‘Hair’ is the truth - DNA test returns verdict on ‘pretty hair’ boy’s paternity

The split in this family, once fuelled by questions about a child's hair type, has finally reached its end after DNA results confirmed that both children belong to the man who had long denied one of them.

For Margaret*, the mother, the confirmation brought relief mixed with caution. She told THE WEEKEND STAR that although she feels vindicated, the endless accusations from the children's father have left emotional scars.

"I feel good at the same time," she said. "But mi still affi watch him, because dah man yah ... mi nah tell yuh no lie, him very terrible."

Andrew*, Margaret's former partner, had ceased being affectionate to their son soon after he was born. He said the boy had 'coolie hair' and his features are unlike anyone in his family.

"My daughter has all of the attributes of the family, but this one, there are so many different features and it's so confusing," he said.

"He does not have any looks or resemblance with no one here. All of my kids, from yuh see dem, yuh see me."

Margaret said the paternity doubts began when Andrew questioned their four-year-old son's complexion and "pretty type a hair", insisting the child looked nothing like him. The suspicion worsened because a woman close to Andrew repeatedly told him the baby was not his, even when she tried to reassure him.

"Even when me tell him the truth, him no believe," she said. "But when me check back, is not from people, is the woman weh him have keep on a tell him things. She no want him round the children."

The accusations, she said, took a visible toll on the little boy. She explained that the child became fearful and reluctant to visit Andrew's home, often crying when she suggested they go.

"This a guh stick wid me son," she said. "At his age, him smart. If me seh we a go 'round there, him seh, 'No Mommy, we not going around there.' Him don't call him daddy, either. Only the little girl call him daddy."

She added that when Andrew visited, he often greeted and played with their daughter, while barely acknowledging the boy, leaving the child feeling left out.

Still, Margaret noticed a shift the day when the DNA samples were being collected by representatives of Polygenics Consulting at its offices in Kingston. For the first time in a long while, she saw Andrew engaging warmly with the boy.

"Him did a play wid him, and him even ask if me want him carry him home," she said.

"A the first change me see in a while."

Polygenics Consulting, a DNA-testing company has partnered with this newspaper to provide free paternity testing to persons who are in desperate need for answers.

Having tested DNA samples from the children and Andrew, the scientists determined there was no doubt he is the father.

"The alleged father is not excluded as the biological father of the tested child," the results stated. "The probability of paternity is 99.99 per cent."

DNA paternity results are never reported as 100 per cent because of how genetic probability works -- not because the test is unsure.

Margaret hopes the results will push Andrew to fully bond with both children and treat them equally going forward.

Meanwhile, Andrew said the DNA confirmation simply formalised what he already believed.

"It's just a confirmation of whatever is there already," he said.

"The kids are already good, enuh. It's just the argument situation."

He rejected Margaret's claim that outside influence shaped his doubts, insisting, "All when it's not there, women always put whatever at the forefront."

He said the results do not change how he views his role. "Nothing change. Everything remains the same. I'm the father for them already, so there is no difference. The good part about it is, everything is in the best interest of the children. I'm a family man, so it means nothing."

Margaret, however, believes the DNA test marks a turning point. One that she hopes will finally silence the whispers and ease the strain between father and son. "Me glad the results come back alright," she said. "Me just a watch how him operate moving forward, if him treat them equally."

With the truth now established, she said she is ready to close this painful chapter. "Mi tired a the talk," she said. "Now the truth out, everything can done."

Names changed to protect identity.