Nipsey Hussle’s sister was awarded custody of his daughter after a heated custody battle with the girl’s mother.
A judge granted Samantha Smith custody of Emani Asghedom on Monday, reports TMZ. Asghedom was living with her father prior to this death. She has lived with Smith since Nip died from multiple gunshot wounds on March 31.
TMZ’s cameras caught Tanisha Foster, the 10-year-old’s mother, walking out the court room. When asked out the outcome, she tearfully told them she was “pissed off.”
Larry Lewellyn, Foster’s lawyer, claims he is working with Nip’s family to come up with a visitation schedule so the mother and daughter can have time together.
At a prior court date, Foster told the judge she hadn’t seen her daughter in month. The judge cleared the courtroom and allowed the pair to spend 20 uninterrupted minutes together.
Smith filed for emergency custody in April, as Blavity previously reported. A judge initially denied the request because "no urgency demonstrated for granting this relief prior to hearing on May 14.”
Court documents argued Smith needed instant custody "to ensure the continued stability for Emani and ensure that she will be able to maintain her current and ongoing relationship.”
Smith also touted her existing relationship with her niece.
She claims she has “always been a presence in Emani’s life and, along with the rest of Emani’s paternal family, has assisted in her care.”
The custody issue isn’t Foster’s only legal battle. There is a warrant out for her arrest after she failed to appear in court on May 15 for a DUI charge, according to People Magazine. She was arrested a few years ago and sentenced to three years of probation after she pleaded no contest to the charges. The probation was revoked after she failed to appear in court.
Smith’s fight to care for her niece seems to be her way to keep the promise to care for Hussle’s family. The “Dedication” rapper shared a two-year-old son with his longtime girlfriend Lauren London.
“I got Lauren. I got Emani. I got Kross,” she wrote on Instagram. “I got Sam, he is my responsibility now. He is my big little brother. I got mommy and Granny and Pop. You gave me so many tools.”
