Michael Mosley released to “shared” custody

By Dana Gentry

Monday, Nov. 24, 2008 | 4:39 p.m.

Sixteen-year-old Michael Mosley, in juvenile detention since his arrest more than a week ago at the scene of the accident that killed 15-year-old Olivia Hyten, will be released on house arrest pending the completion of the investigation. Asked by Judge William Voy where the child will be residing, Judge Donald Mosley stated that he and the boy's mother Terry Mosley share 50/50 custody.

That's news to Terry Mosley, who says she hasn't had custody for the last two years and to Senior Judge Noel Manoukian, who issued the order for shared custody that even he says Judge Mosley ignores. Here's what Manoukian wrote in an order a month ago:

In spite of my Findings, Conclusions and Order of October 15th, 2007, which provide that the parties were to equally share the physical custody of their son, Michael, Don Mosley, has thoroughly dominated the physical custody of Michael to the complete exclusion of Terry Mosley, and over the understandable protests of Terry Mosley.

Today Terry Mosley made a brief pitch to have her son released to her sole custody, given the fact the litany of offenses he's accumulated in recent years have been on his father's watch. But Judge Voy said he was not going there. Perhaps another court will go there and take note of Judge Mosley's fatalistic comments to Channel 8 regarding his son's behavior.

Sadly, it took a tragic accident and her son's house arrest to get Terry Mosley the shared custody awarded to her long ago.