Dad pushing for tighter laws after ex-wife charged with killing kids

COBB COUNTY, Ga. — A Cobb County father whose ex-wife is accused of killing his two children is calling for change in the courts and new legislation.

On Thursday, their children, 13-year-old Jaelen and 9-year-old Faith, will be laid to rest.

Mark Edge admits his kids' death hasn't completely sunk in. Investigators say his ex-wife poisoned the kids in a California hotel room Sept. 14. He says since their divorce in 2007, she has kept the children from him, even absconding to Arizona after he was granted visitation a year ago.

The distraught father told Channel 2's Liz Artz that Marilyn Edge used the kids to get back at him.

A Cobb County judge granted Mark Edge temporary full custody, calling it an extreme case of parental alienation -- when one parent says things to children to turn them against the other parent. Investigators suspect she killed the kids the day before she was supposed to bring them back to Georgia.

Mark Edge says his ex-wife kept him from putting the children on his military benefits. He's now trying to raise money for their funeral and travel funds to go to California for the murder trial.

He's set up an account on gofundme.com, but he also wants training in the courts. He told Artz he wants parents who are going through a divorce to be trained, and he wants lawmakers to take notice and change laws when it comes to parental alienation.

Willie Watkins funeral home, in Atlanta, is taking donations for Jaelen and Faith.

WSBTV