In a Child's Name
A custody battle after a mother's murder.
In a Child's Name is a four-hour television miniseries that aired on CBS in November 1991. It dramatizes a custody battle over a baby whose biological mother was murdered by his father. The mother's sister, played by Valerie Bertinelli, seeks custody against the father's parents.
Quick Facts
- Network
- CBS
- Runtime
- 4 hours
- Premiere
- November 1991
- Lead actress
- Valerie Bertinelli
- Lead actor (ken taylor)
- Michael Ontkean
- Based on
- a true story
Facts from the source article.
Plot
Ken Taylor, a New Jersey dentist working in Staten Island, married Teresa Silvano. During their honeymoon, Teresa was severely beaten and hospitalized, but she told her sister Angela she couldn't remember the attack and insisted Ken wasn't responsible. Ken was later forced out of his dental partnership for stealing from the vault, possibly linked to a cocaine addiction. Teresa gave birth to a son, Andrew.
Ken then killed Teresa, put her body in his car trunk, and drove Andrew and the corpse to Indiana to leave the boy with his own parents. On his way back to New Jersey, he dumped the body in Pennsylvania. He called Angela, claiming Teresa was a drug addict in rehab. Police discovered the body and arrested Ken, who was convicted of murder.
For a time, Ken's parents and Angela shared custody of Andrew. The grandparents tried to adopt him legally, but Indiana voided the adoption. Within four years, Angela and her husband Jerry Cimarelli gained full custody of Andrew. The story was based on real events.
More in 1990s American Television Miniseries
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