Identified! AL - Opelika, 'Juvenile Jane Doe', BlkFem, UP9834, 4-7, in woods, abused, Jan'12 *reward* - Amore Joveah Wiggins

[imstilla.grandma]

*eta: This case has drawn me in since the very first time I’ve heard it. I became a serial poster here and I apologize for hijacking it at times. I always go to the little ”it” quote


“Childhood should be carefree, playing in the sun; not living a nightmare in the darkness of the soul.” ― Dave Pelzer

 

[branmuffin]

After everything we'd known about her life and all the years that have gone by, I truly did not expect her to have a mother who loved her. I'm heartbroken for little Amore that the parent apparently considered more fit to care for her seems to be the one who abused and murdered her. I just feel so incredibly sorrowful for her mother, who had apparently been asking for visitation for years and continuing to provide financial support, and who had clearly loved her and bestowed upon her a name meaning as much. Just awful.

What I don't understand about the arrangement is that the mother had no contact with the child at all. My sister's second husband adopted her first child. His dad agreed to the adoption which absolved him of paying any child care expenses as well a entitlement to visitation. It wasn't until years later her son contacted his dad.

Was Wiggins giving up her child an informal thing? I can't see a court ordering someone to pay for child care for 15 years without allowing the birth mother any contact with the child.

 

[branmuffin]

Finally got caught up now, what a day I've had. I'm so glad Amore is home now.
I was wondering if there is any way that Amore's biological mom would be able to sue for child support paid to Amore's "father" after she had died? On top of everything else she must be struggling with at the moment, she doesn't need that financial burden too.
I was also wondering about Amore's eye injury like some other posters. Her eyes are healthy and normal, or at least appear to be, in the photos we've seen of her so we can probably assume IMO it was caused by injury from abuse and neglect. I would imagine bio mom was unaware of this, but am curious to know for sure.


I agree. Looking at the photos of the two little girls I don't believe they are the same. JMO.

He'd be near retiring age for the military. Since I expect both he and his wife will spend the rest of their days in prison would he receive his pension. And would a military tribunal agree that all the money she sent to them over the years for her murdered daughter would be given back to her through his pension with interest attached? It'll be scant justice for her but at least that could be one way of dealing with the money part.

What terrible people they are.

 

[Jawds78]

BBM for focus.

Not anymore. According to veterans' affairs, if he's dishonorably discharged, which he should be with a murder charge against him, he shouldn't get his military retirement. If anyone knows for sure how the military might handle this, please feel free to chime in.

Is the military retirement eligible for the mother of the slain daughter since she can re-coup the child payments over the years that she paid (however no actual child over that time)? Long question, sorry. I worry if the dad and step-mom spent the money, and are incarcerated that they won't be able to pay that large amount back. Not the HUGE issue here, clearly, but she does deserve those funds back and may need them for living. Every person does. JMO

 

[UnlicensedPI]

What I don't understand about the arrangement is that the mother had no contact with the child at all. My sister's second husband adopted her first child. His dad agreed to the adoption which absolved him of paying any child care expenses as well a entitlement to visitation. It wasn't until years later her son contacted his dad.

Was Wiggins giving up her child an informal thing? I can't see a court ordering someone to pay for child care for 15 years without allowing the birth mother any contact with the child.

I suspect the mother's circumstances at the time of the custody agreement had a lot to do with it. If you search for her in the Virginia court system, you can find some of the pieces of the story (but make sure you have the right birthday as there are a few Sherry Wigginses in the system). I wonder if custody and visitation changed after June 2009 specifically. I could see the story being that the father said call me when you get out of jail, and then he said you're not good for her in this state, and then it's she has stability with us, etc. He may have had access to resources she didn't, or her partner may have had charges that caused her to lose visitation rights. It's all incomplete pieces and speculation without access to any of the custody records.

