme Court ruled that Robertson's rape accusation against "Lord of the Dance" star Michael Flatley in 2002 wasn't credible and a settlement awarded Flatley $11 million.
Urlacher, who also owns a home in Lake County, has enrolled Kennedy in school in Arizona. At the conclusion of Monday's hearing, Robertson left the courtroom "and did not review the orders entered,'' according to Fishman Romanek's notations. A scheduled March 9 status hearing will present the results of the investigation by the court-appointed child representative.
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Power is always in the hands of the masses of men. What oppresses the masses is their own ignorance, their own short-sighted selfishness.
- Henry George
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