CHICAGO (AP) - The grandmother of Eddy Curry's 3-year-old son on Thursday night obeyed a Cook County judge's order to transfer custody of the child to the New York Knicks player, hours after telling a newspaper that she planned to flee with the boy.
Must-read:
- NCAA tourney scoreboard
- Goodman: Wake lacks leadership
Must-see:
- Schein to Crabtree: Don't sweat
- McReynolds: Keys for Bristol
Top headlines:
- No. 4 Wake ousted in blowout
- Pitt narrowly avoids historic loss
- Calhoun out of hospital, will coach
All of today's top stories >>
Worth a thousand words:
- March Madness first-round action
- A-Rod smooching ... himself?
- Shots from the 2009 Iditarod
View more photos >>
"Losing my grandson is the latest tragedy for our family," Yolan Henry said in a statement.
"Hopefully, there is no misunderstanding about the legal exchange of Noah to his father, but as his grandmother I only have the best interest of Noah at heart," she said.
Cook County sheriff's office spokesman Steve Patterson confirmed Henry handed the boy over late Thursday.
"We had several conversations with Yolan Henry throughout the evening and around 9:20 p.m. Thursday, she agreed to comply with the judge's order," Patterson said. "We met her in downtown Chicago and at 11:30 p.m. we facilitated an orderly transfer of the child to the Curry family, as the judge ordered."
Henry has had custody of the boy since her daughter, Nova, and infant granddaughter, Ava, were fatally shot in their Chicago town house in January. Noah Curry was there but unharmed.
Judge Fe Fernandez on Thursday ordered Henry to turn the boy over to his father's attorneys. Curry, who was at the courthouse on Thursday, declined to comment after the judge's ruling.
Henry told the Chicago Tribune after the hearing that she considered herself to be "on the run." She said she was trying to protect Noah Curry, not kidnap him.
"I feel that it's unfair to subject this child to a turnover when he doesn't know the parties he is being turned over to," she told the Tribune. "We are forced to be fugitives."
Henry did not return a telephone message Thursday from The Associated Press. She said in the statement that she planned to appeal the order "and do everything in our power to see that Noah is returned to us."
"I pray that God gives him the strength to cope with this separation from his family," she said.
The case is "very emotional," said Kelly Saindon, Curry's attorney.
"You guys know the tragedy behind this story, so it's an unfortunate turn of events," Saindon told reporters.
Fredrick Goings, a 36-year-old attorney who once dated Nova Henry, is charged with killing her and her child. He is being held without bail. Goings represented Henry in a paternity case with Curry.
