Berne murder victim's siblings will stay in foster care

PHOTOGRAPHER: Patrick Dodson

Brenda Van Alstyne, the aunt of Kenneth White, allegedly killed by his cousin in their Berne home, leaves Albany County Family Court in Albany on Wednesday, January 21, 2015.

The two youngest siblings of Kenneth White, the 5-year-old boy allegedly killed by his cousin in the town of Berne, will remain in foster care after a hearing in Albany County Family Court, during which the boy’s father withdrew his custody petition.

Jayson White of North Adams, Massachusetts, and Christine Van Alstyne of Amsterdam, who are Kenneth’s biological parents, will continue to have supervised visits with their two daughters, Judge Gerard Maney ruled. The visits will be supervised by the Albany County Department of Children. The two girls, who had lived with Kenneth under the care of their aunt, were put in foster care shortly after Kenneth was killed.

White did not say why he was withdrawing his petition, but his attorney told the judge that he “knew there was a long road ahead of him and he will do everything he can to get his children back.”

Maney denied Brenda Van Alstyne, the boy’s aunt and then-legal guardian, visitation rights pending a psychiatric evaluation. Albany County officials say that she has untreated mental health issues. She has been to one mental health counseling session at Ellis Hospital.

Her attorney showed proof that she attended the counseling session but was unable to provide a written report of the session. Maney said he must see a written report before he allows supervised visitation for Van Alstyne.

Maney also ruled that Christine Van Alstyne and White must also undergo psychiatric evaluation. The findings of the evaluations will be presented to Maney before he makes his final ruling.

Brenda Van Alstyne is the mother of Tiffany VanAlstyne, the 19-year-old who allegedly killed Kenneth and then dumped his body in a nearby snowbank. Tiffany is being charged with second-degree murder and she has plead not guilty. Bail has not yet been set in the case, her attorney said Wednesday.

Following her appearance in court, Brenda Van Alstyne said, “I will do everything I can to get the kids back.”

In addition, a woman who claimed to be the great aunt of the White and his two siblings filed a custody petition. Maney denied Michelle Sweet custody, saying the court was unsure of the living conditions she cold provide for the children.

Following Kenneth’s death, the two girls, ages 5 and 4, were removed from the mobile home on Thacher Park Road where they had been living. The Albany County Sheriff’s Department described the living conditions in the trailer as unsafe and deplorable.

In Montgomery County, where White once lived with his girlfriend and an unknown number of children, the Department of Children cited him for unsanitary conditions in his home, said Jeffrey Kennedy, the attorney for the Albany County Department of Children. White no longer lives with his girlfriend, who had previously lost custody of two of her children.

In addition, the Amsterdam Police Department confirmed White was charged with endangering the welfare of a child in 2010, but would release no details of the case or its resolution, saying it was closed.

Kennedy said that the biological parents have visited their two daughters regularly over the past month and shown a strong bond with both children.

Kenneth, a kindergartner at Berne-Knox-Westerlo Elementary School, was allegedly strangled and bludgeoned to death by Tiffany Van Alstyne inside their home. She then allegedly carried his body down the road, tossed him into a culvert and covered him in snow in an attempt to cover up the crime.

All parties are due back in court on March 3.