Tug of War Erupts Over Orphaned Infant : Law: Four parties want custody of 18-month-old boy after his parents were killed in a boat explosion. A lawsuit could make him a millionaire.

An 18-month-old orphan who might someday win millions in a lawsuit is learning to walk and talk while a judge resolves a custody dispute clouded by allegations of rape and greed.

The baby, Charles (Chuckie) Hoffman II, is the sole survivor of a May 9 pleasure boat explosion that killed his parents, his maternal grandparents and an uncle.

The explosion was witnessed by thousands of people in the patio restaurants that line the Cuyahoga River near downtown Cleveland.

Chuckie was rescued by three off-duty firefighters. He suffered second-degree burns on his forehead and lips.

The question of Chuckie’s custody is in the hands of Lorain County Domestic Relations Judge David Basinski because the infant’s parents, Charles Hoffman, 47, and Marla Moss Hoffman, 29, did not leave a will.

Since the explosion, Chuckie has been in the temporary custody of his mother’s brother, William Moss, a truck driver who lives in nearby LaGrange.

Moss is seeking permanent custody, as are Moss’ sister, Theresa Moss Hall of Brooksville, Fla.; Charles Hoffman’s cousin, Patrice McMonigle of Evergreen, Colo.; and Hoffman’s college buddy and longtime business partner, Lawrence Morgan of suburban Strongsville.

Hall contends the Hoffmans asked her to take care of Chuckie if anything ever happened to them. Morgan says the Hoffmans asked him to take care of Chuckie. Nothing was ever put in writing.

The judge said the law requires him to consider several criteria in awarding custody, including the parents’ wishes, if known.

Beyond that, the law “lets me do what I want,” Basinski said.

The Hoffman estate has been estimated at $25,000. But lawyers say a wrongful death lawsuit might someday make Chuckie worth $5 million. No lawsuit has been filed, however.

Basinski, who barred reporters and the public from hearings on the case, said money never came up in the first three days of the proceedings.

The hearings recessed Dec. 8 and will resume Jan. 13.

Before Basinski barred public comment on the case, the attorney for Moss, John Haynes, said the number of custody claims stemmed from “big dollar signs” in the case.

The attorney for the Morgans, Harold Pollack, said some people “see this baby as a Golden Goose.”

But John J. Schoonover, a Cleveland family law attorney who isn’t involved in Chuckie’s case, said courts have broad discretion in making sure an orphan’s financial resources are protected. Custodians “are not free to spend the money any way they want,” he said.

The custody dispute has taken another dark turn.

Hall charged that Moss raped her and her sister--Chuckie’s mother--when they were children.

Moss denied the allegation, which he said never surfaced until the custody case began. He has not been charged.

Chuckie appears to have adjusted since the explosion, said James A. Deery, an attorney appointed to represent his interests.

“I think everybody hopes that Chuckie is going to have a warm and caring environment that’s going to be safe and secure and stable,” Deery said.

A specialist who is not involved in the high-profile case agreed.

Chuckie needs “as consistent an environment he can have for optimal development,” said Ilga B. Svechs, an associate professor of social work at Case Western Reserve University in Cleveland.