Custody of Kemia Hassel’s son has, according to the most recent public reporting, rested with Kemia’s parents in Georgia, where the boy went to live after her arrest for orchestrating the murder of his father, U.S. Army Sergeant Tyrone Hassel III. The victim’s father, Tyrone Hassel II, said publicly that he wanted to reach a custody arrangement with Kemia’s parents rather than fight them in court. No public court records confirm the final legal outcome.
Where the Child Went After the Murder
The Hassels’ son was roughly two years old when his father was shot to death outside his grandfather’s home in St. Joseph, Michigan, on New Year’s Eve 2018. Kemia and Tyrone had been stationed together at Fort Stewart, Georgia, and after her arrest the child was placed with her parents there.
Tyrone Hassel II stated he intended to work out a custody arrangement with Kemia’s parents instead of pursuing a contentious legal battle. Kemia’s own defense attorney acknowledged during trial that she might never see her son again outside of supervised visitation. Beyond those statements, the specific legal arrangement, whether guardianship, full custody, or something else, has not been documented in public filings or media coverage.
Why Custody Fell to Extended Family
This case sits outside the usual mother-versus-father custody framework. One parent was murdered. The other received life in prison without parole for arranging that murder, plus a concurrent life sentence for conspiracy. With neither biological parent available, the child’s care necessarily fell to extended family, and grandparents or other close relatives in that situation typically petition a court for legal guardianship or full custody.
Because the child was already living with Kemia’s parents in Georgia, that established placement would carry real weight in any court’s analysis. Judges generally favor preserving a young child’s stable environment unless there is a compelling reason to move them.
How a Michigan Court Would Weigh a Case Like This
Under Michigan’s Child Custody Act, a judge deciding custody looks at a set of best-interest factors, including the emotional bonds between the child and the adults seeking custody, the length of time the child has spent in a stable home, each party’s ability to meet the child’s physical and emotional needs, the moral fitness of the parties, and the child’s adjustment to their current home, school, and community. Courts may also weigh any other factor relevant to the child.1Michigan Courts. Custody Guideline
Kemia’s conviction also opens the door to terminating her parental rights entirely. Under the federal Adoption and Safe Families Act, states are generally required to pursue termination when a parent has been convicted of murdering the other parent. Termination would end any legal claim she has in future custody decisions and clear the way for adoption by whichever relatives are raising him.
Money That Follows the Child
Whoever holds custody, the boy is eligible for several benefits as the surviving child of a deceased service member. A custodian receiving these benefits is required to use the money for the child’s care.
- Social Security survivor benefits generally pay a child of a deceased worker 75 percent of the parent’s benefit amount, continuing until the child turns 18, or 19 if still in high school.2Social Security Administration. What You Could Get From Survivor Benefits
- Under the military’s Survivor Benefit Plan, eligible surviving children can receive 55 percent of the service member’s covered retired pay, split equally among eligible children, while unmarried and under 18, or under 22 if attending school full-time.3Military Pay. Survivor Benefit Program Children Only
- The $400,000 Servicemembers’ Group Life Insurance policy that motivated the killing will not go to Kemia. Michigan’s slayer statute forfeits any benefit to someone who feloniously and intentionally kills another, and federal SGLI regulations contain a matching exclusion. Those proceeds pass to any contingent beneficiary, or into the estate if none is named, and the son is a likely ultimate recipient.4Federal Register. Servicemembers Group Life Insurance and Veterans Group Life Insurance Slayers Rule Exclusion
Why the Arrangement Is Effectively Permanent
Kemia Hassel appealed her conviction on ineffective-assistance grounds. In October 2022 the Michigan Court of Appeals unanimously rejected the appeal and upheld both convictions.5Michigan State Bar. COA 350654 People of MI v Kemia Nekenah Hassel Opinion Her life-without-parole sentence stands, so she will not return to raise her son. Any future changes to his living situation would involve the family caregivers themselves, not a reunification with his mother.