Ayala v. Waldner

PEDEN, Justice.

The natural parents of Bernard Ayala, age 4, filed this appeal from the trial court’s denial of their petition for a writ of habeas corpus by which they sought custody of Bernard. After a hearing, the trial judge awarded his custody to Mr. Paul Waldner, Director of Catholic Family and Children’s Service, and made findings of fact, which we summarize:

1.Petitioners are natural parents of Yolanda, 7, Diane, 6, Vincent, 5, Bernard, 4, and Charlene, 3.

2. In July, 1965, when Bernard was desperately ill, petitioners took him to Texas Children’s Hospital as a charity patient; they had…