Conflicts are unavoidable during a divorce. But sometimes conflicts can spiral out of control and become terrifying situations. For one woman, a divorce from her husband and a child custody dispute became a nightmare.

Summer Inman was married to her husband for six years when she decided to file for a divorce. The two had been sweethearts in high school and had three children together. But her husband became controlling and Summer was afraid for her and her children's well-being. She obtained a divorce and fought with the children's father over custody rights and apparently won. But it was not over.

Her ex-husband was ordered to pay child support each month; he objected to the amount and wanted the payments reduced. But before that issue could be settled, Summer disappeared; no one knew where she was. Less than two days later, her ex-husband and his parents were arrested in connection with her disappearance in late March.

Just last week, the ex-husband's mother made a deal with the prosecutors and told investigators where Summer's body had been hidden. It appears that the ex-husband, his father and his mother kidnapped her and killed her. They hid her body in a septic tank behind a church.

Now the ex-husband is faced with criminal charges. Before his ex-wife's disappearance, he had been fighting for lower child support payments and custody of the three kids. But if he convicted of her death and sent to prison, it will be a long time before he can even begin to further his relationship with the kids.

In child custody disputes, judges and courts look to the best interests of the children. Here a judge will likely determine that sending three small kids to live with a man who killed their mother is not in their best interests.

Source: Columbus Dispatch online, "Failure after failure left Summer Inman's family struggling," Randy Ludlow and Mary Beth Lane, 03 April 2011