DECATUR - The parents of murder victim Karyn Hearn Slover are seeking guardianship of her son, Kolten.
Larry and Donna Hearn of Mount Zion filed the motion Thursday in Macon County Circuit Court. But they might not be the only relatives of the boy who seek guardianship. A cousin of his paternal aunt, Mary Slover, also wants to care for the boy.Kolten's custody is in question after a ruling last month by Macon County Associate Judge Scott Diamond that Mary Slover, who adopted Kolten in 1999, is unfit to raise the boy because she was involved in the concealment of his mother's murder. Kolten Slover has been in foster care since last year.Diamond will decide Sept. 26 whether to terminate the parental rights of Mary Slover and her brother, Michael Slover Jr.Slover Jr. and his parents, Michael Slover Sr. and Jeannette Slover, were convicted last year of the 1996 killing of his ex-wife, Karyn Slover, and are serving 60-year prison sentences for murder. Karyn Slover was shot several times in the head, and parts of her dismembered body were found days later in Lake Shelbyville.Kellie Crnko, a cousin of Mary Slover, said she has plans to file paperwork with the court asking that she and her husband, Tony, be allowed to care for the boy either temporarily or permanently if Mary Slover's rights are stripped. Crnko, 35, of St. Peters, Mo., said she believes the 10-year-old would be happy with her family.Mary Slover has denied all involvement in the killing and has never been charged in a criminal court. In a telephone interview, Mary Slover said she plans to appeal Diamond's ruling that she is unfit."It's not true," she said. "I've been a very good mother to Kolten."Mary Slover said if Kolten is placed with a family, it should be the Crnkos. She and Kolten lived with the family for a year and a half when they first moved to Missouri, she said.Larry and Donna Hearn are requesting guardianship of the boy under a section of Illinois law that allows children to be placed with a suitable relative when a court finds the parents of the child unfit. If appointed guardians, the Hearns would have the authority to consent to the boy's adoption.Donna, 61, is a retired nurse, and Larry, 62, is a self-employed vegetable oil broker. Both are in excellent health and have a middle-class home, according to the motion.In a telephone interview, Larry Hearn said, "We want to do what we can to provide a stable life for him."The motion documents the Hearns' efforts to see their grandson since the murder. According to the motion, they obtained grandparent visitation rights in 1997, after Michael Slover Jr. refused to provide regular visitation. Since then, the couple has been to court seven times over visitation, spending more than $25,000 in legal fees.After Michael Slover Jr. went to jail, Mary handled the visitation. According to the motion, "Larry and Donna exercised each and every visitation allowed by the court except for two occasions unless thwarted by Mary Slover."Mary Slover said she did not do anything to thwart the visitation and pointed to testimony by Larry Hearn earlier in the custody case in which he said she followed through with the visitation order."I was the one who facilitated their visitation," Mary Slover said. "I was the one who brought Kolten to Illinois for every visitation they had."Crnko, like the Hearns, said she wants to give the boy a stable home."I would have every intention of having Kolten visit both sides of the family because he's been through so much as it is," Crnko said.Crnko and her husband both work in the computer industry and have two children who have a close relationship with Kolten, she said. The boy also has friends who live on their street, she said.Crnko has said she believes the decision to declare Mary Slover unfit was a "huge miscarriage of justice." But she also said she would abide by any court orders in the case."If there was a no-contact order (with Mary), it would be difficult," she said. "However, I'd have to put the needs of Kolten first."Joseph Vigneri, the attorney for Michael Slover Jr., said he was not surprised by the Hearns' motion, but there is little his client can do to contest it. Under Illinois law, the murder of the child's other parent is grounds to terminate parental rights.Stephanie Potter can be reached at 421-7984.
