Betts v. Betts

After Michael and Rita Betts divorced, Rita moved with their children to Washington and began living with Raymond Caporale. One of the children, James, died of injuries, and Caporale was charged with (but acquitted of) his murder; Rita and Caporale later married while the surviving daughter, Tracey Lynn, remained in foster care. Michael sued for custody of Tracey Lynn, and at trial her foster mother testified that Tracey Lynn had said things like "He's mean" and "He killed my brother and he'll kill my mommie too" about Caporale. The trial court, relying partly on this testimony to gauge the strain custody with Rita would cause, awarded custody to Michael. Rita appealed, arguing the statements were inadmissible hearsay from a child too young to be a competent witness.