MONROE - The parents of an 8-year-old boy who was accidentally shot in the face last week by his 13-year-old babysitter appeared Monday in Green County Circuit Court for an emergency hearing on custody placement of the boy and his sister, with the father arguing that the mother deserved to have custody taken away temporarily for choosing the babysitter.
The boy's parents, Heather Bowles, 29, Livingston, and Justin Bowles, 32, Monticello, are currently separated and have been battling through an ongoing divorce for 21/2 years, according to Peter Kelly, the attorney who is representing the children's interests in the divorce case as a guardian ad litem.
"These parents have had a terrible time co-parenting," Kelly told Judge James Beer in court Monday. "I have never seen in 30 years a pair that doesn't put forth what's best for the children."
Heather Bowles filed for the divorce back in 2015. According to Kelly, attorneys from both sides were recently "hours" away from an agreement that would have settled the divorce, but "then this unfortunate incident happened."
The accidental shooting that prompted Monday's emergency hearing happened Thursday on County E just west of Livingston in Grant County. Heather Bowles left the 8-year-old in the care of his 13-year-old cousin at the cousin's home while she went to a basketball game.
The children were home alone when the teen got a Marlin .22-caliber rifle out of a safe and loaded and unloaded the rifle several times, according to the Grant County Sheriff's Office. At one point, thinking the chamber was empty, the teen discharged the weapon. One bullet was still in the chamber, and it hit the 8-year-old boy in the face below the left nostril.
The boy is recovering in the intensive care unit at the University of Iowa Hospital in Iowa City. According to his paternal grandfather, he has gone through five surgeries already with more to be done once swelling subsides. The boy suffered a broken jaw in multiple locations and lost multiple teeth. He is expected to survive.
The teen babysitter or the gun's owner face potential charges in Grant County, according to an initial report from the sheriff's office.
At Monday's hearing, Kelly cautioned that Heather Bowles had made a poor choice of babysitter but should not be held responsible for the teen's actions. He also pointed out that the teen had passed a hunter's safety course.
"We are all on the same page here: It was a lapse of judgement on the 13-year-old's part. The parent didn't fail, she just chose poorly for a babysitter," Kelly said. "The result was horrible, but I'm not going to point a finger."
Justin Bowles, through his attorney Amanda Fields, argued that custody rights should change because his estranged wife was a poor judge of character and had picked an unfit babysitter who put the boy in a dangerous situation. He requested temporary sole custody of their 4-year-old daughter and for a clarification on hospital visitation for their 8-year-old son.
Heather Bowles' attorney Curtis Johnson countered that custody arrangements shouldn't change because this is a sensitive time and the girl should be kept to a routine she knows.
Kelly, the guardian ad litem, sided with the father.
"My thought for a temporary basis while the parents are in the hospital, is that (the 4-year-old), a preschooler, should be with the father and the father's family during this time," he said. "I worry that this (incident) will re-open everything (because the divorce was so close to being finalized). This is her worst nightmare. I don't want this very unfortunate situation to blow this up."
He also recommended that the parents not visit their son together.
"I want to avoid these two parents being in this hospital at the same time," Kelly said. "There are not enough security guards in the hospital for that."
Beer rejected the father's request for temporary sole custody of his daughter but did increase his custody to every weekend instead of the current rate of every other weekend. As for the son, Beer ruled that each side's family would get every-other-day visitation rights at the hospital.
He also ordered that the cousin never again babysit the boy.
Beer said he was hopeful the two parents could reconcile a bit in order to co-parent better.
"Maybe they will be able to work it out," Beer said. "You almost lost a child. Don't you think it's time to grow up?"
Before separating, the Bowles lived in Shullsburg. Afterward, Heather Bowles moved to Grant County to be closer to her family and Justin Bowles moved in with members of his own family in Monticello.
About 20 of Justin Bowles' family members and friends turned out to the courtroom Monday to support him in the custody case.
