After nearly a year, the guardianship battle has escalated over a boy whose parents were killed in the mass shooting at the Fourth of July parade in Highland Park.
Aiden McCarthy’s grandparents are fighting over who should become permanent guardian of the 3-year-old orphan. His parents, Irina and Kevin McCarthy, were among seven people killed when a gunman opened fire during the parade.
The alleged gunman, Robert Crimo III, has been charged with seven counts of murder and numerous other crimes for injuries to dozens of other people. His father, Robert Crimo Jr., has been charged with seven counts of reckless conduct for helping his son get a firearm owner’s license, though police previously had reported that the son had threatened to kill himself and “everyone.”
A GoFundMe for Aiden McCarthy raised $3.3 million, which has been put in a court-ordered trust, to go for his care and upbringing. Chicago Trust Co. will administer the trust, and attorneys for the parties involved already have made more than $75,000 in fees from it.
Aiden’s grandmothers — Kevin’s mother , and Irina’s mother — were named in court as the boy’s temporary co-guardians. They take turns taking care of Aiden at his parents’ home in Highland Park. Each is asking to become his permanent guardian.
Aiden’s aunt and uncle, who live in Iowa, previously were named temporary guardians and are also asking to be made permanent guardians.
Aiden’s maternal grandfather, Michael Levberg, also helps take care of Aiden, and has asked to be co-guardian with his wife.
Aiden and Michael Levberg have been named in some previous Tribune stories about the shooting, but the paper is not using the names of other relatives named in court documents in this story because of safety concerns.
The attorneys for Levberg and his wife have argued in court that the couple is better suited to take care of Aiden and his estate, because they had helped take care of him regularly since he was born. They say his paternal grandmother only occasionally cared for him, and that she is single and about 70 years old, and would have difficulty taking care of the boy by herself. Michael Levberg is 65 and sole owner of New Homes Inc., and his wife is 62.
The maternal grandparents also have made claims on the estate of Kevin McCarthy, Aiden’s father, of which Kevin’s mother is the administrator.
The paternal grandmother has countered by asking for a jury trial to resolve the case. Her attorney has alleged in court documents that despite a court order to take care of Aiden at his family’s home in Highland Park, the maternal grandparents have been taking him to their home in Lincolnshire and having him sleep in their bed with them.
The paternal grandmother’s attorney wrote that the “brazen conduct” of the maternal grandparents was “profoundly confusing” to Aiden, and asked that the judge order them to stop keeping Aiden in their home and sleeping with him.
The maternal grandparents recently filed a motion asking the court to let Aiden stay at their home, arguing, among other points, that they “must relive the trauma of the events of July 4, 2022, every time they go past the bedroom” of their daughter and son-in-law.
The couple also asked the court to end the boy’s required monthly trips to visit is aunt and uncle in Iowa, which they called a disruption to his routine and stability. The judge’s order on that motion has not been entered into the record.
In another sign of tensions between the grandparents, last year, the maternal grandparents had called the police to file a missing-person report while Aiden was at a family pool party. Police went to Aiden’s home, but no charges were filed.
Marc Schwartz is the court-appointed guardian ad litem, an attorney meant to make recommendations to the judge on what is in the boy’s best interests.
The court ordered Schwartz to submit a written opinion last October, but court papers indicate he is still finalizing his report. The court is waiting for an evaluation of who should get guardianship by two court-appointed specialists, psychologist Dr. Robert Shapiro and psychiatrist Dr. Louis Kraus.
The maternal grandparents’ attorney, Matthew McQuiston, argued that the orders for evaluation are void, writing that the Illinois Probate Act should govern guardianship, not the Marriage and Dissolution of Marriage Act, which addresses parental custody. That issue has yet to be decided.
Previously, the grandparents disagreed over whether Aiden should get therapy, since he had not been told that his parents died. A court order provided for therapy at the discretion of the guardian ad litem.
The original judge handling the case, Lake County Judge Elizabeth Rochford, was elected last year to the Illinois Supreme Court. The case is now on its fourth judge, Lake County Associate Judge Donna-Jo Vorderstrasse.
Chicago Tribune’s Jonathan Bullington and freelancer Clifford Ward contributed.
rmccoppin@chicagotribune.com
