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Some serious horse_____

The Lansing State Journal reports on a domestic case, where the parents had joint custody, the father got called up for duty in Iraq (agreeing to the mother's custody while he was out of country), and the court referee (somebody brought in to make a recommendation to the court so as to ease its difficult 9-4 with a long lunch workload) recommended that his joint custody be ended even after his return.

"Erb's lawyer, Theresa Sheets of Lansing, said Erb wanted full custody because she no longer found McNeilly to be a fit father.

"This has absolutely nothing to do with his military service," Sheets said.

"It has everything to do with his behavior as a parent."

Sheets pointed to the court referee's report that made the case against McNeilly.

The report says that McNeilly treats his son more like a friend than a son, and "sees the child as a counterpart in his military adventures."

It also questions some of McNeilly's correspondence to his son while on active duty.

McNeilly said one postcard showed a soldier holding a gun. Another showed a soldier spearing a tire as if it was an enemy.

The court report says McNeilly also told his son how to kill people in multiple ways, and that he wrote his son "the next time someone touches you and leaves bruises on you - I'll be ready."

McNeilly said the statements were taken out of context. And he believes the postcards were appropriate for a then-8-year-old boy.

But Sheets said the correspondence crossed the line.

"My client is making sure to turn off the TV when the news reports deaths in Iraq and (McNeilly) was engaging in behaviors that brought fear," Sheets said.

Translation: he wants to treat his son as a buddy, a young man, not as a widdle boy, and to share his life with him.

The one comforting thing is that in eight years the [profanity deleted] mother will lose her control, and the son will be able to resume a normal life, whether she has temporary control or not.

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