Police: Texas Man Killed Girlfriend, Child to Avoid Child Support

In Texas, the amount of child support a person is required to pay is calculated as a percentage of average monthly net income. Family law courts consider the person’s gross income from wages (including tips, overtime and bonuses), interest and other sources of income, minus expenses such as state and federal taxes, social security taxes and union dues, to arrive at the person’s net income. Based on the number of children to be supported, the person can expect to have up to 40 percent of net income allocated to child support.

Some people find that child support payments place an undue financial burden on them. If that is true, the first step to reducing that burden is to petition the court for a modification in the support order. Unfortunately, some people attempt to use illegal measures to avoid paying child support, such as not paying at all or, in severe cases, violence.

A man from Bedford, Texas, is in custody for the murder of two people. Allegedly, the man killed his 26-year-old girlfriend and 1-year-old son because he did not want to pay child support. The man was working two jobs and already had a child by a previous girlfriend. He was ordered by the court to undergo a paternity test on March 21, 2011, to establish if he was the father of a second child. The day before the test, the 29-year-old man allegedly stabbed the victim to death and then set her apartment on fire. The infant in question died in the fire.

The court system exists to mediate and settle family legal issues. Rather than resort to desperate measures that result in dire and long-term consequences, people with child custody and  child support disputes should learn about their rights under the law and settle their disputes in court.

Source: Star-Telegram.com, “Bedford man suspect from the start in death of ex-girlfriend, their son,” Susan Schrock and Deanna Boyd, Sept. 25, 2012