Accusations fly at Mark Sievers custody hearing

FORT MYERS, Fla. – A hearing to determine whether the paternal grandmother of Mark Sievers’ two daughters should have custody has been continued to allow attorneys to listen to audio conversations between Sievers and the girls.

Attorneys for Sievers and his mother, Bonnie, want to review seven 15-minute conversations he had with his children while incarcerated at the Lee County jail.

A new court date was not immediately set.

Wednesday’s hearing is the latest in a series related to the custody of the two girls. A judge in April placed the children in the custody of Mary Ann Groves, Teresa Sievers’ mother. The decision was against the wishes of Mark Sievers, charged with first-degree murder in his wife’s killing.

“My 9 and 11 year old daughters should have a voice on where they live,” he said in court Wednesday morning. “I believe she is doing the best she can do but I don’t know if that is good enough for my daughters.”

Groves doesn’t take all of his phone calls when he tries to call the girls from jail, he said.

“G*d d**n lie,” Groves shouted in response.

Mark Sievers said he hasn’t talked to his daughters about his charges, saying it’s “not age appropriate.” He only told them that his bond was revoked, adding that he talks to the girls about the case “only superficially.”

DCF attorneys argued the arrangement was going well and that they should stay with Groves, adding that Mark Sievers told the girls not to trust her.

“I have stated to the girls that trust is something very precious and it’s hard to know who to trust with what’s going on,” said Sievers, who added that he has instructed the girls not to talk to Groves about certain things, including letters from him.

Ability to care

Mark Sievers signed a power of attorney form last year indicating his desire for the girls to be placed with his mother, Bonnie, or a family friend who previously had custody of the children.

But DCF attorneys argued Bonnie Sievers isn’t prepared to take care of the girls.

“She was unable to commit physically, mentally, emotionally, and is financially unable to provide long-term care,” the attorneys said.

It was never said that the girls weren’t wanted, said Bonnie Sievers, adding that she was surprised when hearing about DCF’s assessment of her long-term care ability.

Bonnie Sievers paused when asked if her son convinced her to take care of the children and if he has attempted to coach the girls.

DCF attorneys objected to her answers several times, believing that Mark Sievers was coaching her in what to say.

“I feel the girls enjoy being with me, they feel safe with me, they know I am a permanent resident here,” she said. “They know I am the mother of their father so they have that bond with me, with Mark. They’re comfortable enough to talk with me. I feel my home would be a good environment.”

Mark Sievers described his relationship with Groves as “sketchy,” adding that the girls do not like living with her.

“They don’t like that the maternal grandmother is forcing visits with some of my wife’s siblings,” he said. “Very negative visits. Don’t like the inconsistency.”

When asked if he’s coaching the girls in what to say or think, Sievers responded “absolutely not.”

“I believe she believes she has their best interest when she is taking care of them,” he said of Groves. “I don’t know if that is actually happening. I believe she is doing the best she can do. I question whether that is good enough for my daughters.”

Following Wednesday’s hearing, Michael Mummert, Mark Sievers’ attorney, said the argument is ultimately not about Groves’ ability to take care of the girls, but Sievers’ rights as a parent.

Ongoing battle

The first custody hearing took place in December, where after released court documents detailed detectives’ suspicion of Mark Sievers’ involvement in the killing, DCF attorneys argued unsuccessfully that the children should be removed from his care due to the possibility of harming them if he was arrested.

After his arrest, a March custody hearing was continued because Mark Sievers had yet to be served with a petition for dependency from DCF. The document explains why the agency is removing the children from a parent’s custody.

DCF attorneys argued Groves has the girls’ best interest in mind, letting them make phone calls to their father and other family members.

Teresa Sievers’ family members have complained that Mark Sievers limited his daughters’ interactions with in-laws.

Groves, who relocated from Connecticut, said she plans to keep the girls in Florida.

Teresa Sievers was found bludgeoned to death inside the couple’s Bonita Springs home in June 2015. His childhood friend, Curtis Wayne Wright, pleaded guilty to second-degree murder as part of an agreement with prosecutors and is expected to testify against him and Jimmy Ray Rodgers, who is also charged with first-degree murder in the alleged murder-for-hire plot.