Syesha Mercado’s family has been reunited at last!
On October 2, the 2009 American Idol finalist shared how her 1-year-old son, Amen’ra has finally been returned home after being taken into custody by Child Protective Services in Florida back in February.
“AMEN’RA IS OFFICIALLY HOME!!!” she captioned a clip.
“But, it’s not over with,” Mercado’s partner, Tyron Deener, says in the video. “He’s back, he’s with us, but we’ve got to deal with six months of supervision, of the state coming to our home every week for the next six months, to show that we’re competent and able to raise our own baby.”
Users were quick to praise the good news, saying “This is the best thing I’ve seen all day!!! Bless you and your beautiful family,” followed by “Oh my gosh I just started bawling seeing this! Hallelujah! Im so happy your family is whole again.”
The boy’s return comes a month after the couple regained custody of their newborn daughter after she spent a few days in the custody of Child Protective Services.
The now 1-year-old was taken in late February after Mercado and Deener took him to Johns Hopkins All Children’s Hospital in St. Petersburg, Florida for treatment for dehydration that they claimed was from a difficult transition from breast milk to solid foods.
Amen’Ra was assessed by Dr. Sally Smith. An investigation discovered a dozen instances of Smith’s cases in which charges were dropped or parents were acquitted after she concluded they were abusing their children.
The assessment resulted in Amen’Ra being taken by Manatee Child Protective Services after his stay in the hospital and placed in foster care.
The Manatee County Sheriff’s Office said in a previous statement to NBC News that it received information from the hospital’s child abuse line that a boy was “severely malnourished,” which Mercado disputed.
“Amen’Ra was forcefully and legally kidnapped from us by CPS, who claim we refused a B12 shot that was a matter of life and death, which is an absolute lie. We never refused a B12 shot, and at no point was he on the verge of death,” Mercado wrote in a GoFundMe account.
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