Is It Fair? - - A Temporary Shared Custody Deal Between the Families of the Murdered Mother and the Accused Father

      “Peace is not an absence of war, it is a virtue, a state of mind, a disposition for benevolence,confidence, justice.” - Baruch Spinoza


In the New York Times article dated October 24, 2011, reporter Liz Robbins describes an incredible event that has taken place in Brooklyn Family Court and involved two very distraught families.  In August, Nazish Noorani, a married mother of two small boys was shot and killed.   It had later turned out that the murder was allegedly arranged by her husband, Kashif Parvaiz.  Prior to this tragedy, the family resided in Brooklyn with the paternal grandparents who acted as primary caretakers.

According to the NY Daily News article dated October 4, 2011, the lawyer for the mother’s family stated that the children were afraid of their paternal grandparents. The maternal grandparents, who live in Brooklyn as well, have only seen the children once since their daughter was murdered on August 16. The Brooklyn judge was to make a decision on custody in three weeks following a hearing held on October 4.

So, what happens now? Both families, with the help of the attorney for the children have worked out a temporary plan to share parenting time.  Is this justice? Is it in the best interest of these children? Will the mother’s family bury its grief and anger and work constructively toward these children’s best interest with the family that raised their daughter’s alleged murderer? Should they? And how will these children fair under the circumstances?

Only time will tell.