Backlog could be to blame in delays in custody hearings of Harvest murder victim, 10

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Ten-year-old boy dies at the hands of his father. The tragic end with a custody battle in court centers as a community tries to figure out the gruesome crime.

The Madison County Sheriff’s Office said Brian Buening shot his 10-year-old son, Tate, before taking his own life.

Tate buening

We learned that the shooting happened two days after Brian received documents for a custody hearing scheduled to take place on August 9, 2021.

It was a month between when Tate’s mother Kayla White asked the courts to revoke custody after she said her ex-husband threatened to kill her.

Court documents paint a picture of a custody battle filled with allegations of death threats and violence. Kayla alleges that Brian, a veteran, had a history of suicide attempts and suffered from PTSD.

The judge never ruled on the request for removal from custody or surveillance because Brian shot his son and then himself, according to investigators, four days before he was supposed to appear before the judge .

Attorney Michael Timberlake said the delay in getting the custody hearing before circuit judge Chris Comer could be blamed on a Madison County court system with too many cases and not enough judges.

“I think everyone in our community should be confused, the people who are most confused here are the sheriffs and the judges,” Timberlake said Monday. “Especially when there’s a tragedy like this and people are going to want to go back and look at it and say OK with this preventable who should have done something to avoid it.”

WAAY has contacted Judge Comer to explain why this emergency hearing has been set for weeks, allowing the child to continue to be in the care of his father. Through a clerk, the judge said “no comment” to our questions.

Timberlake says they’ve called a couple of new judges in Madison County, but those requests have fallen on deaf ears with the state.

Outrage continues to mount on social media against a system many say Tate failed. Hundreds of comments targeting the sheriff’s office and the courts from people who don’t believe the system has protected the child.

And now questions are surfacing as to how the MPs who responded handled the call, allowing Kayla White to enter the house when she discovered the bodies.

I contacted the Sheriff’s Office for an update and a request for an interview with Sheriff Turner to ask about the agency’s policy on entry into homes on welfare checks. I was told they were not making any comments at this time.

Funeral services for Tate are set for Saturday.

Her mother asks friends to write letters and send photos so she can create a book of memories and attach them to the lanterns the family plan to release during the celebration of life. The family did not say whether the service is open to the public or not. For all friends wishing to write letters to Tate, please handwrite and send a photo, or type an email to [email protected].

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