http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/U/US_FATHERS_DAY_BEATING?SITE=FLTAM&SECTION=USJun 25, 5:23 PM EDT
Dad accused in Father's Day beating sought visitsBy DENISE LAVOIE
AP Legal Affairs Writer
BOSTON (AP) -- Leslie Schuler once pleaded with a judge for visitation with the 7-year-old son he'd never known, so he could "become the child's father, not just a paycheck once a week."
Now little Nate Turner lies brain dead after being savagely beaten on Father's Day, prosecutors say, by the very man who claimed he wanted to build a relationship.The judge had left unanswered Schuler's 2008 request for visitation, telling him only that he no longer had to pay child support. But Schuler, 36, showed up a few weeks ago at the Alabama home of Nate and the boy's grandmother, claiming he had a court order, and took the boy back to Massachusetts, a relative said.
Schuler began abusing Nathaniel Turner - mentally and physically - shortly after he arrived, authorities said.
The abuse culminated in a brutal assault on Sunday, when Schuler dented a wall by slamming the boy's head into it, officials said. Schuler told police he hit his son to discipline him, they said.
The boy remained on life support Thursday at a Worcester hospital, though a court-appointed attorney for the boy said his family planned to remove him from the machines and donate his organs.Nate, known for his dimples and constant smile, was born in Worcester but lived most of his life with his maternal grandmother, Christine Taylor, in her hometown of Eufaula, Ala. Nathaniel was an active kid who loved to play in the yard, had just finished first grade and had plans for summer camp.
His first-grade teacher, Kelli Whitehead, said he was a straight-A student who dreamed of becoming a police officer or a lawyer.
"A student like Nathaniel is one you don't forget," she said. "He would always give me hugs. I loved him very much."
But relatives say Taylor told them she had been ordered by a court to allow Schuler to take the boy for the summer.
Massachusetts court officials say no such order exists, a frustrating and confusing revelation for those left to wonder whether the child's death could have been averted.
Taylor's aunt, Gardeen Carter, who lives in Brewton, Ala., said Nate was treated like a son by Taylor, whom he called "Mama."
"He was happy to be with his mama," she said. "He would say, 'Let's go home, mama.' He liked to be in his own house."
Next-door neighbor Rondell Dennis remembered Nate as a "rambunctious" child who loved to play laser tag with his two sons and would often come over to play basketball in his driveway.
Now he doesn't know what to tell his sons, particularly 5-year-old Justin.
"He wants to know when Nathaniel's going to come back," Dennis said.
It's unclear exactly why Nate's mother, Alicia Turner, 27, did not have custody of her son.
Court records show that his grandmother was granted temporary guardianship in September 2005 after she wrote in an affidavit that her daughter, Alicia, was "having mental issues." Alicia Turner signed a form assenting to temporary guardianship.
That 90-day order lapsed in December 2005 and was never renewed. Still, Nathaniel moved with his grandmother to Alabama and had been living happily there for several years, Carter said.
Schuler was out of the picture and apparently had never met his son before this summer.
Court records show he initially questioned whether he was the boy's father, but a judge in Massachusetts filed a judgment of paternity in 2004 and ordered him to pay child support, although it is unclear who received those payments.
Last year, Schuler asked a judge for visitation rights.
"I have not been given an opportunity to meet the child and build a relationship. No visitation," Schuler wrote. "I would like a chance to become the child's father, not just a paycheck once a week."
On May 20, a judge dismissed the mother's request for an increase in child support payments after learning she did not have physical custody of Nate. The judge ended Schuler's child support obligations but did not rule on his visitation request.
A few weeks ago, when Carter called Taylor and asked how Nate was, Taylor told her the boy's father had come to Alabama to pick him up after getting a court order granting him custody for the summer. Carter said she was surprised because she had never heard anyone mention the boy's father. Nathaniel, she said, told his grandmother he didn't want to go.
"He told Chrissy he didn't want nothing to do with that man. He wanted to go home and stay in his own house. He wanted to stay with her," Carter said.
Schuler drove to Alabama around Memorial Day, picked up Nate and took him to Worcester, where he lives with his girlfriend, Tiffany Hyman.
Lisa Carter, a cousin of the boy's mother, said Schuler took his son off medication for his attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder, insisting he could "handle" the boy.
"His mom said, 'Don't take him off,' and the father said, 'I can handle him,'" Carter told the Boston Herald.
Schuler has pleaded not guilty to assault, but prosecutors said they are now conducting a murder investigation. Hyman was also charged with assault and battery. Police said it appears Hyman did not strike the boy but could have intervened and stopped the abuse.
Schuler's lawyer, Christopher Tully, said that after his arrest, Schuler asked about his son's condition and expressed remorse for not taking him to the hospital sooner.
"He said, 'I hope he's all right. Is there any way you can find out?'" Tully said.
