Slain 4-year-old’s memorial turns into a call for action
Greyson Martin Kessler never got to finish nursery school.
Exactly a year ago, the 4-year-old was found in a downtown Fort Lauderdale condominium having been slain by his father in a murder-suicide.
At a memorial Saturday afternoon in Plantation’s Deicke Park, across the street from her home, Greyson’s mother, Alison “Ali” Kessler, alternated between efficiently organizing a series of speeches and succumbing to waves of grief that washed over her in seemingly unexpected moments.
“He was at Nova [NSU] University School,” she tells the South Florida Sun Sentinel, her lips tightening at the memory. “He was four and a half.”
On Friday, May 21, 2021, John M. Stacey, 47, and his son, Greyson, were found by Fort Lauderdale police, spurred on by Alison’s petition for an emergency order for them to intervene and pick up the child. Her concern had grown after receiving a string of threatening texts from Stacey, including one obliquely referencing separating her head from her body, according to some of the speeches at the memorial.
Shortly before Greyson’s death, a judge denied the order due to lack of evidence.
In a poem she wrote and read at the memorial, one of the opening lines recalls her putting his son in a car seat for a visit with his father: “I buckled you in for one last time and said goodnight, I’ll see you tomorrow. But tomorrow never came and now I’m filled with sorrow.”
In the last year Kessler’s mourning has morphed into political activism. The memorial put a spotlight onto South Florida officials and organizations working to get “Greyson’s Law” passed in the Florida Legislature, where a judge could remove a child from a home if there are concerns that one parent is threatening or abusing the other parent.
“I’m here to shed some light on our family court system and all of its flaws and loopholes and how my son’s death was 100% preventable,” Kessler explains. “And how I begged for help for years ... especially the day before, and I didn’t get any. So I’m here to help other families that are going through similar things.”
Kessler testified before a State Senate Committee on Children, Family and Elder Affairs, which voted unanimously to advance the legislation.
Robin Bartleman, State Representative for District 104, said that though action on the bill stopped there, she has hope.
“Yeah, the bill didn’t make it all the way through the session,” Bartleman recalls. “But hopefully next session. They’re going to rework the bill. I’m a huge supporter of the reform. I don’t think any parent should ever have to go through this. And the more research I did, this happens much more frequently than we’re aware of. And I just can’t imagine going through that, how she went through knowing that her son was .. unsafe, and she couldn’t get to him. And that’s what kills me. And she’s so brave. I don’t think I could do what she’s doing right now. I saw her I was in Tallahassee ... she was at every door, testifying everywhere.”
Bartleman’s district includes Weston, Southwest Ranches, a large chunk of Pembroke Pines and portions of Davie and Sunrise.
Kessler adds, “I mean, I can’t even tell you how many people reach out to me on a daily basis saying they’re in a similar situation and ask for help. I think that was a big wake up call for the family court system and how three judges denied things that shouldn’t have been denied, and I had the evidence. So there there is a flawed system that needs to change.”
In his comments, MiamiDade state representative Michael Grieco, made it plain where he lays the blame.
“The legislature failed us and they failed us because they don’t get it. Just like some of the judges don’t get it. Just like court systems throughout this country don’t get it. And statistically, and unfortunately, this is not an isolated incident what we’re talking about here with Ali and Greyson.”
There was a butterfly release and a candlelight vigil after comments from Women in Distress’ Linda Parker, therapist and grief counselor Randee Kogan as well as representatives from the Florida chapter of the National Organization for Women and Families Against Court Travesties.