Riggle v. Rhoten

MOREMEN, Chief Justice.

Appellant, Jo Marie Rhoten Riggle, sought by habeas corpus proceedings in the Monroe Circuit Court to obtain physical custody of her four year old child, James Rhoten, Jr., from his paternal grandparents, Mr. and Mrs. Lolo Rhoten, appellees. The circuit court heard evidence, awarded custody of the child to the grandparents, and dismissed the petition for a writ.

In the year 1954, when appellant was eighteen years old, she married James Rhoten, who was nineteen years of age. They lived in South Bend, Indiana, until the time of their separation in June of 1957. On the 25th…