An Atlanta judge has dismissed an emergency request by R&B singer Usher's ex-wife seeking temporary custody of their two children in the wake of this week's pool accident.
During the hours-long hearing, both Foster and Usher – along with his aunt, Rena Oden – took the stand to discuss the children and each Foster and Usher's parenting.
Usher Wins Custody of His Sons Against Ex-wife in court Friday.(Photo:John E. Davidson/Getty)
Foster said Oden is incapable of properly caring for their children due to a medical disability related to a back injury. She also claimed that Usher did not visit his son during his hospitalization and even became so emotional that she was brought to tears while recounting her son's underwater accident.
Oden was next to take the stand. She admitted that she is not licensed to administer CPR, but her mother, a registered nurse, taught her how. She was repeatedly asked if she left Naviyd alone by the pool while trying to get help for Usher V, and each time, Oden replied, "I don't recall."
Raymond took the stand next, fielding questions from Foster's attorney. During his time on the stand, Usher explained why he did not immediately inform his ex-wife about what transpired that afternoon, "I knew that there had been an accident in the pool but I didn't have clarity of what had taken place," he said. "[Usher V] didn't' want to go to the hospital, he was very irate. I did my best to calm him down and help him understand what had taken place."
After much debate, a judge ruled in favor of Raymond. "What happened here was an awful accident, and I don't know based on the evidence I've heard, had any single person been at the poolside, that one person could have done better than Ms. Oden," he said.
The judge continued, "I'm denying the motion. I would say, Mr. Raymond, in the future you would be well-advised to keep your former spouse informed about your whereabouts and who is taking care of the kids. That will be a feature perhaps in this case as it moves forward or the companion case as it moves forward."
After the judge dismissed Tameka's custody request, Usher and Tameka hugged for a lengthy embrace before leaving the courtroom.
Foster's court filing says the 5-year-old boy "suffered a near-death accident" while left unsupervised at Usher's home Monday. She is seeking temporary primary custody of the former couple's two children.
Usher Raymond, 34, was not present at the time of the accident. The young boy's arm got stuck in a pool drain while he was underwater trying to retrieve a toy. His aunt and a housekeeper unsuccessfully tried to free him before contractors working in the house got him out of the pool and performed CPR on him.
Usher and Tameka Raymond married in 2007 and divorced two years later. They had two children during their time together: Cinco, whose birth name is Usher Raymond V, and Naviyd Ely, who is now four.
