‘Mama’ June Shannon was awarded legal and physical custody of her grieving 12-year-old granddaughter Kaitlyn Elizabeth Shannon by a Georgia judge last Friday in her legal battle against Michael Cardwell, the ex-husband of her late daughter Anna ‘Chickadee’ Toney.
The 24-year-old fisherman – who was married to Anna from 2014-2017 – has legal and physical custody of their eight-year-old daughter Kylee Madison Cardwell, and he firmly believed the half-sisters should not be separated.
In his ruling, the judge noted that Michael ‘never provided any significant financial support for this child,’ who testified at a July hearing that she wanted to continue living with the 45-year-old grandmother-of-four – according to In Touch Weekly.
Kaitlyn’s therapist also testified that she feared being taken away from June – who’s had temporary custody since Toney tragically lost her 10-month battle to stage four adrenal carcinoma, at age 29, on December 9.
In her legal docs, Shannon claimed that Cardwell ‘frequently physically abused Anna and the child’ during their marriage, which he vehemently denied as they ‘simply separated due to differences in opinions and personalities.’
‘Mama’ June Shannon was awarded legal and physical custody of her grieving 12-year-old granddaughter Kaitlyn Elizabeth Shannon by a Georgia judge last Friday in her legal battle against Michael Cardwell, the ex-husband of her late daughter Anna ‘Chickadee’ Toney
The 24-year-old fisherman (L, pictured May 7) – who was married to Anna from 2014-2017 – has legal and physical custody of their eight-year-old daughter Kylee Madison Cardwell (2-R), and he firmly believed the half-sisters should not be separated
‘[Michael] will have no right to visitation as such, unless otherwise agreed to by the parties and the minor child,’ the judge wrote in his decision.
In the June 21st episode of June’s We TV reality series Mama June: Family Crisis, Anna stated that she wanted Kaitlyn (whose birth father was reportedly her high school sweetheart Caleb Clark) ‘to go to’ her second husband Eldridge Toney, whom she wed last year.
Shannon notoriously lost custody of her 19-year-old daughter Alana ‘Honey Boo Boo’ Thompson to her 24-year-old daughter Lauryn ‘Pumpkin’ Efird following her 2019 arrest for felony possession of a controlled substance (crack cocaine) and drug paraphernalia.
‘Some people don’t think I deserve or I need Kaitlyn because I willingly gave up custody of Alana,’ the former warehouse worker explained in the June 14th episode.
‘My life has been a crazy rollercoaster but also I have been clean for four years. I’m doing good with my life. I’m back on track, and I will attest to anyone that says I do not deserve Kaitlyn, including my own children.’
On April 26, Kaitlyn proudly wore a necklace containing remains of her late mother to a middle school dance.
Since ‘Anna did not want to rot in the ground’ June had some of her cremated remains placed inside a heart-shaped charm on a bracelet and other such jewelry keepsakes for her family.
‘It has her fingerprint and it also has her ashes in it,’ Shannon explained via TikTok, ‘because Anna wanted us to carry her around everywhere that we went and that’s what we’re doing.’
June was only 15 when she welcomed Toney, who was first introduced to audiences on TLC’s Toddlers and Tiaras.
The family’s spin-off Here Comes Honey Boo Boo was canceled by the cable network in 2014 after four seasons due to Shannon’s then boyfriend Mark McDaniel who was convicted of molesting Anna.
In his ruling, the judge noted that Michael (pictured July 8) ‘never provided any significant financial support for this child,’ who testified at a July hearing that she wanted to continue living with the 45-year-old grandmother-of-four
Kaitlyn’s therapist also testified that she feared being taken away from June – who’s had temporary custody since Toney (L, pictured in 2023) tragically lost her 10-month battle to stage four adrenal carcinoma, at age 29, on December 9
In the June 21st episode of June’s We TV reality series Mama June: Family Crisis, Anna stated that she wanted Kaitlyn (whose birth father was reportedly her high school sweetheart Caleb Clark) ‘to go to’ her second husband Eldridge Toney (R), whom she wed last year
Shannon notoriously lost custody of her 19-year-old daughter Alana ‘Honey Boo Boo’ Thompson to her 24-year-old daughter Lauryn ‘Pumpkin’ Efird following her 2019 arrest for felony possession of a controlled substance and drug paraphernalia (pictured September 14)
The former warehouse worker explained in the June 14th episode: ‘Some people don’t think I deserve or I need Kaitlyn because I willingly gave up custody of Alana. My life has been a crazy rollercoaster but also I have been clean for four years. I’m doing good with my life. I’m back on track, and I will attest to anyone that says I do not deserve Kaitlyn, including my own children’
On April 26, Kaitlyn proudly wore a necklace containing remains of her late mother to a middle school dance
Since ‘Anna did not want to rot in the ground’ June had some of her cremated remains placed inside a heart-shaped charm on a bracelet and other such jewelry keepsakes for her family
‘It has her fingerprint and it also has her ashes in it,’ Shannon explained via TikTok, ‘because Anna wanted us to carry her around everywhere that we went and that’s what we’re doing’