Girl in Child Swap Case Doesn’t Want to See Biological Parents

Kimberly Mays, in her effort to remain with the man who has reared her since she was switched at birth with another girl 14 years ago, testified Monday that she never wants to see her biological parents again.

The 14-year-old girl is seeking to sever all ties to Ernest and Regina Twigg and preserve her life with Bob Mays.

Kimberly, a blonde, hazel-eyed ninth-grader, spent less than a minute on the stand as testimony began in the civil trial to decide whether the Twiggs should be granted visiting rights.

Kimberly’s attorney, George Russ, said the question of “what constitutes a family?” goes to the heart of the case. “Biology alone--without more--does not create or sustain a family,” he said.

Russ argued that Kimberly has already made a loving, psychological bond with Mays, and to force her to visit a family she considers strangers would be devastating.

The Twiggs’ attorney countered that they have a right to at least visit with the child who is their flesh and blood.

The saga began at a hospital in rural Wauchula, where identification tags were switched and girls born to the Twiggs and to Mays and his wife, Barbara, went home with the wrong parents.

The exchange came to light nearly a decade later, when the child raised by the Twiggs, Arlena, developed heart problems and blood tests showed she was not their biological daughter. Arlena died in 1988. Barbara Mays died of cancer in 1981.