Tipo looks relieved. “I don’t want to live with the Aurdallys.” This comes at the right moment as justice Matadeen has given his ruling that Tipo should stay with Marianne Alfred and his grandparents and that Tipo’s adoption by the Aurdallys last April is “null and void”. After five long months of nightmares, Marianne Alfred can breathe… though she knows that the Aurdally couple can still appeal against the ruling.

Meanwhile, the winning party can enjoy this victory. Marianne Alfred has been looking after Tipo since he was three months old according to his mother’s last wishes that Marianne should bring up her child. The Aurdallys had seen Tipo on several occasions and liked him very much. They had offered to finance his education.

This is why Marianne Alfred intends to submit a request to the ministry of Education to allow Tipo change schools. She is anxious about the fact that Tipo could see the Aurdallys at school and they could tell him that he will be going to live with them.

Even though Tipo had been staying with the Aurdallys’ during school time since January 2005, the judge considered that they had not really shared his daily life since he was a baby, unlike Jean and Marianne Alfred.

The statement of Tipo’s grandparents, who maintained that Jean and Marianne Alfred were the ones who had really looked after Tipo since he was a baby, could have played an important role in the ruling.

The fact that Marianne had been accused of contempt of Court after she refused to give Tipo to the Aurdallys (although they had been granted adoption) did not go against her. The welfare of the child must have been the judge’s main concern.