Hourly Update

Ongoing custody battle preceded murder of young girl

A man police say is suspected of murdering his daughter and stashing her body in a North Side storage locker battled his ex-wife in court for the past several years for custody of their two children, according to court documents. Police speculate the young girl found dead in a plastic tub on Feb. 18 is 4-year-old Ariana Payne. Investigators are waiting on forensic results to confirm her identity. Detectives are also searching for Ariana’s brother Tyler Payne, believed to be 5-years-old. At a Monday press conference Tucson Police Chief Richard Miranda said he may also have been the victim of foul play at the hands of his father, Christopher M. Payne, and that police cannot find the boy. Payne, 28, was arrested last Thursday and booked into Pima County jail on suspicion of first degree murder and child abuse in connection with the death of the young girl. Miranda said he is confident Payne is responsible for the young girl’s death. According to court documents, Payne married Jamie Hallam on Jan. 25, 2002. The couple had taken steps to end their marriage by March of the next year. In court papers filed on June 16, 2003, Jamie Payne had her last name restored to Hallam and requested that Payne be denied accessed to their children because of his drug and alcohol abuse and a history of domestic violence. In a letter with the same date, the court found Hallam to be a fit mother who should retain sole custody of the children based on the claims she made against her ex-husband. The court also ordered Payne to provide child support for his ex-wife in the amount of $446. According to court documents the custody of the children has not changed since then. On Feb. 22, 2006, Payne filed a petition for modification of child custody. In it he claims that Child Protective Services instructed him to file the petition for the safety of the children. “Mother repeatedly is high on drugs, not in a condition to take care of the children,” the affidavit states. The most recent court record — dated Jan. 23 — is an order to withhold Payne’s income for child support. The document states that Payne owed $595.43 in current and past-due child support. Despite these court records, Chief Miranda said both children have not been seen for several months. Miranda also said that, according to the Police Department’s investigation, Payne most recently had custody of the children. Payne has been arrested several times. Most recently, he was arrested for possession of drug paraphernalia but failed to appear in court. Hallam has no arrests on drug related charges, according to online court records.