Adoption of Hinman

To the marriage of Charles W. and Marcia D. Hinman were born three children, Charles Marshall, Valerie Lynn and Victoria Anne Hinman. At all times here pertinent, these children were beneath the age of 21. On June 22, 1965, Mrs. Hinman was. granted a final decree of divorce. Custody of the children was awarded to the mother, with certain rights of visitation reserved to the father. Thereafter, Charles Hinman (hereafter “respondent”) was convicted of soliciting the murder of his wife and her attorney. At all times relevant to the instant appeal, respondent was confined at the Los Padres Men’s Colony at San Luis Obispo.

On June 25, 1966, Mrs. Hinman married the petitioner, Stephen C. Stein (hereafter “petitioner”). The three children of Mrs. Stein’s first marriage have lived with their mother and petitioner since the marriage.

On April 11, 1969, Mr. Stein filed a petition in the Riverside County Superior Court seeking to adopt his wife’s three minor children, Charles Marshall, Valerie Lynn and Victoria Anne Hinman. The petition asserted that the consent of respondent, the children’s natural father, was not necessary to the adoption on two grounds: first, he had wilfully…