Dr. Phil believes that parents should utilize the legal system to resolve custody issues rather than fleeing with their children.

“Well, that that's all very macho, but if you what you really want is the best result, you need to use the system, not fight the system.”

The long-standing custody battle between the parents had been effectively settled for nearly two years prior to the tragedy.

“And let me be clear, it was it was high conflict. It went on for years. And so yes, while it seems that both parents had engaged in unhealthy behavior and for years, I think it's important to state again that there has been zero court filings since 2024. So again, nearly two years since there's been”

Miguel claims that he is unable to visit his daughter because her mother and grandmother threaten and obstruct his access.

“One of the main reasons I wasn't able to visit Ellie was because around March, Candace's mother had sent me some seriously nasty text messages telling me that under no circumstances, as long as my daughter is under her roof, that I will ever see my little girl.”

Savannah Brymer describes the custody dispute as a primary motivation for the murder of Sheay Brier by EJ.

“The prosecution argued that after she had filed for his paternity lawsuit, it infuriated EJ to the point where she enlisted her friend Shelby to devise a plan to murder him.”

Todd claims that his ex-wife actively prevents him from seeing his children to make his life difficult.

“You know darn well that you have kept them away from me for as much time as you possibly can.”