Courts Overlook Abuse Red Flags in Child Custody Cases, Study Finds

The article contrasts sensational murders—Lindsay Clancy’s 2023 stranglings in Massachusetts and Kristopher Karolkiewicz’s July killings in Michigan—with a broader pattern of custody decisions that disregard known abuse. An APSAC study notes that courts frequently accept parental alienation claims without weighing the extensive evidence linking prior violence to post-divorce risk. Researchers compiled a database called Lives Cut Short, documenting 5,000 child-maltreatment deaths from 2022 to 2026; about 20% involved a history of domestic violence, and over 1,400 had official records.

Despite these warnings, judges often return children to dangerous parents, assuming rehabilitation or doubting children’s accounts. In response, New York legislators have drafted Kyra’s Law to require judges to factor in police reports, threat statements, and sexual-abuse histories, though Governor Kathy Hochul has not yet signed it. Similar statutes have emerged in other states, such as Utah’s Om’s Law, but accountability for family-court rulings remains limited.