birthday, April 23. Kathy was born on April 23, 1943, while her sister Ann was born four years later on April 23, 1947. James is a native of Fall River. He married Kathy when he was a member of the Air Force stationed in Oklahoma. The marriage took place in Oklahoma on February 24, 1963. After being discharged from the Air Force, James and his wife moved east and eventually settled in the southeastern section of Rhode Island. No children have been born of this marriage. The couple reside in a six-room mobile home which is described by the Child Welfare Services Division of the Rhode Island Department of Social Welfare as a "neat" and "attractive" home.
Ann is single. At the time this present controversy had its inception,she was 22 years old. She lives in Oklahoma City, works in a local bank, and shares an apartment with one or two other girls. Her parents live on a farm in a town some 160 miles away. There are nine children in Ann and Kathy's family. We are unable to ascertain from the record how many of the children have remained on the farm.
In February 1970, Ann discovered that she was seven months pregnant. She spoke to the putative father. He expressed no interest in marrying Ann because as she said, "he didn't want the responsibility of a child." Instead, she telephoned her sister Kathy and it was agreed that she would come to Rhode Island where she would live with Kathy and James as she awaited