The half-sister of late rock star Michael Hutchence has begun legal moves to seek custody of her orphaned niece, Heavenly Hiraani Tiger Lily, after the death of mother Paula Yates, an Australian newspaper said Tuesday, reported FOX news online.
Sydney's Daily Telegraph said Tina Hutchence and her mother, Patricia Glassop, had consulted lawyers in London with a view to starting custody proceedings for the four-year-old who is currently being cared for by Yates' ex-husband Sir Bob Geldof.
"This is worth fighting for," Hutchence told the newspaper from her home in Burbank, California.
"I will go as far and as long as it takes to win this battle for Tiger's sake."
Hutchence said she was the logical choice to care for Tiger Lily even though she had an acrimonious relationship with Yates and had not seen the youngster for more than two years.
Yates, 40, was found dead at her London home Sunday morning by her young daughter.
Her Australian boyfriend, the INXS star Hutchence, who was the father of Tiger Lily, was found hanged in 1997 a Sydney hotel room in November 1997. Relations between Yates and Hutchence's family had been strained ever since.
Tina Hutchence and her mother are about to publish a book on the rock star's death called Just a Man: The Real Michael Hutchence.
Hutchence's father, Kell, 68, who in 1998 launched an unsuccessful legal action to gain custody of his granddaughter, said he was unsure what the future held for Tiger Lily.
He ruled out seeking custody because of his age and ill-health.
"My heart goes out to Tiger Lily," he told the newspaper.
"Questions have been raised about Tiger's future and all I can say is that she is in good hands at present...I will be talking to the various parties who have Tiger's future welfare at heart to see what arrangements will be made" – Albawaba.com.
© 2000 Al Bawaba (www.albawaba.com)
