School memorial to a little boy lost
PBS program cites widespread custody abuses
By MARY K. REINHART TRIBUNE -- CONTACT WRITER: (480) 898-6867 or mreinhart@aztrib.com
Joshua Eberle-Martinson should be a first-grader at Kyrene de la Mirada Elementary School in Chandler, getting ready for his favorite holiday — Halloween. Instead, there is a special place set aside in a classroom, Josh’s Reading Corner, where children can sit and read books donated by his mother. The subject of a bitter custody battle, 5-year-old Joshua was found dead Aug. 29, 2004, in his father’s Ahwatukee Foothills apartment. His father, Jeffrey Martinson, was unconscious in a separate bedroom with superficial cuts on his wrists. An autopsy showed Joshua was killed with a fatal dose of the muscle relaxant Soma, and possibly suffocated. Joshua’s mother, Kris Eberle, said the family court system failed her son. A new PBS documentary that airs tonight, “Breaking the Silence: Children’s Stories,” says the system’s failures are widespread. “To win custody of the kids over and against the mother’s will is the ultimate victory . . . short of killing the kids,” Joan Meier, an attorney and law professor at George Washington University, says in the program. While the effects of domestic violence on children is well-documented, abusers are using the court system to further victimize their children, according to the documentary. Eberle said she hopes those who work within the family court system will watch tonight’s broadcast and rethink some of their assumptions. “I wish people would take a closer look when there’s domestic violence involved, instead of just saying, ‘They’re just making things up,’ or ‘she’s overprotective, she’s defensive,’ ” Eberle said. “If you’re protecting your child, hell yes you’re going to be defensive.” Martinson is being held without bond on first-degree murder and child abuse charges at Maricopa County’s Madison Street Jail in Phoenix. A trial date has not yet been scheduled. Documentary What: “Breaking the Silence: Children’s Stories,” a PBS documentary about domestic violence, children and family court. When: 10 p.m. today on KAET-TV (Channel 8)
