Mark Sievers loses parental rights; Wayne Wright testifies

FORT MYERS, Fla.- One of the men accused of murdering Teresa Sievers testified Friday at a custody hearing over Mark Sievers’ two young daughters.

Wayne Wright and Mark Sievers made eye contact several times while Wright was on the stand. At one point, Mark Sievers burst into tears when his childhood best friend was asked if he had killed Teresa Sievers.

“I know the kids were much more comfortable with Mark,” Wright said in his testimony that only lasted about five minutes.

He spoke of Sievers’ ability as a father, calling him a “super dad.”

Wright was also questioned about the relationship Sievers had with his wife.

“They always seemed happy,” Wright said.

When asked if he and Mark Sievers had ever talked about his marital problems, Wright responded “I’d like to invoke my Fifth Amendment right.”

Mark Sievers’ attorneys attempted to question Wright multiple times during the hearing about the murder of Teresa Sievers, asking Wright if he planned to murder the doctor and if he had “hit Teresa Sievers in the head three times with a hammer.”

“The goal was to try to prove or disprove what the state, the department has put in their petition where they said Mr. Sievers conspired to commit the murder,” said Antonio Faga, Sievers’ attorney, explaining why he felt it necessary to question Wright about the crime.

The Florida Department of Children and Families argued the state should take over custody of the two Sievers children because of Mark Sievers’ inability to care for them. The judge ultimately agreed with the state and handed over care of the two girls to DCF.

The state made the decision to continue the current arrangement of leaving the two girls in the custody of Teresa Sievers’ mother who they have been with since March.