Speaking publicly for the first time since winning custody, Baby
Veronica's adoptive parents promised Tuesday to keep her biological
family a part of her life.
Appearing briefly on national television, Matt and Melanie
Capobianco confirmed that they have stayed in touch with Dusten Brown
and other members of Veronica's Cherokee family.
"It's been positive," Melanie Capobianco said, "and we feel really good about it."
No recent footage of
Veronica was included, but the Capobiancos apparently sat down for the
interview over the weekend at their home in the suburbs of Charleston,
S.C.
"All the people who love her, all of her family members," Melanie Capobianco said, "will be in contact with her."
A short segment on the
"Dr. Phil" show included video shot while the Capobiancos were in
Oklahoma to fight for custody, where the Brown family waged a court
battle for weeks in hope of keeping Veronica.
Riding in the back seat
of an SUV, the Capobiancos drove past the Cherokee Nation headquarters
near Tahlequah, where they spotted Veronica in the yard outside of a VIP
house where the Browns were staying at the time.
Brown said goodbye to
Veronica at that house Sept. 23, when the Oklahoma Supreme Court cleared
the way for the Capobiancos to take her.
But the video of
Veronica, obviously shot from a distance, was apparently taken Aug. 15,
after reality television personality Troy "The Locator" Dunn appeared at
a Tulsa news conference with the Capobiancos.
Dunn tried to approach the house where Veronica was staying, but Cherokee deputies turned him away.
With the Capobiancos
filing a writ of habeas corpus later that day, the incident led to the
first of several court appearances that ultimately sent Veronica back to
South Carolina.
Following the adoptive
parents while they were in Oklahoma, Dunn had offered to be a "neutral"
mediator between the Brown and Capobianco families.
But he was a registered
member of the Coalition for the Protection of Indian Children and
Families, a group founded by the Capobiancos' spokeswoman to lobby for
changes to the Indian Child Welfare Act.
Brown used the law to challenge Veronica's adoption and take custody of her in 2011.
The Capobiancos appealed
the case all the way to the U.S. Supreme Court, which ruled this summer
that the law didn't apply to Brown because he didn't have custody of
Veronica at birth.
The Browns and Capobiancos have mutually agreed not to comment anymore to the media, Dunn told the Dr. Phil audience.
Although South Carolina
is no longer seeking Brown's extradition, he still faces a felony
complaint of "custodial interference" for refusing to hand over Veronica
while appealing the case in Oklahoma.
I heard that Dr. Pill was spouting the same erroneous information that Veronica's adoption was finalized as an infant and that Dusten then changed his mind about raising her and was able to steal the Capo's adopted daughter. I'm so sick of all the wrong information that's still out there. And the C's get to come off looking so good that they are going to honor Veronica's right to be part of her paternal family. Hardly. It wasn't mentioned that Dusten can't enter the state of South Carolina without being arrested and that they still haven't dropped the half-million dollar lawsuit against him for legal and other expenses. It makes me want to scream that they are able to get away with all of these lies and half-truths.
ReplyDeleteI never liked Dr. Phil when he was a weekly guest on the Oprah show. He came across to me as a pompous a$$. I am totally boycotting his show now.
And I will always think of Veronica as Veronica BROWN. That is her paternal bloodline and children in this culture take their father's name. Not the name of some man who, imo, has no right to consider himself her father.
Hi Robin, I didn't see the show either since I am doing my own boycott of Dr. Phil. This was the first I'd heard about it. I had suspected that Ronnie Brown would ask to see her father and they HAD to comply or make the child a wreck for life. They had to see the impact on her since they took her Sept. 23. So the legality of open adoption cannot be enforced and this could simply end one day but for now, it's Ronnie we hope is doing OK handling the chaos her adopters caused for all her family, including Dusten, Robin, her sister and her grandparents. As we've said before on this blog, Ronnie will find out everything eventually.
DeleteWhat a bunch of liars, the Crapos said they wanted to keep Veronica out of the media too, then they go on Dr. Bozo's show. Look ma we get a baby and GET to be famous! I hate them and I'm going to puke. And I bet they NEVER let Dusten see his daughter either. I'm still sacred about what they might do to Ronnie if she always asks to see her family. These people have no conscience and other people's lives are nothing but a game to them. Perfect recipe for abuse.
ReplyDeleteI wouldn't watch Dr. Phil - especially not regarding this subject. Topics like this have no place in the reality show arena and are far to complicated to be discussed rationally.
ReplyDeleteI also think the Dr. Phil Show has become more drama and ratings seeking that perhaps what the intent was to start with helpfulness seeking...
Frankly, I am still stunned this travesty happened.