Severance family bonds with boy Young Shane to spend 60 days in Maine, then return to Texas

LEE – Shane Michael Severance crawled along the living room floor of his grandfather’s home, almost instantly gravitating to an enlarged picture of his late father, a former Air Force staff sergeant whose portrait memorializes him in a stoic pose.

As the 9-month-old reached up and touched his dad’s face – a face he will know only from pictures – the emotion was too much for Leslie Severance, who left the room to avoid breaking down in tears.

The moment was one of the few times Tuesday that the infant left his grandfather’s arms. Among a close group of family members, Leslie Severance did exactly what he wanted to do on his first day back from Texas: sit and relax with his grandson.

“I don’t think anyone slept real good last night,” Severance said inside the kitchen of his Cobb Road home. “For a couple days, we’re just going to enjoy everyone’s company. … Then we’ll have to go through the whole house and baby-proof it.”

A Texas district court judge last week granted temporary, 60-day custody of Shane to his grandfather. The two, along with Severance’s other son, Frank, returned late Monday night from San Angelo, Texas, after what Frank Severance called an emotionally draining 10-day visit.

The boy had been in the custody of his maternal grandparents, Judy and Lloyd Davidson, since Shane’s mother, Wendi Mae Davidson, 26, was charged with the murder of her husband and Shane’s father, Michael Severance, 24.

“We’re breaking down barriers, and we made an enormous amount of progress [in Texas], but … the sad part is, none of it will bring [Michael] back,” Leslie Severance said of his oldest son, whose body was found in January, weighted down at the bottom of a San Angelo pond.

An autopsy of Michael Severance’s body found drugs in his system that are common in veterinary offices – drugs said to be fatal in humans. A Texas grand jury later indicted Wendi Davidson, a veterinarian, on charges that she poisoned her husband and conspired to alter drug records to conceal their involvement in the homicide. She is free on bail and awaits a murder trial.

“People talk about closure, but I don’t know about that,” Leslie Severance said. “I’m not even close.”

The Severance family on Tuesday included Severance’s girlfriend, Brinda Leighton, her two daughters and a grandson, along with Severance’s two sisters, who drove up Monday from Massachusetts, and Frank Severance. Even though Leslie Severance and Brinda Leighton have not married, they consider their combined families as one.

Nobody talked much about Michael Severance’s death on Tuesday, instead spending most of the time lavishing Shane with attention.

“What do you think of all this?” Leslie Severance asked the infant while Shane sat in his lap.

The family spent most of the morning catching up, but used the afternoon to take a solemn trip to the cemetery in Carroll – about 10 miles from the Severance home – where Michael Severance was buried in March next to his mother, Valerie Severance.

Leslie Severance held his grandson in his arms and stood quietly at the foot of his oldest son’s grave, while the rest of the family stood behind. Some wept, and eventually so did Severance.

“I’ve got him, Michael,” the father whispered.

As he left the cemetery, with Shane still in his arms, the grandfather said to the little boy, “Someday we’ll have a big long talk about this.”

The Severances are working hard to show the same Texas judge who granted the temporary custody that Maine is Shane’s home. Severance said his only other time spent with his grandson was a week during his son’s wedding.

“I wanted to bond with [Shane], and I think it helped,” Leslie said. “I know it, I feel it with all my heart.”

The Lee community certainly noticed that Shane was in Maine. Several stores in Lee and Lincoln had signs that read “Welcome home Shane,” and when family members drove to the cemetery, some cars honked to acknowledge the words painted on their cars that read: “We love you Shane.”

The Severances have 60 days to spend with the infant before he returns to Texas and the Davidsons resume custody. Severance said he hasn’t given up the fight for full custody of Shane, but he knows it likely will be a long fight.

“The bottom line, [we’re] trying to get someone to hear [our] side,” Severance said. “We’re on even ground now.”

Meanwhile, Severance said he’s going to enjoy the time he has with his grandson and continue to welcome the support of a community that now knows the name of Shane Severance.

“I have a feeling we’re going to have some company tonight,” the grandfather predicted.