Heather Bowles, who came to court alone, screamed obscenities after the hearing at her estranged husband's extended family before walking out. Beer promptly ordered her outburst be recorded in the court transcript and the bailiff to arrest her. She was later released and mailed a citation for disorderly conduct.
The boy's parents, Heather Bowles, 29, Livingston, and Justin Bowles, 32, Monticello, are currently separated and have been battling through an ongoing divorce for 21/2 years, according to Peter Kelly, the attorney who is representing the children's interests in the divorce case as a guardian ad litem.
"These parents have had a terrible time co-parenting," Kelly told Judge James Beer in court Monday. "I have never seen in 30 years a pair that doesn't put forth what's best for the children."
Heather Bowles filed for the divorce back in 2015. According to Kelly, attorneys from both sides were recently "hours" away from an agreement that would have settled the divorce, but "then this unfortunate incident happened."
The accidental shooting that prompted Monday's emergency hearing happened Thursday on County E just west of Livingston in Grant County. Heather Bowles left the 8-year-old in the care of his 13-year-old cousin at the cousin's home while she went to a basketball game.
The children were home alone when the teen got a Marlin .22-caliber rifle out of a safe and loaded and unloaded the rifle several times, according to the Grant County Sheriff's Office. At one point, thinking the chamber was empty, the teen discharged the weapon. One bullet was still in the chamber, and it hit the 8-year-old boy in the face below the left nostril.
The boy is recovering in the intensive care unit at the University of Iowa Hospital in Iowa City. According to his paternal grandfather, he has gone through five surgeries already with more to be done once swelling subsides. The boy suffered a broken jaw in multiple locations and lost multiple teeth. He is expected to survive.
The teen babysitter or the gun's owner face potential charges in Grant County, according to an initial report from the sheriff's office.
At Monday's hearing, Kelly cautioned that Heather Bowles had made a poor choice of babysitter but should not be held responsible for the teen's actions. He also pointed out that the teen had passed a hunter's safety course.
"We are all on the same page here: It was a lapse of judgement on the 13-year-old's part. The parent didn't fail, she just chose poorly for a babysitter," Kelly said. "The result was horrible, but I'm not going to point a finger."
Justin Bowles, through his attorney Amanda Fields, argued that custody rights should change because his estranged wife was a poor judge of character and had picked an unfit babysitter who put the boy in a dangerous situation. He requested temporary sole custody of their 4-year-old daughter and for a clarification on hospital visitation for their 8-year-old son.
Heather Bowles' attorney Curtis Johnson countered that custody arrangements shouldn't change because this is a sensitive time and the girl should be kept to a routine she knows.
Kelly, the guardian ad litem, sided with the father.
"My thought for a temporary basis while the parents are in the hospital, is that (the 4-year-old), a preschooler, should be with the father and the father's family during this time," he said. "I worry that this (incident) will re-open everything (because the divorce was so close to being finalized). This is her worst nightmare. I don't want this very unfortunate situation to blow this up."
He also recommended that the parents not visit their son together.
"I want to avoid these two parents being in this hospital at the same time," Kelly said. "There are not enough security guards in the hospital for that."
Beer rejected the father's request for temporary sole custody of his daughter but did increase his custody to every weekend instead of the current rate of every other weekend. As for the son, Beer ruled that each side's family would get every-other-day visitation rights at the hospital.
He also ordered that the cousin never again babysit the boy.
Beer said he was hopeful the two parents could reconcile a bit in order to co-parent better.
"Maybe they will be able to work it out," Beer said. "You almost lost a child. Don't you think it's time to grow up?"
Before separating, the Bowles lived in Shullsburg. Afterward, Heather Bowles moved to Grant County to be closer to her family and Justin Bowles moved in with members of his own family in Monticello.
About 20 of Justin Bowles' family members and friends turned out to the courtroom Monday to support him in the custody case.
Heather Bowles, who came to court alone, screamed obscenities after the hearing at her estranged husband's extended family before walking out. Beer promptly ordered her outburst be recorded in the court transcript and the bailiff to arrest her. She was later released and mailed a citation for disorderly conduct.