Hillsborough: Father prevails in custody battle

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Father prevails in custody battle

Adam Rotell, 8, can stay temporarily with his father, Stephen. A grand jury will look into the death of Mathew Rotell.

By JAMES THORNER

TAMPA -- As Circuit Judge Vivian Maye spoke the long-awaited words, Stephen Rotell swallowed hard and pulled out a handkerchief to dab his teary eyes.

Two weeks ago his youngest son, Mathew, was found dead under mysterious circumstances while in his mother's care in Land O'Lakes; authorities say he was killed. On Wednesday, Rotell won temporary custody of his surviving son, Adam.

In giving Adam, 8, to his father, Maye, a Family Court judge in Hillsborough County, cited Rotell's tenderness to the boy and discounted sexual abuse accusations that had barred Rotell from visiting his children since October.

Rotell, whose son will now live with him in his Lutz home, dropped the poker face he had worn during the final custody hearing that preceded Maye's decision.

"I have loved them as the most important things in my life. I have given everything for their happiness," Rotell said of his children outside the courtroom. "I'm glad the court has seen the truth."

As he spoke, Rotell displayed two photos of him holding the boys in his arms at the beach. They were among the last photos taken of Rotell with both of his children.

Before granting custody, Maye lambasted both Rotell and his ex-wife, Kristina Gaime, for dragging out their divorce and custody fight for more than five years.

Documents from the case fill six fat folders in Maye's office, prompting Maye to call the couple "a poster family for dysfunction."

The judge referred to psychologists' testimony that Mathew, 6 when he died, had talked of escaping his family life by throwing himself in front of a car.

"Five-year-old children should not suffer from depression," Maye said. "They should not be speaking of (suicide)."

One condition of custody is that Adam must continue treatment with his family psychologist. Maye also ruled that Rotell must let Adam talk to investigators trying to unravel what happened before Mathew was found on the floor of the family minivan the morning of April 12.

Pasco County sheriff's deputies already interviewed Adam during his recent stay with a foster family pending the custody decision.

Caseworkers with the state Department of Children and Families, who supported placing Adam with his dad, were stunned by comments during the hearing from Gaime's attorney questioning Adam's emotional stability.

Gaime's attorney, Catherine Catlin, called the boy "vicious, aggressive and mean." Not so, said DCF spokeswoman Elaine Fulton-Jones.

"He is a sweet, intelligent and thoughtful boy," Fulton-Jones said. "To describe him as vicious is absurd. That is the complete opposite of everything we have observed."

One of the last people to see Mathew alive was Gaime, who is still at University Community Hospital in Tampa. She is in fair condition with scrapes, bruises and blisters. Her family suggests the injuries were the work of an attacker in her home.

It's a theory dismissed by Pasco sheriff's officials. Deputies refuse to release Mathew's autopsy results and have not named a suspect. Those details will have to wait for a grand jury investigation expected to begin May 4.

Attorneys for Gary and Kathleen McDuffie, Gaime's parents, said they have been subpoenaed for the grand jury. The McDuffies also vied for custody of Adam, but they emerged from court Wednesday with much less.

Questioning Gary McDuffie's credibility, Maye ruled the couple could see their grandson only at Rotell's house. Whether Gaime can see her son depends on the opinion of the boy's psychologist.

The McDuffies left the courtroom without commenting. One of the last people they talked to was Angelo Ferlita, the criminal lawyer representing their daughter.

-- Times staff writer Amy Ellis contributed to this report.

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