Dornburg v. McKellar

Wyatt, Justice.

In a contest between a parent and a third party over the custody of a child, the first question to be determined is whether or not the parental control of the child has been lost by the parent. Unless such parental control has been lost, the parent has a prima facie right of custody. By the Code, § 74-108, it is provided, among other things, that parental control may be lost by “cruel treatment of the child.” In the instant case there was evidence tending to show that the stepfather of the child often came home drunk and administered severe beatings to the child; that on the…