Jessica Leigh, Charlotte, North Carolina mom kills self after the courts refused to overturn the termination of her parental rights of 9-year-old son, Harrison as mom blamed ex husband, Tony Magliocca (Anthony) over ‘false’ allegations.
A Charlotte, North Carolina mom has committed suicide after losing her appeal to get her young son back after losing complete custody of the boy after her relationship with the boy’s father disintegrating.
While little is known about Jessica Leigh’s life or her custody case, social media alluded to the following backdrop; Jessica Leigh giving birth to Harrison in 2017. At some point Leigh’s relationship with Harrison’s father, Tony Magliocca (Anthony) imploded with her sister getting together with the boy’s father and the new couple marrying.
Jessica said North Carolina Child Welfare removed her son over allegations she always denied. She believed the accusations came from her ‘vindictive’ ex, with the mom spending years imploring people to listen to her and taking her case throgh the courts.
N.C mom drug addiction struggles
The last photos of Harrison on Jessica’s timeline were taken when he was about 6 years-old, so that must be when he was taken away from her—about three years ago.
The interplay between Family Court and social services is unclear. But Jessica’s parental rights were terminated, meaning the father was the only legal parent and likely having complete custody.
Not clear is what led to the mom losing complete custody of her young son and how the courts came to make that initial decision. A decision which the parent would go on to challenge but seemingly only in vain as she was preempted from ever having contact with Harrison.
Nevertheless it appeared the mom may have struggled with addiction.
Posted one commentator in a thread that was upvoted: ‘This woman in particular overdosed in front of this little boy and he showed up to a neighbors saying she was dead. She also had two older kids she lost custody of as well.’
The dilemma of family law courts and allegations
Jessica was initially allowed to see Harrison in supervised visits. Those seem to have ended after her rights were terminated. How or why the parent was deprived of supervised visitation also remained unclear.
Reflected another commentator; ‘The reality is that there are countless mothers fighting in family court because of false allegations, biased reports, and people treating accusations as truth without doing their jobs properly.’
After Harrison was taken, Jessica started the Facebook page Voice for Harrison where she used the hashtag #justiceforharrison. The mom wrote about her life and how much she missed Harrison in many of her posts.
Desperate bid to overturn termination of parental rights
Wrote Leigh in one post weeks before her death: People don’t always understand what it’s like for a mother to be separated from her child. Your heart doesn’t stop being a mother. You still listen for them. You still feel them. You still love them with every piece of who you are.
Some days the pain is quiet. Other days it shows up out of nowhere, like a wave that reminds you a part of your heart is walking somewhere in this world without you.
…Harrison, wherever you are…
your mom still loves you with her whole heart.
As the parent ‘fought to have her voice heard and regain her parental rights, Leigh wrote; ‘This system didn’t just take him—it has taken everything from me. My family. My peace. My health. My career. My safety. My home. My car. My finances. My hope. My dreams. My life as I knew it.
‘And yet, here I am, still forced to fight, still forced to survive, still forced to carry this pain alone.’
Wrote AbbyBlabby: ‘Her fight eventually reached the United States Supreme Court, where she sought to overturn the termination of her parental rights. The Court declined to hear her case. That decision shattered what little hope she had left.
‘After having exhausted another appeal to have her terminated parental right reversed Leigh took her own life.’
Wrote Leigh on Friday; ‘One day, the truth will surface.
‘Not through anger, not through retaliation, but through time.
‘And it will show who endured, who loved, and who abandoned.’
Jessica’s death has reignited conversations about the emotional toll family court proceedings and prolonged parent-child separation can have on mental health along with real life tragedies.
