Mom Commits Suicide after Losing Appeal—Only Hope of Getting Son Back

And: Mother Jailed for Refusing to Force Daughter to Visit Her Father

Jun 28, 2026

Cross-posted by Women's Coalition News & Views

"Jessica Leigh’s death is not just a tragedy. It is an indictment. A mother lost her son, lost her parental rights, lost her appeal, and then lost the last thread of hope she had left. Family court defenders will call this complicated. They always do. But no civilized system should be comfortable with a parent being erased from a child’s life unless there is clear, proven, extraordinary danger. The machinery that claims to protect children too often destroys the very bonds children need most. Jessica’s story should haunt every judge, lawyer, evaluator, and bureaucrat who treats removal as routine."

- Richard Luthmann

A North Carolina mom has, so very sadly, committed suicide after losing her appeal.

It was the last hope of getting her son back.

Not much is known about Jessica’s life or her custody case, but this is what can be gleaned from social media.

JESSICA’S STORY

Jessica Leigh gave birth to Harrison in 2017. That made her a very happy mama.

It is unknown how long the relationship with Harrison’s father lasted or if they ever married.

But at some point, it seems her sister got together with Harrison’s father, and they eventually married.

My sister MARRIED HIS FATHER—a SECRET, shared with the WORLD, while I suffered in SILENCE.

THE TAKING

The last photos of Harrison on Jessica’s timeline were taken when he was about 6 years-old, so that must be when he was taken away from her—about three years ago.

The interplay between Family Court and social services is unclear. But Jessica’s parental rights were terminated, meaning the father is the only legal parent and likely got custody. Someone, likely he, had to make some very bad allegations against Jessica in order for such an extreme measure to be taken, or at least went along with them.

There are plenty of Custody Crisis cases that result in mothers having no contact with their children, but Family Court judges don’t usually bother terminating parental rights. They either order no contact with impossible conditions placed on the mother, or do not enforce visits. But it is effectively the same thing.

Jessica was allowed to see Harrison in supervised visits for a while. Those seem to have ended after her rights were terminated.

This is such a horrific thing to do to a mother—deprive her completely of the child whom she gestated and birthed and nursed and loved and nurtured every day until being ripped from her loving arms.

That is, very simply, emotional torture. Worse than any physical torture.

On top of that incalculable loss, Jessica felt abandoned and betrayed by her own family.

I Am Alive. But I Am Not Living.
I LOST MY SON.
And I LOST THE FAMILY I LOVED.

They didn’t care how it hurt my SON.
They didn’t care how it DESTROYED ME.
They didn’t CALL. They didn’t SHOW UP.

While I was DROWNING…

Even if Jessica had some sort of issue—of which there is no public evidence and no hint from her postings—there is absolutely no reason she should not have, at the very least, supervised visitation.

After Harrison was taken, Jessica started the Facebook page Voice for Harrison and also used the hashtag #justiceforharrison. She writes prosaically about her life and how much she misses Harrison in many of her posts. It’s worth checking them out.

In a post earlier this month, she responds to the many moms who ask how it feels to have her parental rights terminated—with this image of herself looking much happier than she obviously felt.

People don’t always understand what it’s like for a mother to be separated from her child. Your heart doesn’t stop being a mother. You still listen for them. You still feel them. You still love them with every piece of who you are.

Some days the pain is quiet. Other days it shows up out of nowhere, like a wave that reminds you a part of your heart is walking somewhere in this world without you.
…Harrison, wherever you are…
your mom still loves you with her whole heart.

* * * *

This isn’t just a case to me—it’s my child.
I don’t want to forget his laugh…
so I hold onto it like it’s everything—because it is.
And one day, I won’t have to remember it…
I’ll hear it again.

THE APPEAL

Jessica did the only thing she could legally do to get Harrison back.

She appealed the obviously, grossly unjust ruling that terminated her rights and deprived her completely of her child.

She waited. And hoped.

And hung on. Despite everything having been taken from her.

This system didn’t just take him—it has taken everything from me. My family. My peace. My health. My career. My safety. My home. My car. My finances. My hope. My dreams. My life as I knew it.
And yet, here I am, still forced to fight, still forced to survive, still forced to carry this pain alone.

And she kept waiting.

Hoping against hope, dreaming of her boy back in her arms.

THE END

The decision finally came down this week.

Jessica lost.

The disgusting, patriarchal Appellate justices affirmed the disgusting, patriarchal Family Court judge’s unconscionable ruling.

The thought of not seeing Harrison anymore was just too much to bear.

On Friday, she ended the immense pain caused by the taking of her child by taking her own life.

One day, the truth will surface.
Not through anger, not through retaliation, but through time.
And it will show who endured, who loved, and who abandoned.

Those were some of Jessica’s last words…

RIP JESSICA

BE MAD!

Instead of just being sad, be mad! We must use the outrage we feel from their needless and avoidable loss to fuel our advocacy for a new system.

Join The Women’s Coalition where we are uniting for the battle!

IN OTHER NEWS

MOM JAILED

On Friday, just before being incarcerated, Kristi asked that her story be shared to help raise awareness.

Kristi is an Alabama mom who chose jail, rather than handing her 9 year-old daughter over to the convicted-criminal-trafficker father, more accurately the sperm source.

The father has not been involved at all in his daughter’s life—by choice—for her entire 9 years of life; whereas, Kristi has remarried and they are a happy family.

Yet, recently, out of the blue, the father filed for custody and was granted a 5-week summer visit—5,000 miles away in Hawaii.

Of course, the judge granted it, despite the fact the father has reportedly been convicted for trafficking and arrested for other crimes and has an unknown roommate.

A little girl forced to live with two men she does not know for 5 weeks!

Understandably, Kristi refused, but will the inevitable come to pass? Tell what you think may happen in the comments.

Judge Daniel Steverson has completely ignored the child’s best interests and the girl’s own wishes. Instead, he has given the father exactly what he wants.

You know—the usual male entitling occurring in family courts around the world…

To add insult to injury, Steverson is making Kristi pay plane fares and attorney’s fees. Judges love sticking it to uppity ex-wives who dare stand up for what’s best for their children.

There’s more to her story, but we’ve run out of room in this newsletter. Search Kristi Griffin and watch this reel where she tearfully opens up about her plight.

DISCRIMINATION LAWSUIT

The Women’s Coalition has filed a lawsuit in New York claiming that women’s right to Equal Protection is being systemically violated in Family Court—with about 60 similarly-situated mamas!

We will be filing an amended complaint soon so if you are a victim of the Custody Crisis in New York, there is still time to join us by filling out this form. Plz alert all your NY friends.

We’re finally being heard through this unprecedented effort!

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