WAGONER COUNTY — There is another legal setback for Bill and Lisa Woolley. The Wagoner County grandparents have fought for seven years to see their grandson.
The Woolleys were falsely accused of murder and abuse of one of their grandsons, Elijah. Even though charges were dropped, they have fought relentlessly to get visitation of the other, Clayton.
“If we have to go to our grave fighting for him, that is what we will do,” said Lisa Woolley.
The fight will continue because the hearing for grandparent visitation, scheduled in Wagoner County District Court July 21, did not happen.
“We have never been able to share our story in court, ever since the very day all of this started,” said Bill Woolley.
Their story has grown into a high-profile case. There are billboards up across the area. There is a documentary about it.
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However, in court, Judge Douglas Kirkley ruled to consolidate the visitation case with another pending case, which pushes any decisions away from him and back to Judge Elizabeth Brown.
The problem for the Woolleys? They feel Brown is biased.
“Judge Brown said on the bench she is going to do everything in her power to keep the Woolleys away from Clayton until he is 18,” said Bill Woolley.
The courtroom was full of Woolley’s supporters. In a rare move, Judge Kirkley allowed for public comment from the gallery.
“I’ve been doing this for almost 32 years, and that would be the first time [I have seen that],” said Phillip Owens II, the Woolleys’ attorney.
One of the speakers included Sheridan Pogue, a friend and social worker.
“For seven and a half years, no one in the extended family or friend group has been able to see the child, which totally overrides child welfare laws,” said Pogue.
Multiple legislators attended, too, including Senator Dana Prieto (R-District 34).
“So dismayed to see the judge kick the can down the road again,” said Prieto.
A looming question to many: why does the current guardian, Amanda Lindstrom, not want the Woolleys to see Clayton? 2 News has tried to question her during previous coverage of this case and tried again after court ended.
Lindstrom hid from our cameras, and her attorney declined to comment.
Owens said the Woolleys plan to ask Judge Brown to recuse from the case.
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