DAYTON, Ohio, March 9 (UPI) -- A hearing began this week in Ohio on a custody dispute between the biological father of a 3-year-old girl and the California woman who wants to adopt her.
Benjamin Mills Jr. and his mother, Rena Jordan, are both seeking custody of "Baby Vanessa," the Dayton Daily News reported. Jordan is already caring for two children Mills fathered with Vanessa's biological mother, Andrea Conley.
Conley participated in a prayer vigil Sunday in Dayton in support of Stacey Doss of California, who has been caring for Vanessa since she was a few weeks old, WDTN, Dayton, reported.
"That's the only mother she's ever known, that's the only family she's ever known, and for the judge to even consider taking her away from that would be crucial for Vanessa," Conley said.
Lawyers for Mills and Jordan said Conley lied on adoption forms, saying she did not know the identity of the baby's father.
Doss is expected to appeal if Montgomery County Juvenile Court Judge Nick Kuntz rules against her. She remained in California with the baby.
Donna Merrill, a supervisor with the county Department of Human Services, was the first witness, testifying for much of Monday and into Tuesday morning.
