But Boy’s Wishes Remain Uncertain : Brian Batey Will Live With Her, Mother Says

Betty Lou Batey, the fundamentalist who once stole away with her son Brian for 19 months rather than let him live with his gay father, said Wednesday that Brian plans to live with her now that his father has died.

Her claim--made in a call to The Times a week after she again disappeared with the 16-year-old--contradicted the contention of Craig Corbett, the longtime companion of Brian’s father, Frank Batey, who has insisted that the youth wants to continue living with him in Palm Springs.

Brian’s wishes--and his whereabouts--remained uncertain Wednesday. His mother said the teen-ager had returned to Corbett’s home in Palm Springs to make funeral arrangements for his father, who died June 26 after a lengthy battle with AIDS.

But there was no answer throughout the day at the Corbett home. Neither Corbett nor Brian could be reached for comment.

Brian left the Palm Springs home last Wednesday evening with his mother, who was accompanied by Palm Springs police as a precaution against a confrontation with Corbett. The youth said he was going out for a hamburger and would be back in an hour.

New Abduction Feared

When he did not return, Corbett expressed concern that Brian had again been abducted by his mother, who went underground with him in 1982 after a San Diego judge awarded custody rights to Frank Batey.

By the end of last week, however, Corbett had spoken to Brian at his half-sister’s home in the Los Angeles area. Afterward, Corbett said Brian wanted to return to Palm Springs and finish high school, adding that he expected the boy home in a few days.

Betty Batey said Wednesday that Brian’s long-term plans were otherwise.

“Brian has been with the family during the holidays and had a nice time,” she said. “Right now, at the present time, he is in Palm Springs and he has some things that need to be finalized--the funeral arrangements and school and so forth.

“He will be coming home, to San Diego, at a later time,” she said. “Home is with me.”

Betty Batey declined to address the legal questions surrounding Brian’s status, though she promised to discuss them at a later date. Corbett has vowed to go to court, if necessary, to defend Brian’s desire to remain with him.

Legal experts say Betty Batey automatically regained custody of Brian when her ex-husband died. But proceedings could be started to change that status.

Corbett could ask a court to make him Brian’s guardian, according to E. Gregory Alford, who heads the San Diego Bar Assn.’s committee of family law specialists. In such a proceeding, Brian’s preference for living with either Corbett or his mother would by law be given heavy consideration, though it would not be controlling, Alford said.

Courts Heed Preference

“The law says that once a child is old enough to form, logically, a preference in a custody contest, the court must take that preference into account,” he explained. In 14 years as a divorce lawyer, Alford added: “I’ve very rarely seen a court not follow that expression of preference.”

Corbett could also seek custody of Brian by gaining recognition as a party in the Bateys’ divorce case, according to Alford, though that route would be more unusual. Under either procedure, state law establishes the child’s best interest as the basis for a judge’s decision.

In addition, Brian, at 16, is old enough to file a court action seeking his emancipation from his mother, Alford noted.

The family’s saga has brought national attention for nearly five years, since Brian and his mother first disappeared in August, 1982. Betty Batey was jailed for contempt of court when she finally surfaced with the boy in Denver, following a 19-month nationwide search by the FBI.

Just seven weeks ago, a San Diego County Superior Court judge finally threw out child-stealing charges against her in the incident. The Bateys, married in 1969 when they were both members of a San Diego Pentecostal church, squared off for the last time in the courtroom, each alleging that the other had mistreated their son.