Kiles v. Gann

WOOD, J. Frank Cortez Kiles, the father of the minor, Christine Joyce Kiles, murdered the mother of the minor on December 2, 1945, and he is in the penitentiary serving a life sentence. A few days after the death of the mother,' the maternal grandfather of the minor, Edward Soutar, placed the child, who was then 18 months old, in the home of Dalton Carl Gann and Helen Hughes Gann, husband and wife, non-relatives of the minor, where she has been since that time. On September 10, 1947, Mr. and Mrs. Gann filed a petition for appointment as guardians of the person of the minor. On November 25, 1947, C. E. Ayres and Mildred Ayres filed a petition for appointment as guardians of the person of the minor. Mrs. Ayres is the sister of the father of the child. The father of the child filed objections to the petition of Mr. and Mrs. Gann and requested that Mr. and Mrs. Ayres be appointed.

Upon the hearing of the two petitions and the objections of the father, the court granted the petition of Mr. and Mrs. Gann, and denied the petition of Mr. and Mrs. Ayres, and overruled the objections of the father. The court found that the father is not a competent, fit and proper person to have the care and custody of the minor; and that on February 6, 1946, he was sentenced to San Quentin Penitentiary upon his plea and the finding of the court that he was guilty of the murder of the mother of the minor. The court also found that Mr. and Mrs. Gann are fit and proper persons to be appointed guardians of the person of the minor, and that “it is for the best interests of said minor child in respect to her temporal, mental and moral welfare” that Mr. and Mrs. Gann be appointed guardians of the person of the minor. Judgment was entered, pursuant to the findings, granting the petition of Mr. and Mrs. Gann, overruling the objections of the father, denying the petition of Mr. and Mrs. Ayres, [447]and ordering that letters of guardianship of the person of the minor be issued to Mr. and Mrs. Gann. The father and Mr. and Mrs. Ayres appeal from the judgment.

Appellants contend that the trial court abused its discretion in granting the petition of Mr. and Mrs. Gann. They argue that such appointment was an abuse of discretion for the reason that the evidence shows that respondents Mr. and Mrs. Gann are not related to the child; that Mrs. Ayres and her husband were proper persons to be guardians; that they could provide a proper home for the child; and that the paternal grandfather, who is a man of financial worth far in excess of that of Mr. and Mrs. Gann, said at the hearing that he would help take care of the child if letters of guardianship were awarded to Mrs. Ayres.