Emily Speaks Out

My name is Emily McManaway. I am the mother of two children. I have a three year old
daughter who lives with me in Nevada. I have not seen or talked to my six year old son, Murray,
in almost four years. My daughter has never met her big brother but we look at Murray’s picture
every day so she knows she has a brother.

My brother and sister-in-law used a phony court order to remove Murray from Nevada. The court
order was prepared in 2003 by Leigh Peek of Hillsborough, North Carolina. My brother and
sister-in-law told me they needed a document to get emergency medical care for Murray while I
left him in their care for a few weeks. I did not want to sign the document because Murray
already had Medicaid, but I trusted Leigh because she is Mormon and my family is Mormon.
Leigh did not advise me to see another attorney before I signed the document in her office, so I
thought she was representing me.

Three years after I signed the document in Leigh’s office, my son was kidnapped by his father in
Nevada. My brother flew to Nevada with the document I signed in Leigh’s office and told the
judge he had joint custody of my son. My attorney, Betsy Wolfenden, explained to me why the
document I signed was not a valid child custody order.

Leigh told the judges in North Carolina and in Nevada that the document I signed in her office
was a child custody order. The judges believed her and they transferred my son’s case from
Nevada to North Carolina. You can imagine how difficult it is to fight for your child from another
state on a limited income! I believe Leigh wanted the case moved to North Carolina so she could
make money from my brother, who paid her a lot.

After my brother got Murray, he and his wife changed his name to Colin Alexander and gave him
away to strangers without telling me. They gave Murray to a Mormon couple who live in Surry
County, North Carolina. Murray was three years old at the time. When Betsy deposed the
couple, they told her that Murray (who they also call Colin Alexander) had made the decision to
live with him. The wife admitted she has bi-polar disorder. The husband said he thought Murray
looked like him.

The Mormon couple wanted to adopt Murray. I am not surprised because my son is an adorable
little boy. The Mormon couple hired Leigh Peek and another attorney, Donna Davis, to prepare
the adoption papers. In order to adopt my son, the Mormon couple needed my consent. Instead,
they all decided that my brother should try and get custody of Murray in Orange County so he
could consent to Murray’s adoption in Surry County. Betsy explained to me that it was not legal
for my brother to consent to Murray’s adoption even if he had sole custody.

My bother filed a complaint for custody in Orange County. Leigh served me in Nevada with the
complaint and I served her with my answer, asking for my son back. Leigh went to court to get a
hearing date. Instead of asking the judge for a hearing date, she told the judge that I had not
answered the complaint or contacted the court. This was a complete lie! The judge—Judge
Buckner—did not even take the time to open my file and read it. He just took Leigh at her word
and told her he would sign the custody order she had written. My brother was not even in court
that day! If he had been in court and Judge Buckner had asked him about Murray, my brother
would have to tell Judge Buckner that he had given Murray away. Betsy explained to me that in
North Carolina, a judge must hold a hearing before he signs a child custody order which gives
one person sole custody of a child. Judge Buckner did not hold hearing in my case or take any
evidence from anyone.

After my brother got custody of Murray, he consented to his adoption and the adoption almost
went through! I hired Betsy Wolfenden to stop the adoption and she did. When we looked
through the adoption paperwork, we discovered that the Mormon couple gave my brother money
after he took Murray to their house. I could not believe my brother sold my son!
After we got the adoption dismissed, we tried to get Murray out of the Mormon couple’s house.
Betsy told Judge Buckner that when he signed the custody order, Leigh had committed a fraud
upon the court by telling him I had not answered the complaint and by not telling him that Murray
was no longer living with my brother and his wife. Judge Buckner refused to set aside the
custody order Leigh prepared even though he knew he was wrong. He also refused to give me a
court hearing. Betsy also filed a motion so I could see my son. The day before we were going to
get heard on the motion, Leigh and Donna asked the judge for a continuance and he granted
their motion.

Murray has now lived with the Mormon couple for three years. Although Murray is in their home
illegally, I cannot imagine putting son through any more unnecessary trauma. That is why I
decided to sue Leigh Peek and Donna Davis. There is no money in the world that can replace
the years I have lost with my son and I felt I had a duty to parents everywhere to stop such
unethical legal practices.

No one in this case has won or will ever win except for Leigh Peek and Donna Davis, who made
thousands of dollars from my brother and the Mormon couple. The Mormon couple was not able
to adopt my son and they don’t have legal custody of my son. My brother and his wife have legal
custody of my son but they gave Murray away to the Mormon couple. When we tried to negotiate
a shared custody arrangement that would benefit everyone in this case, including Murray, Donna
and Leigh told the North Carolina State Bar that Betsy was trying to sell Murray. It was
impossible for Betsy to sell Murray when he had already been sold by my brother!

I complained to the North Carolina State Bar about Leigh and Donna’s conduct but they rejected
my complaint, saying they did not have enough evidence to find they had acted unethically. That
is a travesty because Betsy gave the State Bar all the documents that have been filed in this
case, and the State Bar assured me they would contact me or Betsy if they needed further
evidence. Instead, the State Bar disbarred Betsy.

I believe the North Carolina State Bar disbarred Betsy because they know I will not find another
attorney in the State of North Carolina who has the courage to pick up where Betsy left off. The
State Bar also knows that without Betsy, my case will be swept under the carpet and the
corruption in Orange County will continue

I have no faith in a system that prosecutes people for standing up for what’s right. Betsy
Wolfenden stood up for me knowing her law career was at stake. Betsy has dealt with slander
and harassment from attorneys and judges in Orange Country District Court throughout the life of
my case, but she never gave up. She promised me she would never stop fighting for me but the
North Carolina State Bar clearly had other plans for my case.

I don’t even know if my son remembers his real name--Murray Lee Edwin McManaway--or if he
remembers me, but I hope that one day I will get the chance to explain to him that his mommy did
not give him away, but that he was stolen from me by the North Carolina legal system.

July 17, 2010