Elena Pérez, the mother of a 4 year-old Cuban girl at the midst of an international custody battle in Miami, has topped last week’s performance as a poetry-spouting abuser in denial by coming clean and saying she lied in court to make her baby’s daddy (the girl’s biological pops, Rafael Izquierdo) look like a fit father. She made up testimony that Izquierdo was in the dark about her mental issues when he allowed her to leave Cuba with the child two years ago; the fact that he knew Pérez was disturbed and still let her bounce plays nicely into state lawyers’ assertion that he doesn’t deserve to keep her. From whence does this tangled web of deceit spring? Moms says it’s part of a scheme cooked up by Izquierdo’s lawyer, Magda Montiel Davis:

“Now they are attacking me to make it look like I am the one who is confused,” said Perez, pointing at the table where Davis sat with other attorneys, “when the root of the lie comes from over there.”

Nothing says ‘credibility’ like flinging overblown metaphors in the courtroom. We just hope her daughter doesn’t someday carry her same flair for the dramatic. If so, she’d be perfect for the straight-to-Lifetime mini-series based on her youth!

Cuban girl’s mom: Dad knew she had problems [Miami Herald]
Image [John Vanbeekum / Miami Herald]