CAPE CORAL, Fla. — When we met Matthew Addison at his Cape Coral home this week, he was as happy as a boy could be. Matthew was playing with his toys and surrounded by people who love him. He had no idea that in less than an hour, his world would be turned upside down.
“This little boy is going to be lost. I am (his) mama, those are sissies, he doesn’t know these people he’s never met them,” said Annmarie Narber, who became Matthew’s caretaker 16 months ago.
Matthew’s biological mother, Amanda Landron, is in prison for drug trafficking. When Charlotte County deputies pulled her over in October of 2020, they found meth under the steering column, and Matthew, just two weeks old at the time, in the back seat.
Narber got involved because her best friend had adopted Matthew’s older brother, Jerick, after Landron was previously arrested for drugs. This is where Landron’s brother, the uncle of the boys, comes into the story.
“When Annmarie got the baby, we contacted him to let him know that the brothers were together. He said he was happy about that and had no interest in taking the baby,” said Narber’s friend, who asked to not be identified.
Narber says she wanted to adopt Matthew, but last July, seven months after she became his custodian, she says the Department of Children and Families told her that the uncle wanted the boy after all. He lives in Pennsylvania and has never met Matthew. Narber challenged the decision but the judge in Sarasota ruled that the circumstances didn’t even warrant a hearing.
“They’re removing a baby from an environment that he’s been thriving in, because mom still has the parental rights and said this is where I want him with my brother so I can build a white picket fence when I get out of prison,” said Narber.
And so, this past Monday, DCF workers came to Narber’s Cape Coral home with a judge’s order and took Matthew.
The scene was gut-wrenching to watch, but experts say this is how the system is designed to work.
“There is a presumption that you do want to have blood relatives involved in the raising of a child,” said attorney Steven Martin, who is not involved in this case.
I asked Martin if that presumption changes since Matthew’s brother also lives in Cape Coral and now they won’t see each other anymore.
“I don’t want to say it changes anything, but that’s one of the considerations that the court has to take under advisement when trying to decide what’s in the best interest of the child,” said Martin.
NBC2 reached out to DCF for comment on this case but they never responded.
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