Michelle Sullivan

TRAVERSE CITY - Michelle Sullivan was readying her 1-year-old daughter for a typical weekend visit with her father.This time , Jeffrey Manzella would take his daughter for 10 days , some extra time so Sullivan could settle back into her hometown of Traverse City and make a couple of job interviews.She packed an overnight bag for her daughter and included clothes for an extra week's stay.
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A week passed before Sullivan called Manzella to discuss arrangements to pick up the baby.
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He said , Michelle , we're not going to meet.Your papers are in the mail.I'm going for custody , ¡ she said.Sullivan froze.I was sick to my stomach , she said.My whole body had this feeling I wouldn't wish upon anyone..Sullivan called Traverse City police to report the incident as a kidnapping.She had primary custody.
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Manzella had taken the child legally , an officer told Sullivan.
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We had one encounter and that was it , said Sullivan , then 25.He had given me his number , but I didn't call him until I found out I was pregnant..Sullivan said she did consider adoption.She was working several part-time jobs , at a local deli and for a dog groomer , but lacked the financial aid to complete her education after 1995 , when she obtained an associate's degree in arts with a major in pre-law.Manzella urged her to either have an abortion or put the baby up for adoption , Sullivan said.
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Sullivan said she was happy when the baby was born ; Regret wasn't in my vocabulary..
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According to Sullivan , he never called her throughout the pregnancy or offered financial or emotional support.He was not there for the birth of his daughter.And Sullivan never called him.He knew I didn't have an abortion , she said.I figured he could do the math..After the baby was born , Sullivan moved to Interlochen to live with her sister , Laurie Carmichael , to save money and be close to her family.Struggling financially , she said she declared herself homeless and moved into the Goodwill Inn shelter for eight months to qualify for low-income housing.When her daughter approached her first birthday , Sullivan said the State of Michigan contacted Manzella , a routine process for unwed mothers seeking financial assistance.
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They had an assortment of food , clothes and toys for the baby , Sullivan said.I felt like the luckiest person in the world , she said.I grew up poor , and I didn't have those things.I thought , My daughter is going to have all those things that I didn't have.' I thought it was great..Manzella's parents urged Sullivan to move downstate so they could visit their granddaughter more often , Sullivan said.About 10 weeks later , Sullivan agreed to move in with Manzella and his parents , but temporarily.The arrangement seemed like a good idea , Sullivan said.Everything was just too good to be true , she said.She and her daughter stayed with the Manzellas for several weeks before , at Jeffrey's suggestion , they moved into a nearby apartment.Living downstate , however , soon became uncomfortable.She said she wasn't feeling welcomed by the Manzella family.Being homesick did not help matters.On March 21 , Sullivan said she decided to move back to her sister's house.When she stopped at the Manzella home to drop off the last month's utility bills , Sullivan said she was confronted by Jeffrey's mother , Cheryl Manzella.His mom walked up to me and took ( my daughter ) out of my arms and said , What are you doing?' I backed off because I didn't want to pull back and forth with my child , she said.
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At that point , Sullivan said , the Manzellas indicated she should just leave the child with them.I started crying and said , I'm not going to leave my child.'¡.Ten days after moving back in with her sister in Interlochen , Sullivan said she received a phone call from Manzella.He said he wanted to schedule an extended visitation with his daughter , so she could settle back into her hometown and make it to a couple of job interviews.She agreed.That same day he filed for interim custody.A change in primary custodyThe Macomb County court order granting Jeffrey Manzella interim custody of his daughter took effect on April 10 , 2000.Sullivan was not present at the hearing.She did not know about it until after it took place , according to court records.Manzella and Sullivan earlier had agreed to joint custody , with Sullivan having primary physical custody.
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Sullivan was out of work at the time of the filing ; she had moved back to her sister's 10 days earlier.And she admits to being diagnosed as clinically depressed as a child.Sullivan said she tried the antidepressant Serzone , prescribed by her physician , around the time Manzella initiated the court ordeal.Serzone is similar to Prozac and widely used , pharmacists say.Sullivan said she has since stopped taking the drug and now meets with a counselor in Dearborn Heights , where she lives to be closer to her daughter.Just talking to someone about what I've gone through has kept her upbeat and positive , Sullivan said.Manzella also argued that Sullivan lacked the psychological resources to turn on the heat in the Utica apartment.
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But Sullivan said the upper-level apartment was not cold , and the utility was in Manzella's name.Sullivan did move several times since the birth of the child.During the first year and a half , she lived with her sister in Interlochen , at the Goodwill Inn , with Manzella's parents in Utica and at the apartment there.During her eight months at the Goodwill Inn , she showed exceptional responsibility and care for her child , said Kip Diotte , director of the Michigan Coalition for the Homeless.She worked well with the staff , got a job and demonstrated great work ethic and timeliness.We were quite shocked when we learned she was in a court ordeal , Diotte said.Macomb County Court has a history of supporting fathers' rights.In a 1994 custody hearing , a Macomb County judge ruled for the father , partly because the mother was going to put their daughter in daycare while she attended classes at the University of Michigan.The father would leave the child with his parents - as does Manzella - while he lived at home and went to work and school.
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On March 26 , Sullivan's attorney , Victoria Lupo of Mount Clemens , plans to ask the court to return primary custody to Sullivan.
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There is nothing to say that Michelle is an unfit mother..What's best for the child.Sullivan's time with her daughter is now based on Manzella's terms.Now working full-time at American Express as a receptionist , she said she sees her daughter on alternate weekends and on other limited visits.The ordeal has left her tired and dismayed , but not bitter.On my behalf , I was sick and tired of fighting his whole family.It was me against the world , she said.I don't understand why they are comparing what I have to what Jeff's parents have and not to what Jeff has , she said.I've never done anything that makes me a bad mother..Sullivan said she appreciates the good home Manzella's parents provide for her child , and no matter the outcome of the next hearing , she said she wants her daughter to have a healthy relationship with her father.I'm a strong believer in what goes around , comes around , but I don't want anything to come around to Jeff to make him not be a good father , she said.All she can do now is wait.She is waiting for a judge's decision.She is waiting to get primary custody again , to see her daughter on her own terms.She is waiting for the empty feeling in her heart to pass , the memory to fade of Manzella saying he is taking his daughter.I don't think I'll ever experience the pain as I did that day I called and he said she wasn't coming back , Sullivan said.It was just the worst hurt ever..