Khaila was arrested when she appeared in Family Court today for final ruling on the custody of Iris.
Update: Khaila Crum Arrested at Family Court
On February 26, Khaila was arrested when she appeared in Family Court for the final ruling on the custody of her missing daughter, Iris. What should have been a critical legal proceeding instead became yet another example of the systemic injustices Khaila and her family have endured throughout this ordeal.
In the days leading up to the hearing, Khaila attempted to submit crucial evidence and documentation to the court, only to be met with deliberate obstruction at the clerk’s office. Despite her persistent efforts, court officials either outright refused to accept her filings or imposed procedural delays that prevented her from properly submitting the evidence.
Determined to ensure her voice was heard, Khaila arrived at the hearing with the necessary documents in hand, ready to present them before the judge. However, the judge immediately dismissed the evidence, ruling that because it had not been formally stamped or filed by the clerk’s office, it was inadmissible in court. This decision blatantly ignored the fact that Khaila and her family had made repeated attempts to comply with court procedures—only to be met with bureaucratic stonewalling at every turn.
Throughout this process, the Crums' attorney and family member, Nancy Wilson, deliberately misled the court by sending motions to Khaila at an incorrect address. Despite this blatant misconduct, the Crums have not been required to provide a single valid court document to substantiate their custody claims. Instead, the court has simply accepted their word without scrutiny. When the judge finally inquired about Iris’s whereabouts, the Crum brothers claimed she could not return to her mother because she was undergoing multiple surgeries due to an accident. The judge has now given them two days to provide proof of these claims.
Following the hearing, Khaila was confronted by police officers executing a Tennessee warrant for child endangerment—a case that had already been dropped in Tennessee. However, as Khaila inched closer to regaining custody of Iris, the Crums contacted the Tennessee prosecutor, who convened a grand jury just one day before the California hearing. That grand jury then reopened the previously closed case against Khaila, manufacturing a legal pretext for her arrest.
Khaila is now in custody, awaiting extradition to Tennessee on fraudulent charges of child endangerment.
Rather than prioritizing Iris’s welfare, the system has been weaponized to criminalize a Black mother fighting for her missing child. Khaila’s arrest is an outrageous miscarriage of justice, further exemplifying the systemic disregard for Black mothers who seek justice through the very institutions that's supposed to protect.
The Where is Iris Crum? Coalition demands immediate release of Khaila Wilks Czereda and a return of Iris to Christina Laster, Khaila's mother, and Iris' guardian. We stand in unwavering solidarity with her family and call on all supporters to take action.
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