New Fight Looms Over Custody of Brian Batey

The homosexual companion of the late Frank Batey said Monday that he will fight in court to keep Batey’s fundamentalist Christian ex-wife from regaining custody of their son unless the youth chooses to go with his mother.

“Brian has told me, the press and his mother that he wants to stay here with me. Why can’t Betty Batey just leave us alone?” Craig Corbett, 49, Batey’s companion for 13 years, said from their Palm Springs home. “If Brian wants to live with his mother, I wouldn’t stand in his way, but that is not what he wants.”

Frank Batey, who had a history of AIDS, died Friday after a lengthy illness.

Batey had won a bitter custody battle with his ex-wife, Betty Lou Batey, who fled with Brian in 1982 and kept him in violation of the custody order for more than a year. On Saturday Batey and several of her relatives went to Palm Springs to see Brian but left after police were called to break up a scuffle.

Batey indicated Monday that she may try to regain custody of Brian, who turned 16 last month. She declined further comment, but her attorney, Frank Mango, was attempting to contact Brian, who reportedly was in seclusion with friends in Palm Springs.

The Rev. David Gray, pastor of the Revival Pentecostal Tabernacle in San Diego, said he believes that Betty Batey, who is a member of his church, will “use every resource available to her” to regain custody of her son.

“She’s trusting in the Lord and we all prayed Sunday for guidance,” Gray said. “Brian’s father and his father’s lover attempted to sway Brian with gifts and money to turn against his mother, and a young boy can be easily influenced.”

‘Emancipated Minor’

San Diego Superior Court Judge Sheridan Reed, who handled some of the hearings in the Batey case, said Monday it is possible that additional custody hearings will now be held. Another possibility is that Brian Batey will petition the court to be determined an “emancipated minor” free to make his own decisions.

“Normally, the surviving parent receives custody upon the death of the custodial parent,” Reed said. “But the court could find that another custodial arrangement is in the best interests of the child. Also, the wishes of the child, particularly one who is 16, will be taken into account.”

Judge Judith McConnell, who has retained jurisdiction over the case, was on vacation and unavailable for comment.

McConnell, who found in November, 1984, that Betty Batey’s rigid social views had “exacerbated” her son’s psychological problems, ruled last July that Brian should live with his father.

“Brian adored his father,” Corbett said. “It was a pleasure to see them together, laughing, playing. They had a beautiful relationship and Frank very much wanted me to take care of Brian after he died. I’ve been like a co-parent to him. If he wants me to help, I’m behind him 100%.”

The Associated Press quoted Brian Batey on Saturday as saying he wants to stay in Palm Springs and finish high school. Corbett said he plans to talk to an attorney Wednesday on the custody issue.

“Betty Batey has been relentless, so we have to be prepared,” Corbett said. “On Saturday they pounded on our door, pushed aside a house guest, and started yelling that Brian was drugged and locked in his room. It was insane. She has no feeling for Brian.”

Tested Negative

Saying he expects questions about his health to arise during any custody hearing, Corbett said he tested negative for AIDS last December. He said he has not engaged in any high-risk behavior since then.

Gray said that Betty Batey’s repugnance toward homosexuality has not changed.

“Homosexuality is completely abhorrent and loathsome,” the minister said. “I can’t visualize that Betty will not do everything possible to rescue Brian. It’s a sad comment on society that it has come to this: a mother having to fight to save her son.”

The Batey case--the custody issue and the child-stealing charges against Betty Batey--was in the courts for nearly three years.

Nationwide Search

Betty Batey said she was forced to flee with her son in 1982 because his father’s homosexual life style presented a physical and psychological danger to the boy; Frank Batey had been given custody of Brian after the couple’s divorce. After a nationwide FBI search, Betty Batey surfaced with her son in April, 1984.

Betty Batey spent two weeks in jail for contempt of court in defying the custody order. Last month, Superior Court Judge Douglas Woodworth dismissed felony child-stealing charges against her, saying that she had been motivated by sincere concern for Brian’s safety.

Corbett said a private memorial service will be held for Frank Batey, and his ashes will be scattered off Laguna Beach. “It won’t be religious,” he said. “Frank had had enough of religion.”