Bill O'Reilly, host of Fox News' "The O'Reilly Factor," will no longer have residential custody over his two teenage children. A unanimous court ruling was handed down by the New York appeals court following the testimony of O'Reilly's two children, signifying that they would like to live with their mom, Maureen McPhilmy, and an alleged domestic violence incident.
According to Yahoo News, the ruling on O'Reilly's custody battle against McPhilmy stated, "There is a sound and substantial basis for the Supreme Court's determination that it is in the best interests of the children for the mother to be awarded primary residential custody." The decision showed that the court treated O'Reilly's ex-wife as having a better position to guide the children.
O'Reilly divorced McPhilmy in 2011. Since then, the two have been a constant presence in the courtroom, arguing as to who should win the custody battle of their two children.
The Nassau County Supreme Court has heard the custody battle last year, wherein a decision favoring McPhilmy was rendered. Said decision, however, was appealed by O'Reilly, who unfortunately lost his appeal in a unanimous court decision on the grounds that the children preferred to live with their mother and the "quality of the home environment" which the mother can give.
Independent has reported that the 17-year-old daughter of O'Reilly testified that she saw her dad dragging her mother by the neck on the stairs, which O'Reilly denied. She also said that O'Reilly called her mother an adulterer and that he was an absentee parent whom she was also scared of.
The decision awarded only full residential custody to McPhilmy, which will mean that the two children would have to live with their mom. This, however, allows O'Reilly to have a share in the legal custody. Thus, the Fox News host will have shared responsibility with McPhilmy when it comes to making decisions on material matters that concern the welfare of the two children, aged 13 and 17.
