Ex Parte Elliott

This is an action in habeas corpus involving the right to custody of Charles and Vicky Elliott, minors. The petitioner, Eleanor Elliott Lawrence, is the children’s natural mother. The respondent, Harold Elliott, is the natural father.

The parties here were husband and wife, and the children are the product of that marriage. In October 1957, in Columbus, Ohio, they executed a separation agreement giving the mother custody. The contract did not require the mother to remain in Ohio. The mother left almost immediately with the children to live in Barbourville, Kentucky, being taken there by the…