Mother welcomes twins ruling

The Kilshaws said they will appeal the court's ruling

CLAYTON, Missouri (CNN) -- The mother of twins adopted over the Internet says she is hopeful she will soon be reunited with them after a UK judge ordered the pair returned to the U.S.

Welsh couple Alan and Judith Kilshaw lost their bid to keep the children when a High Court judge ruled on Monday that a Missouri court should decide the best interests of nine-month-old girls Kimberley and Belinda.

The lawyer representing birth mother Tranda Wecker said she was excited she may "soon be reunited with her children."

A Missouri court will decide if it is in the best interests of the twins to return them to any member of their natural family, Justice Andrew Kirkwood ruled on Monday.

AUDIO Rosemary Carter, Family Law Association: Kilshaws hurt by media attention 730K/68 sec. AIFF or WAV sound    REFERENCE Internet adoptions   •  Offers abound on Web   •  Web adoption pitfalls   •  Q&A: UK court ruling   •  Quick vote

The twins will be placed in foster care in Missouri until the Missouri judge rules, but will remain in the custody of British social services until they can be returned to the U.S.

Arrangements for the return will be kept confidential, Kirkwood ruled, to prevent additional distress to the twins.

Wecker's lawyer William Meehan expressed confidence the twins will be reunited with Wecker.

"Tranda was very happy," he told CNN-affiliate KPLR-TV, referring to the ruling.

"She has been without these children now for almost four months, and she has the obvious mother's joy of knowing that she'll soon be reunited with her children."

He applauded the British court's decision, saying, "There's no legal basis for them to have remained in Britain."

The girls' birth parents are separated and the father, Aaron, was awarded custody of the children by a U.S. court.

The parents were represented at the British hearings by their own solicitors, though they were not officially parties to that case.

The infants have been at the centre of an international custody battle since two sets of parents tried to adopt them from a Web site called the "Caring Heart Adoption."

The baby girls are wards of the British courts and have been cared for by foster parents since January.

The Kilshaws have said they will appeal.

An angry Judith Kilshaw stormed out of the court building, declaring there was "no justice" in her country.

Richard and Vickie Allen of California originally adopted the girls for $6,000. Wecker took them from the Allens in late December and gave them to the Kilshaws, who also wanted to adopt them, but British authorities took custody of the babies soon after.

The Kilshaws said they paid an American baby broker about $12,000 to adopt the twins.

A judge in Arkansas has annulled the adoption and recommended the twins be returned to the U.S..

The Allens announced last month they would no longer seek custody of the girls after Richard Allen was charged with child molestation of two girls who babysat at their home last year.

Vickie Allen said she and her husband might make a claim to the twins after resolving their current legal troubles, which included juvenile court litigation over their adopted two-year-old son.

"It's a possibility depending on what the outcome of our son's case is," she said. "I have an interest in their safety and well-being and with their being placed with the right parents."

Reuters contributed to this report.

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April 9, 2001
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Net twins custody case resumes
April 1, 2001
Court battle for Web twins resumes
March 19, 2001
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March 14, 2001

Court Service
British Agencies for Adoption & Fostering

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