Hochul Signs New Custody Law, LI Mom's Crusade After Child Slain

MANHASSET, NY — Gov. Kathy Hochul signed what is being called a "landmark law" on Dec. 23, the result of six years of campaigning from a Manhasset mother whose 2-year-old daughter Kyra was shot by her father in 2016.

"This is the best Christmas gift that we could give the children of New York, or I could get, in Kyra's memory," Jacqueline Franchetti told Pix 11 News this week.

"She should have been eight."

Franchetti's legislation reforms the qualifications for court custody evaluators, and establishes standards and training for those making the decisions about custody that, in Franchetti's case, ended in needless tragedy.

Franchetti said the evaluator in her custody battle knew Kyra's father abused her, heard eyewitnesses testimony of abuse, knew he had guns and that he was suicidal. But Franchetti was still forced to allow Roy Rumsey a weekend visit with their daughter in Virginia.

After Rumsey shot toddler in her sleep, he set the house on fire, killing himself.

Since the tragedy, Franchetti said other parents shared similar stories and began campaigning for reform.

"Our judicial system just got one step closer in protecting children from abusive parents. This is the first of many bills that we need to become law. It’s important you know that this wasn't a holiday miracle...this was the culmination of years of hard work," she posted after Hochul's signing.

Franchetti, with her advocacy group Kyra's Champions, is campaigning for more legislation designed to protect children from abusive parents. Kyra's Law, currently pending, proposes additional family court reforms to ensure judges and other officials receive current training in domestic abuse and child abuse and "makes the health and safety of the child the top priority when determining child custody in divorces or separations."