Pool Photo

Despite being called to an emergency child custody hearing by his ex wife Tameka Foster on Friday, Usher Raymond will retain primary custody of his sons Usher V and Naviyd, reports US Weekly.

On August 5, Raymond's 5-year-old son Usher V nearly died after drowning in a pool incident. It is believed that Usher V got caught in the pool drain that Raymond's aunt Rena Oden and housekeeper were unable to free the child, however house contractors Eugene Stachurski and Ben Crews were able to come to his aid.

In 2012, Raymond won primary custody of his two sons after a bitter custody battle that ensued, while Foster only has limited custodial rights.

When Foster took the stand in Friday's hearing which lasted more than two and a half, she gave an update on Usher V's health: "My son is alive. He's alive. I'd say he's doing well. I wouldn't say he's at 70 percent, but he's well, because he's alive."

In her testimony, Foster claimed that her son, "had to be revived and brought back to life. My son basically had died on the scene, from what I was told by the doctor." After Raymond's lawyer objected to the allegations, the judge then dismissed the comments as hearsay.

Raymond's aunt Oden, who admitted she had no first-aid training or no formal child education, next took the stand and said that she is not licensed to administer CPR, but said that she had been taught by her mother, a registered nurse. During the hearing, Oden was repeatedly questioned on whether or not she left Naviyd alone by the pool while trying to get help for Usher V. The aunt replied, "I don't recall."

The singer was next on the stand and he explained that he had been nearby at a recording studio during the time of the incident and that he waited an hour and a half to tell his ex about the event because he was unclear what had happened. "I knew that there had been an accident in the pool but I didn't have clarity of what had taken place," he said. "[Usher V] didn't' want to go to the hospital, he was very irate. I did my best to calm him down and help him understand what had taken place."

Eventually the a judge ruled in favor of Raymond, saying, "What happened here was an awful accident, and I don't know based on the evidence I've heard, had any single person been at the poolside, that one person could have done better than Ms. Oden."


The judge also spoke to Foster directly, "Most people who cared for us or our kids probably didn't' have all the qualifications that you required. I'm denying the motion. I would say, Mr. Raymond, in the future you would be well-advised to keep your former spouse informed about your whereabouts and who is taking care of the kids. That will be a feature perhaps in this case as it moves forward or the companion case as it moves forward."