Children still face uncertain future months after mother's murder

ALLEGAN, Mich. (NEWSCHANNEL 3) - A man is accused of killing the mother of his children. Now the question is who will receive custody of their two kids.

Back in December, police say that Derek Woodley barricaded himself inside an Allegan County home for almost six hours. When troopers got him out, they found 19-year-old Lindsey Knight dead from a gunshot wound.

Now, Lindsey's mother is fighting for custody of her grandchildren. The family of Lindsey Knight showed up for a hearing in Allegan on Monday, they came to the courthouse to get some answers, but left with more questions.

In the nine months since that tense standoff led investigators to charge Derek Woodley with the murder of Lindsey Knight, their children have faced an uncertain future.

Knight's parents, Jim and Tracie Valind say they have often cared for Woodley's children and had hoped to keep them, but after Knight's murder, the courts put the children in foster care. The Knight family says that was simply wrong.

"Very tragic, it's hard to explain," said Vikki Valind, Lindsey Knight's aunt, "I see my family torn, kids torn away. It's just sad."

Other groups are not happy with the court's decision to move the children to foster care. They believe foster care was chosen of Knight's parents since it maintains federal funds to state agencies.

Police say the Derek Woodley killed Lindsey Knight, but even with charges looming, Woodley's side of the family is also asserting custodial rights, and the whole issue may not be resolved until after Woodley's trial in November.

Jim Valind says if he were to get custody, he would honor any rules that the court sets down, but he also said that it seemed like common sense had left the process.