Some info: https://www.hg.org/legal-articles/incarceration-how-does-it-affect-child-custody-52871

As an aside --

A glance at the timeline of charges, their severity, and her social media reads as a woman who worked very hard to clean up her life and provide for her children. It's an immense accomplishment to claw your way out. She looks healthy now, the children she raised appear successful, I believe she runs a business and owns property, and she's had no real charges in a decade. While she may not have been the fit parent circumstantially at the time, she was clearly the more fit parent and better person in the long run. I have so much respect for anyone who can turn their life around the way she has, it's just a shame that it couldn't benefit little Amore. I hope Sherry knows she's done incredibly well for herself, and that what happened to Amore is not her fault. I have no doubt she'll be a great advocate for justice for Amore.

 

[Laughing]

BBM for focus.

Not anymore. According to veterans' affairs, if he's dishonorably discharged, which he should be with a murder charge against him, he shouldn't get his military retirement. If anyone knows for sure how the military might handle this, please feel free to chime in.

@Boxer , any input on this?

Thanks!

 

[Boxer]

@Boxer , any input on this?

Thanks!

Complicated.
MOO The incarcerated for serious crimes don’t get their pension benefits, but their dependents can file for it and the retiree would start receiving them again after serving their sentence.
If the conviction is overturned the VA would reimburse all the lost benefits.

However, if not fully discharged out of the military when convicted then the individual would probably be dishonorably discharged and lose their pension.
But this is just guessing, military HR is complicated.

 

[Shamrock1]

What I don't understand about the arrangement is that the mother had no contact with the child at all. My sister's second husband adopted her first child. His dad agreed to the adoption which absolved him of paying any child care expenses as well a entitlement to visitation. It wasn't until years later her son contacted his dad.

Was Wiggins giving up her child an informal thing? I can't see a court ordering someone to pay for child care for 15 years without allowing the birth mother any contact with the child.

Child support is different from visitation and, in any case, I don’t see the benefit in sleuthing the mother. There’s no suggestion that the mother had anything to do with the child’s abuse and murder.

 

[branmuffin]

Child support is different from visitation and, in any case, I don’t see the benefit in sleuthing the mother. There’s no suggestion that the mother had anything to do with the child’s abuse and murder.

Nowhere in my post was there a whiff of suggestion that the mother had something to do with her child's murder. My question was related to what appeared to me, to be an unequal circumstance where the mother was required to pay child support yet had no access to her child.

 

[airportwoman]

Re: child support.

Years ago I worked for the Child Support Enforcement agency in my state. It will take time and likely a court order, but she is indeed legally entitled to those funds.

Funds that he stole.

imho she should have school pictures and art work and spelling tests and....

I know a man who found out, years after his divorce, that the two children born during the marriage weren't his, and that his ex-wife did indeed know this, and who their biodad was, all along. ISTR that he did retain visitation rights, even after she married that guy, but she did have to pay back $6,000 of child support that he had paid (and because he was ex-military with a disability pension, that had been garnished from his pay before he ever saw it).

Her mother should also have a teenage daughter who's thinking about things like prom, and maybe college.

 

[Shamrock1]

Nowhere in my post was there a whiff of suggestion that the mother had something to do with her child's murder. My question was related to what appeared to me, to be an unequal circumstance where the mother was required to pay child support yet had no access to her child.

Again, child support is distinct from access. The reason why the court denied access is not relevant to how the child died. Publicizing the reason the mother did not have access isn’t victim-friendly IMO.

 

[branmuffin]

Again, child support is distinct from access. The reason why the court denied access is not relevant to how the child died. Publicizing the reason the mother did not have access isn’t victim-friendly IMO.

My post was speculation. A musing. I'm not expecting anyone to start digging into the mother's background. I do believe we are allowed to speculate. Who's talking about publicizing the reason? You.

