Mariah Woods’ Dad Fighting for Custody of Remaining Kids After His 3-Year-Old Is Found Dead

After his three-year-old daughter, Mariah Woods, was found dead in a creek near Jacksonville, NC, on Dec. 2, Alex Woods is fighting for custody of his remaining children with ex Kristy Hunter. However, Alex, 36, revealed in a recent interview with JDNews that he doesn’t have the financial resources to take Kristy to court over their two sons, ages 10 and 5.

“We can’t come up with the money at once,” Alex told the outlet, while his fiancée, Heather Craft, added, “We’ve been trying to get lawyers, but all the lawyers we went to, they wanted thousands of dollars. We didn’t have much support.”

Alex is interested in obtaining full custody of his kids because he believes they are in danger as Kristy’s live-in boyfriend, Earl Kimrey, has been arrested in connection with Mariah’s disappearance and charged with crimes including concealing a death. As of now, no murder charges have been filed.

Earl Kimrey’s mugshot.

Alex and Kristy, 29, have reportedly been involved in a custody dispute over their boys, who are currently under the custody of North Carolina’s Department of Children’s Services. In an effort to raise awareness about their situation, Alex and Heather released court documents.

In the papers, the couple promises that they will do anything in their power to keep the boys safe and want to help them cope with the loss of their sister. “We’re just trying to save someone else’s child and to let them know they’re not alone,” Heather, 32, told JDNews. “Where was everyone? This could have all been prevented.”

According to CrimeOnline, the documents allege that Alex and Kristy’s sons should no longer live with their mother due to “a substantial risk of physical injury or sexual abuse because of the parent, guardian, custodian, or caretaker has created conditions likely to cause injury or abuse or has failed to provide, or is unable to provide, adequate supervision or protection.”

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In an exclusive interview with In Touch, Pastor Cliff Wilson of Folkstone Original Free Will Baptist Church — where family members of Mariah attend — said that he was also skeptical of Earl. “[He] was really jumpy the whole time watching the police searching around the house,” said the pastor, who was with Earl and the family on Nov. 27, the day Mariah was reported missing.

Prior to his most recent arrest, Earl was convicted of larceny in 2005 and 2015. In 2012, he was also convicted for threatening a government official and being drunk and disorderly, for which his license was suspended. In addition, he was sentenced to probation.

“Earl tried to stay far away from investigators. But the sheriff seemed to be watching him more than anybody else,” Pastor Cliff recalled of his day spent with the convict. “He was acting very sheepishly.”