1. Plaintiffs Garry and Donna Rentz are citizens and residents of Alberta, Canada. Plaintiff Krista Lister is a citizen and resident of Ontario, Canada.
2. Defendant is a resident of Wake County, North Carolina, and has resided in North Carolina for at least six months prior to the institution of this action.
3. Defendant is the biological father of the minor children, Isabella Cooper, ("Bella") born on February 23, 2004, and Gabriella ("Katie") Cooper, born on July 23, 2006.
4. Plaintiffs Garry and Donna Rentz are the biological father and biological mother of Nancy Cooper, the deceased biological mother of the minor children and the deceased wife of Defendant. Plaintiff Lister is the identical twin sister of Nancy Cooper.
5. Neither Defendant nor Plaintiffs are United States citizens. Plaintiffs Garry and Donna Rentz are the maternal grandparents of the minor children. Plaintiff Lister is the maternal aunt of the minor children.
6. On the afternoon of July 12, 2008, a neighbor reported to the Cary Police Department that Nancy Cooper was missing. Defendant Cooper never reported his wife as missing and never contacted the Plaintiff Rentz's to inform them of her disappearance.
7. On the evening of July 14, 2008, Nancy Cooper's body was discovered in an outdoor location by a third party. An autopsy was performed and her death has been classified as a homicide.
8. Defendant attempted suicide as a teenager and threatened to commit suicide in the winter of 2008.
9. Defendant has acted inconsistently with his constitutionally protected status as a parent to the minor children.
10. Plaintiffs Garry and Donna Rentz have a close and loving relationship with the minor children. They have spent time with the minor children in North Carolina and in Canada, have spent holidays with the children, and have frequent telephone contact with the children.
11. Plaintiff Garry Rentz previously served as the executive director for Alberta Social Services (AKA Children's Services) tor five years in Alberta, Canada. The Rentz's have been married for forty-three years and have a stable home for the children.
12. Plaintiff Lister has a close and loving relationship with the minor children. She has spent time with the minor children and has had daily telephone contact with the minor children. Plaintiff Lister has spent time with the children many times at her own home and at the children's home.
13. North Carolina is the home state of the minor children and this Court has jurisdiction over the matter of custody pursuant to N.C. Gen. Stat. § 50A"3.
14. Plaintiffs are fit and proper persons to have physical and legal custody of the minor children and the children's best interest would be served by vesting their physical and legal custody in Plaintiffs.
15. Considering the special facts of this case, particularly that Defendant has a history of emotional instability and the intense scrutiny currently faced by Defendant as a result of the ongoing criminal investigation of Nancy Cooper's murder, there is a substantial risk of bodily injury to the children while in Defendant's custody and that the children may be abducted or removed from the State of North Carolina by Defendant for the purpose of evading the jurisdiction of North Carolina courts.
16. The minor children's best interests require entry of this ex parte, emergency custody order awarding custody of the children to Plaintiffs pending further orders of the Court.