Murdered man’s children to be split up in custody battle
THE parents of a man killed by his wife in China have agreed a custody deal to bring their granddaughter to the UK – but were forced to leave her brother behind.
Ian Simpson and ex-wife Linda wanted to bring both Jack, eight, and Alice, six, back with them after their son Michael was murdered in 2017.
But last night they were preparing to fly back to Britain with just Alice following a bitter two-year custody dispute with relatives of the children’s imprisoned Chinese mother.
It is thought they handed over about £9,200 to the parents of Fu Wei Wei, the woman who stabbed their son Michael, 34, to death, to ensure Alice could travel with them.
But the Chinese grandparents refused to let Jack go too, even though the siblings have never been separated before.
The couple have vowed to continue to fight for Jack to join them.
As Mr Simpson, 69, prepares to show Alice her new home in Hartest, Suffolk, where both children have the offer of a place in the local school, he described the impossible choice they faced in the remote Chinese county of Nanzhang.
Misses
He said: “We are overjoyed to bring Alice home but it breaks our hearts to leave Jack behind.
“Linda cried and asked me, ‘How can we wrench them apart?’
“But in the end we had to choose between coming home with Alice or walking away without either of our grandchildren.
“We could have lost them both for ever. Alice has never been apart from Jack and it’s obvious she misses him badly.”
Yesterday, it emerged that neither Alice nor Jack know the truth about what happened to their parents.
The children had reportedly been told by their Chinese family that their parents are alive and working abroad, and that their father had deserted them.
It means the grandparents face having to explain to Alice that her father was actually murdered by her mother.
Wei Wei stabbed Michael to death in his Shanghai apartment in
March last year as the children slept.
The couple had split up two years earlier and Michael, an executive with the clothing firm Next who had lived in China for nine years, had been left to raise their children.
He was with his new partner when Wei Wei burst into his flat and stabbed him in the neck, killing him instantly.
Wei Wei also left Michael’s girlfriend with lifelong injuries.
Days later, Jack and Alice were spirited 600 miles from Shanghai to live in Nanzhang with their Chinese grandparents and a young cousin.
The children were denied contact with their British relatives for a year.
Alice is expected to arrive at the detached rural house where Mr Simpson lives with his second wife Diana later this week.
Alice was living with her Chinese relatives in a single room flat until the custody papers were finally signed on Boxing Day.
Neighbours and friends have raised thousands of pounds to help fund the battle to bring Jack and Alice back, which has already cost more than £100,000.
While Ian and Linda Simpson fought frantically for custody, the Wei Wei family kept
Jailed... mother Fu Wei Wei demanding more money, it was claimed. It has been reported that the fraught negotiations were being overseen by Wei Wei’s older brother, whose sister was jailed for 20 years for the murder in a Chinese court earlier this year. A breakthrough in the battle came following a high-level diplomatic intervention Secretary Jeremy Hunt.
The British grandparents insist the siblings will see each other for a fourweek holiday in China every year, but they are resolutely determined to bring Jack to the UK too.
Mr Simpson said: “We feel guilty leaving Jack behind.
“The comforting thing is our lawyers are already talking to us about phase two – bringing Jack home. We will never give up.” by Foreign terribly looking at my everything with tubes everywhere in an incubator.
“He is now beginning to breathe better without machines. I now know what unconditional love is. I’m in bits worried but the staff here at Princess Anne hospital are true amazing.”
He added: “Hopefully everything will be fine. He just needs a little help as he came into the world a little bit early and fast – probably so excited to get here knowing he’s going to have the most fun ever.”
Olympic swimmer Rebecca Adlington, who has three-year-old daughter Summer, commented: “Oh my gosh. He’s gorgeous. Sending so much love and support xxx.”
Olympian Kelly Massey, who has also represented Britain in the 400m, said: “He’s the child of a 400m athlete. He’s made from the strong stuff.”