here is all of the statements by TR, JD, and family members about custody.
http://www.wmtw.com/video/30033639/detail.html
clip with TR Dec. 19th 2011
Reporter: From the kitchen table at her fathers house in Portland, TR says she hasn't slept since the call on Saturday, that her 20 month old baby named Ayla was missing from a Waterville home where she stayed with the father, JD. Reynolds says the couple, who were never married, had no legal custody arrangement, but they did have an agreement. Including around the time Trista was in rehab.
TR: The agreement was, was that if he took Ayla, if I let him take care of Ayla for the time being, for me to get back on my feet, he had to live with his mother because I thought it would have been the safest place for her to be. And..I was wrong.
~~
http://www.kjonline.com/news/Press-conference-today-on-missing-toddler.html
Dec.19th 2011 quoted from article:
~~
http://abcnews.go.com/US/missing-ma...ll-custody-day/story?id=15186552#.Tu_yUlZIuOd
Dec. 19th 2011 ABC interview with TR
TR: He would help me out, he'd take care of her until I was on my feet. We've been unable to actually get along the last few weeks and "parent" together.
Reporter: Reynolds said she filed paperwork on Thursday to get full custody of the toddler, one day before Ayla went missing, but says she hadn't told Ayla's father.
TR: He didn't know I went to file them. He'll know now but I haven't told him and no one told him.
~~
http://transcripts.cnn.com/TRANSCRIPTS/1112/19/ng.01.html
GRACE: I`m going to come back to Dr. Carter. But very quickly, Trista Reynolds is with us. This is Ayla`s mom. Trista, you went to court in secret just hours before Ayla goes missing, 20-month-old baby girl with a sling on her arm. Did you prevail? Did the judge suggest to you that you were going to get full custody?
REYNOLDS: I haven`t even gotten that far. All I have done is file the paperwork, and that was it. I haven`t seen a judge. I haven`t talked to a lawyer. I have done nothing but file...
GRACE: So you went all on your own without even a lawyer to help you, trying to get custody. Why, Trista, were you trying to get full custody?
REYNOLDS: Because her father has never had anything to do with her up until I needed to go and get a little bit of help for myself. And then when I left my daughter with my sister, that`s when he decided, You know what? I`m going to take Ayla.
~~
TIRSTA REYNOLDS, AYLA REYNOLDS` MOTHER (via telephone): No. I did not tell Justin that I was going to the court to file. Now, me and him had had the discussion within that week that he told me himself that he was going to file the custody papers against me. So I decided to go and file against him.
GRACE: All right. So he did not know, then? In your mind, he did not know that you had filed the papers?
TIRSTA REYNOLDS: No, I wanted him not to know that I was filing --
GRACE: Why? Why didn`t you want him to know?
TIRSTA REYNOLDS: Why didn`t I want him to know?
GRACE: Right.
TIRSTA REYNOLDS: Because he`s vindictive. He`s very verbally abusive towards me and anything that I say or do, he refuses to let me see my daughter, he`s refused to let me talk to her. I mean, he has never, like, once since he`s had her, since October 17th, had let me have her for one single day. So, I decided that it was time to do this the legal way and let a judge say who this child should be with. And my daughter does deserve to be with me. I`m the one who`s raised her for 18 months.
~~
http://transcripts.cnn.com/TRANSCRIPTS/1112/20/ijvm.01.html
VELEZ-MITCHELL: Well, excellent question. Jessica Reynolds, you are the child`s maternal aunt. You were watching the little girl at the time that the mother went into rehab, and then the dad comes and takes the child away. Had you told Children Services, "Hey, she keeps getting hurt, reportedly, allegedly, when with the father"?
J. REYNOLDS: Well, I can say we have reported it many times, to department of health and human services, to answer that question that was just asked. I didn`t let the child go with him. I was told I had to give the child to him. It was not an option.
~~
http://transcripts.cnn.com/TRANSCRIPTS/1112/21/ijvm.01.html
VELEZ-MITCHELL: All right, now, Jessica, Ayla`s mom, went into rehab for alcohol abuse back in October. She left the child with her sister, and my understanding, Ronnie, is that the father came in while the mom was in rehab and took the child with the help of child services. So he says they had an agreement. To me it sounds like they had a disagreement. What do you know, Ronnie?
RONALD REYNOLDS, JR., AYLA REYNOLDS UNCLE: OK, first off, they did have an agreement, OK. When Trista was in rehab, they did have an agreement for Justin to take care of Ayla while she was there. Now, DHS, on the other hand, said when Trista got out of rehab, she could take back Ayla. Ayla was supposed to go back to her mom. And that never happened.
VELEZ-MITCHELL: So Trista got out of rehab and she was trying to get her child back. And are you saying that dad wouldn`t give the child back?
RONALD REYNOLDS: No. Her father would not bring her back. He canceled doctor appointments. He canceled visitations with Trista. I`m sorry. This doesn`t make sense. Where is my 20-month-old niece? You know, he had the agreement with Trista and then violated it.
~~
http://video.today.msnbc.msn.com/today/45814327#45814327
Q: Um, a little background on your relationship with Justin, according to you, you and Justin had an agreement that he would take care of Ayla while you were in rehab back in October.
TR: That's right.
Q: Other reports suggest that CPS gave Justin temporary custody of Ayla. I don't think you agree with that. But, after you got out of rehab, a month went by where you never saw Ayla, why?
TR: No, I had went like two and a half weeks without seeing her when I first got out of rehab, and then after, um, like the first week of November, I didn't see her again until the 21st of November. And then after the 21st of November I did not see her again.
~~
Q: I have to ask you at the end here. You filed for sole custody of Ayla the day before she disappeared, did you have anything to do with her disappearance? Or did you send anyone up to that house to take your baby back?
TR: No. And I didn't file for sole custody. All I filed for was parental rights and responsibilities. That's it. It wasn't sole custody.
~~
http://www.onlinesentinel.com/news/breakingnews/Father-of-missing-toddler-speaks-for-first-time.html
from JD's first statement:
Ayla was in my sole custody at the time of her disappearance per agreement between her mother and I because she was temporarily unable to care for Ayla.
~~
http://today.msnbc.msn.com/id/26184891/vp/45846422#45846422
Q: Trista has specifically questioned your parenting skills. It's even been raised, a question of an arm injury that your daughter has. She says that she worried Ayla wasn't safe in your care. Your reaction to that?
JD: As far as I know, there was never any concerns. Um, we has both agreed that me having her at this point in time was the best thing for her.
and here is that detailed article that mentions the police visit:
http://www.onlinesentinel.com/news/police-log-offers-insight-into-custody-questions_2011-12-30.html