MOTHER OF BABY ALLEGEDLY SOLD SAYS LAWYER BREACHED HER CONFIDENCE
Tom Howlett
The Dallas Morning News
October 3, 1986
The mother of a baby allegedly sold illegally by a Dallas lawyer testified Thursday that she would not have given the boy up if she had known that he would be adopted through courts in Rockwall County, where her parents lived.
"It was a breach of my confidence,' said Lynne Marie Breland, 24, in the second day of the baby-selling trial of Dallas lawyer Robert I. Kingsley. "Had I known, I would have immediately stopped it.'
Ms. Breland said she had chosen to give the boy up for adoption in Dallas instead of Rockwall in June 1984 to avoid contributing to a stressful situation for her parents, who had lived in Rockwall since 1978. Ms. Breland also has a 3-year-old daughter.
The woman previously told the jury in State District Judge Gerry Meier's court that her signature was forged on papers filed with Rockwall County in December 1984 that arranged the boy's adoption by a New York couple.
Prosecutors contend that Kingsley violated adoption procedures, including paying Ms. Breland more than $2,000 for living expenses during her pregnancy. Kingsley's attorneys say he arranged a legal private adoption.
During questioning by defense attorney Mike Gibson, Ms. Breland also testified that she had approached Kingsley about a private adoption on the recommendation of a friend of hers.
Ms. Breland said she had been told there was no obligation to give up the child after birth.
State District Judge Craig Penfold, who primarily handles Dallas County juvenile matters, testified that papers also were filed in his court in May 1984 to arrange the adoption of the Breland baby, but the adoption was never completed because Kingsley canceled scheduled court appearances.
Penfold said he was concerned about the proposed adoption because Kingsley petitioned to have his wife, Mary Zoe Kingsley, and Plano lawyer Stephen L. Walker appointed as the individuals responsible for the child and his interests during the adoption process.