Couple to give Kara to her biological dad

BRUCE VIELMETTI

St. Petersburg Times

Donald and Christine Carr of Tampa faced a decision as difficult as King Solomon's.

Should they fight to keep Kara, the baby girl they've loved and cared for since shortly after her birth July 24? The case could take months, even years, to resolve in court.

Or should they relinquish Kara to her biological father, 17-year-old William Jardina of Texas, who was demanding she be returned to him?

Wednesday, the Carrs announced they will give the girl up, for her sake.

"The Carrs voluntarily decided that it was in Kara's best interest not to prolong this," said their attorney, Anthony Marchese of Tampa. He said the Carrs, Jardina and Kara's mother, Stacey Goss, 19, of Texas, have reached a confidential agreement about Kara that was presented to a Galveston judge Wednesday.

Marchese said he could not say when Kara would actually be reunited with Jardina because of the Texas judge's gag order.

Jardina's father, Chuck Jardina, 37, said Wednesday night they expect the baby very soon.

"We're waiting by the phone for word of when we can get her," Chuck Jardina said. The family lives near Galveston.

Wednesday's announcement apparently ends what could have become another drawn-out interstate battle between adoptive and birth parents. The case of Baby Jessica, caught between would-be adoptive parents in Michigan and biological parents in Iowa, went all the way to the U.S. Supreme Court this summer.

Eventually, a tearful Jessica, 2�, was taken from the Michigan couple who had raised her and given to her biological parents.

Both cases highlight the potential risk and divisive legal questions that arise when courts must decide what's "in the child's best interest."

Jardina went public with his story in Texas last month.

He said Goss, his girlfriend, gave Kara up for adoption without his knowledge even after he had said he would never consent to it.

When he was served with legal papers requesting he voluntarily terminate his parental rights, he began an effort to get Kara back. Jardina, who is finishing high school while working for his father's sand and gravel business, said he intends to raise Kara himself.

"I love her. I mean that's my baby," an elated Jardina said after a brief hearing Wednesday that was closed to news media.

Experts said Jardina would have the upper hand in a legal battle for Kara. Marchese said the Carrs' decision was not an admission that they could not have prevailed and won the adoption.

In a news release, the Carrs thanked family, friends and neighbors for support, and the media for respecting their privacy.

"Last, and most of all, we thank Kara who enriched our lives beyond measure and who brings joy to all she touches," the Carrs said. "You will always be in our hearts and in our prayers."

"They're taking it as well as can be expected," Marchese said. "It's a grieving process. They've lost a child."