An 8-year-old girl remains in custody with the New Jersey Department of Youth and Family Services after the brutal murder of her mother at the alleged hands of her own father. The deceased woman's family, citizens of the United Kingdom, is now scrambling to obtain custody of young girl.

The New Jersey woman, age 31, was found dead in her apartment in the morning of July 4th. Her estranged husband is currently being held for charges related to her death. The couple's daughter was home when the murder took place.

The sister and brother of the deceased woman are both trying to gain custody of the little girl. If either of them were to gain custody, this would involve an international relocation because the members of the maternal side of the young girl's family are British citizens.

According to friends of the victim, it was her wish that if anything should happen to her that custody of the couple's daughter to go to her family. They indicated to the woman's family that they thought she even had a will memorializing these wishes.

According to the victim's brother, he doesn't care who is given custody of the little girl as long as she goes to family. He stated that both he and his sister would be happy if the other sibling was awarded guardianship and that either way, his deceased sister's wishes would be fulfilled.

Child custody cases can be very hard on everyone involved. The court's responsibility is to ensure the best interests of the child. In a tragedy such as this one, it is a matter of determining who would love and protect the child as her parents had. Unfortunately, cases like this are not always straightforward, and people in this kind of situation may find an experienced lawyer to be an invaluable resource during this difficult time.

Source: NorthJersey.com, "Montclair homicide victim's family seeks custody of her daughter," Linda Moss, 14 July 2011