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Medford man faces attempted murder charges in custody dispute MEDFORD (AP) - A man is facing murder-for-hire charges in a custody dispute with the woman he hired to be the mother of his 3-year-old daughter. Richard Linwood Guinn, 52, was arraigned Monday in Jackson County Circuit Court on charges of attempted aggravated murder, conspiracy to commit murder and solicitation for murder following his arrest last Thursday. Police say Guinn offered a 17-year-old Talent boy $35,000 to kill Judy Weaver, 42, of Phoenix. Weaver and Guinn met through a mutual friend in 1998. In exchange for $12,000, Weaver allegedly agreed in a written contract to be a surrogate mother to Guinn's child, which was to be conceived through artificial insemination. The couple later decided to conceive a child without medical assistance but did not alter the written agreement. "He kind of wooed her and made her think that he had feelings for her," said Weaver's sister Annette Henney. When their daughter, Riki, was born in May 1999, Weaver let Guinn take the baby home. But she filed a custody suit about a month later when Guinn told her that she couldn't visit the child. Weaver claimed that her contract with Guinn was void because the couple did not conceive through artificial insemination, as specified. Jackson County Circuit Judge Phil Arnold awarded Weaver custody but granted Guinn substantial visitation rights. Arnold also ordered Weaver to return half of the $12,000 to Guinn. Weaver met Guinn in public places, sometimes with a court liaison, to relinquish Riki to her father. During their custody battle, the judge had granted Weaver a temporary restraining order against Guinn, according to court documents. "She won custody, and he flipped out, basically," said Tanya Haller, another of Weaver's sisters. Guinn appealed the custody arrangement but the Oregon's Court of Appeals in 2001 upheld the judge. LINKS: DAILY TIDINGS: Main | News | Sports | Obituaries | Opinion | Columnists | AP News | Subscribe | Archives | Weather | Classifieds | Contact Us | Privacy REVELS: Main | Calendar | Dining | Movies | T.V. OTHER: Road Cams Copyright 2003 Ashland Daily Tidings 541.482.3456. 1661 Siskiyou Blvd., Ashland, OR 97520. Ottaway Newspapers, Inc. - Advertisers -