Two men who were told they were the father of the same boy have won joint custody while they fight to prevent the child's mother from taking him to Virginia.
It's admittedly confusing - the 2-year-old boy is called Jordan DeVante by Brandon Ventimeglia. Darryl Fletcher, meanwhile, knows the boy as Darryl Alan Scott.Blood test results expected next week should reveal which one of the 26-year-old men is the boy's biological father. For now, the boy stays with Fletcher during the week and spends weekends with Ventimeglia.
"Actually I'm happy, and our boy is happy," Fletcher said. "I mean mine and Brandon's."
Both men had dated India Scott, 25, who informed them in 1993 that she was pregnant. Fletcher was living with Scott when the boy was born in 1994. Ventimeglia said Scott, who had told him she was living with a friend, told him about the birth a few days after delivering the boy.
Ventimeglia said he saw Scott and the boy on most weekends, when Fletcher was working. Fletcher said he thought she spent weekends visiting friends or family.
Eventually, Scott moved out and Fletcher sought custody of the boy by filing suit in Macomb County Circuit Court. Ventimeglia filed for custody three days later.
Both men said they sought custody because Scott had begun talking about moving to Virginia with the toddler. Both suits named the same mother and the same birth date for the child. That drew the attention of a court clerk who notified Ventimeglia's attorney.
"I looked like I just got hit by a truck," Ventimeglia said.
"It was a shock," Fletcher said.
The boy calls both men "Daddy," and all three spend time together.