 

[Springrain]

A glance at the timeline of charges, their severity, and her social media reads as a woman who worked very hard to clean up her life and provide for her children. It's an immense accomplishment to claw your way out. She looks healthy now, the children she raised appear successful, I believe she runs a business and owns property, and she's had no real charges in a decade. While she may not have been the fit parent circumstantially at the time, she was clearly the more fit parent and better person in the long run. I have so much respect for anyone who can turn their life around the way she has, it's just a shame that it couldn't benefit little Amore. I hope Sherry knows she's done incredibly well for herself, and that what happened to Amore is not her fault. I have no doubt she'll be a great advocate for justice for Amore.

We all face struggles in our lives, some more so than others. What is important is how we face these struggles and do our best to turn it around, keep going on, etc. Sherry seems to be doing well for herself and doing a lot better. I can tell she has worked hard to fix things and to focus on family and business. I also don't doubt IMO that there was some manipulation going on at hand, being told because of her struggles that Amore would do better with the Vickerstaffs, and that she was unfit. I can only imagine at this point she is plagued with regret and pain, and I feel like she probably blames herself a lot. I agree that none of what happened was her fault, and I am sure she will stand up for Amore to ensure that she gets justice. What happened to Amore was the fault of the Vickerstaffs IMO.

 

[squish]

My feeling is that Ruth was just as involved in the abuse and the murder/manslaughter as the father was. She's not being quick enough to throw her husband under the bus, IMO. Which means to me that she's trying to formulate the best plan to get herself out of it all.

I think Ruth will go down the road of claiming domestic violence and being too terrified of her husband to report the murder.

 

[iamshadow21]

My feeling is that Ruth was just as involved in the abuse and the murder/manslaughter as the father was. She's not being quick enough to throw her husband under the bus, IMO. Which means to me that she's trying to formulate the best plan to get herself out of it all.

I think Ruth will go down the road of claiming domestic violence and being too terrified of her husband to report the murder.

I think Ruth has already made a deal and that's why she's only charged with what she is. I think she's given evidence against him, and that's why he's charged as the killer, not both of them. But I could be wrong.

There's no way she didn't abuse Amore too. That little girl was starved, and a child can only starve in a home where nobody feeds her.

<modsnip - quoted post removed>

 

[MarziPanda]

This has been one of my 'pet' cases. I couldn't get this little one out of my mind. The abuse she suffered. How short and painful her life was. That we had possible photos of her and yet still nobody was talking. I am glad she seems to have known some love in her short life.

Personally I think the photos are of her, but unless her father/stepmother/another relative confirms, we might never know. Amore. You deserved the world. Now time for justice.

 

[Laughing]

Again, child support is distinct from access. The reason why the court denied access is not relevant to how the child died. Publicizing the reason the mother did not have access isn’t victim-friendly IMO.

Support and visitation are indeed separate legal issues.

Do we know that a court denied visitation/access? Or merely did not specify a visitation/shared parenting arrangement? OR did Dad just ignore that as he apparently ignored his responsibility as a parent?

Did Dad arrange for that by moving & avoiding providing information to Mom? Not typing what I want to say about Dad.

Sherry Wiggins, may you receive all the support you need now & moving forward. You did your level best to provide for your beautiful daughter! We, and she, know this.

 

[Springrain]

I'm wondering if Sherry was coerced into giving up visitation rights entirely?

 

[Alleykins]

I'm wondering if Sherry was coerced into giving up visitation rights entirely?

Wasn't she much younger than the father?

I had a teen neighbor who was manipulated out of her baby by another neighbor and his mother. She was slightly learning disabled, I think her whole family was, and her mother was elderly at the time, so she didn't have anyone advocating for her. I felt so badly when I found out, because this happened after I moved away, and had I known then, I would have helped her, or at least given her the heads up the other neighbors were up to something. She was so naive and gullible.

 

[othram]

I'm wondering if Sherry was coerced into giving up visitation rights entirely?

Really seems like Sherry is also a victim in this terrible crime