The legal battle between a Georgia man and the surrogate mom who carried his triplets now has an interesting twist. The man's sister has filed documents in court suggesting he is an unfit parent.
Last month, Melinda Burnett, 55, of Georgia, filed an affidavit stating that her brother, Chester Shannon Moore, Jr., 51, (previously identified as C.M. in court papers) has been keeping the now 18-month-old baby boys in "deplorable" conditions, reports People magazine .
Moore, a 51-year-old, single, deaf postal worker, is the biological father of the triplets. Several years ago, he contracted Melissa Cook, 49, of California, to serve as surrogate through a company called Surrogacy International.
In the sworn affidavit, Burnett said the babies are living with her brother in the basement of his invalid parents' home in Mableton, according to a story in the Orange County Register . She said in court documents, that her brother doesn't change the children's diapers often enough and has had to take them to the hospital for diaper rash.
There are also reports that he forces the children to eat food on the floor. Burnett also said in court documents that her brother suffers from personality and mental issues which call into question his ability to care for the children.
Cook has consistently expressed her concerns for the triplets which were reportedly conceived using donor eggs from a 20-year-old. The case first made headlines in 2015 when Moore allegedly demanded that Cook abort all, and later one, of the triplets because he was financially unable to afford three children.
In Jan. 2016, Cook filed a lawsuit in Los Angeles Superior Court claiming that California's surrogacy law violates due process and equal-protection rights guaranteed in the Constitution . Cook, who gave birth to the three baby boys on Feb. 22 by c-section, wanted her contract with Moore to be ruled unenforceable.
Moore, who was forced to stay in California for several months under a court order, arrived in Georgia with the triplets in May 2016. At the time, his attorney Robert Walmsley (who is also co-owner of the surrogacy agency) said Moore was on a 12-week leave from his job and was taking care of his three sons with assistance from relatives and hired help.
But with these new concerns raised by Burnett, Cook's attorney, Harold Cassidy, told People he plans to argue the case in the U.S. Court of Appeals in California next month.
Walmsley has said the accusations against his client are full of false claims.
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