One of the most confusing and emotional missing child cases is in the news again as one defendant was found guilty in court of charges related to the case.

Tammi Smith was found guilty of charges of conspiracy to commit custodial interference and forgery.  The jury found aggravating factors that will be considered at Smith’s sentencing:  that the crimes caused emotional harm and that an accomplice was involved.  These charges are felonies with sentencing ranges of 1-3.75 years each.  Smith’s eligibility for probation is to be determined at a hearing before sentencing.

Smith, 40, was the woman who wanted to adopt long-missing Baby Gabriel. She was accused of forging her cousin’s name on a document challenging whether Logan McQueary, 27, was Gabriel’s father.   She was also accused of conspiring with the baby’s mother to deprive McQueary of his paternal rights.

Smith had tried various ways to add another child to her family before placing her hopes on Gabriel.  She explored adopting children from the foster system and from China, offering women money to be surrogate mothers, and walking up to pregnant women and asking to adopt their babies.  She even tried to adopt Elizabeth Johnson, the mother of baby Gabriel.

December 27, 2009, after Elizabeth Johnson, Gabriel’s mother, fled to San Antonio with her son, was the last day Gabriel was seen alive.

Smith’s sentencing has been set for July 6.  She was not taken into custody pending sentencing.

When a couple with children divorces, it is best for the children if the couple is amicable in their relations with ease other.  This is especially true concerning celebrity couples as every move they make is in the news.  Unfortunately for the children of Usher and his wife Tameka, the relations between the former couple have been less than friendly.

In private mediation, Usher and his former wife Tameka Raymond have been ordered to work out a temporary custody agreement.

Usher filed for divorce from Tameka in June 2009 after almost two years of marriage.  Last year Tameka filed court documents in Georgia asking the singer be stripped of joint custody of their sons, Usher, four, an Naviyd, three. A judge at Fulton County Court Tuesday ordered  the former couple try to work things out between them.  If the pair fails to do so, then the judge will impose a temporary order.

Tameka accused Usher of being behind on child support payments in the amount of $34,000.  She is also requesting more child support because Usher’s income has risen considerably since they divorced.  Tameka also suggested that Usher is an unfit father and demanded that he be tested for drugs.  She thought he was “popping pills and who-knows-what-else” around his kids.

Usher denies the drug abuse allegations and wants an increase in the time he’s allowed to spend with his children.   Right now, the pair share custody of their sons.

If you have a child custody dispute that cannot be resolved, it is in your best interest to be represented by an experienced child custody attorney who can assist you in navigating through a court case involving disputed custody.