The ringleader responsible for chaining four mentally-challenged adults in a Philadelphia basement had previously had her children returned to her by social services despite a history of abuse and a horrific murder conviction, RadarOnline.com has learned.

Linda Ann Weston was paroled from prison after serving four years for the 1981 killing of a 25-year-old man who she hit with a hammer, locked in a closet and then starved to death -- she then walked into family court and demanded they give her children back, and the request was unbelievably granted.

As RadarOnline.com previously reported, Weston, 51, Eddie Wright, 49, and Thomas Gregory, 47, were arrested on Saturday and are facing a string of charges including criminal conspiracy, aggravated assault, kidnapping, criminal trespass, unlawful restraint and false imprisonment after three men and a woman were found chained in a Tacony, Pennsylvania house.

Jesse James won a dramatic custody victory on Tuesday when a court ruled he is allowed to move his daughter to Texas. His ex wife Janine Lindemulder spent more than a week fighting Jesse’s planned move with their daughter Sunny.

Court Documents: Read The Verdict

Commissioner Thomas Schulte ruled that both parents will have joint legal custody of the six-year-old but that it was in the child’s best interest for her to go with her dad to live in Austin.

PHOTOS: Jesse James And Ex Wife In Court

As Schulte read his ruling to the Orange County Family Court, Lindemulder burst out crying and screamed, “I’ll move, I’ll move.” The former porn star vowed earlier in the proceedings that she would “live in a tent to be beside Sunny.”

Under the terms of the agreement, the distraught mom will be allowed to have Sunny for the rest of the summer beginning on Thursday, until school starts in Texas in August.

PHOTOS: Jesse James’ New Home In Austin

Thereafter, she will be allowed to visit her daughter, including at least one weekend per month with Sunny in California, plus the majority of the holidays.

PHOTOS: Hollywood’s Nastiest Divorces

The judge ruled that Sunny had a great bond with her older siblings, Chandler and Jesse James Junior, and was thriving living with her father.

As James left the court, he remained tight lipped but smiling about the decision. He is expected to move to Texas at the end of the month, where he has bought a $2 million mansion just miles away from ex-wife Sandra Bullock.

PHOTOS: Jesse James’ New Home In Austin

In the closing statements on Friday, James' lawyer John Schilling said that there was no comparison between James and Lindemulder.

He said, "She is an admitted drug addict, stripper, criminal and porn actress, who has moved nine times in the past five years. The only stability she has had was when she was in prison for six months.”

Jesse James Speaks Out Against Ex-Wife In Custody War

Following a grueling week of legal wrangling, Jesse James today won a victory in the closing arguments of his bitter custody battle with ex-wife Janine Lindemulder after the court appointed attorney recommended that he be permitted to move to Texas and get full custody of his daughter.

In the closing arguments on Friday, Loni Klein told the court that Mr. James should get custody of six-year-old Sunny and be allowed to move to Texas with her.

PHOTOS: Jesse James And Ex Wife In Court

Klein felt that former porn star Lindemulder should be given two weekends per month with her daughter, allowed regular telephone calls that James not monito, and speak with her via ichat or Skype.

Lindemulder would also get vacation time with Sunny although it is not clear if she will move to Texas permanently. She said in court earlier in the week that she would "live in a tent to be beside Sunny," if James was allowed to move.

PHOTOS: Jesse James' New Life -- Inside HIs $2 Million Texas Mansion

In his closing arguments, Lindemulder's lawyer, Richard Mason, claimed that James was only moving to Austin to be beside Oscar winner Sandra Bullock and this would to the detriment of the relationship between Sunny and her mother.

Jesse James Speaks Out Against Ex-Wife In Custody War

He said, "He is moving there with his children first and foremost to have a relationship with Miss Bullock.

"He has one business in Austin and six in California. This move has to be taken in the context of why there is such a coincidement between the breakdown of his marriage to Sandra Bullock and suddenly moving within miles of where she stays."

PHOTOS: Hollywood’s Nastiest Divorces

Masson argued that James had no interest in co-parenting and he claimed that his sister, Julia England, was not telling the truth during her testimony to the court.

James' lawyer John Schilling contested in closing statements that there was no comparison between James and Lindemulder.

He said, "She is an admitted drug addict, stripper, criminal and porn actress, who has moved nine times in the past five years. The only stability she has had was when she was in prison for six months.

EXCLUSIVE INTERVIEW: Custody Verdict Is "In The Hands Of God Now," Says Jesse James' Ex-Wife

My client is a loving father and can offer an environment where Sunny can flourish along with her brother and sister. He should therefore be given custody and be allowed to move to Texas."

The ruling will be made on Tuesday.

The bitter custody battle between Jesse James and Janine Lindemulder took a bizarre twist on Wednesday when the motorbike mogul was accused of trying to put his ex-wife behind bars for tax evasion through a private investigator he had hired.

Lindemulder’s lawyer Richard Masson claimed that in 2006, James hired Oregon private investigator Brad Martin to spy on Lindemulder. Masson told the court that he had proof that Martin passed on information to special IRS agent Todd Anderson, which ultimately led to Lindemulder going to jail. He argued that James’ actions showed how much he did not want Janine to co-parent Sunny.

PHOTOS: Jesse James And Ex Wife In Court

James admitted that he hired Martin to find out where Lindemulder and six-year-old daughter, Sunny, were staying at the time, but he denied that he received any report on his ex-wife from the private investigator.

PHOTOS: Hollywood’s Nastiest Divorces

In a shocking courtroom accusation on Tuesday, Jesse James’ ex-wife, Janine Lindemulder, said at the custody hearing that she believes James was trying to replace her as a mom with Sandra Bullock.

RadarOnline.com was in the courtroom as the former porn star, who claims she is broke, said she does not want her six-year-old daughter Sunny to relocate to Texas with her father and explained that she can’t compete with the Oscar winner’s wealth.

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“Sandra Bullock might as well be the Mayor of Austin and I am going in like the black sheep. Jesse will follow Sandra wherever she goes. I can not compete with what they gave to offer Sunny with these incredible mansions and lifestyles,” Lindemulder said.

PHOTOS: Sandra Bullock Moves Into New Home

Lindemulder doesn’t have any communication with Bullock and believes the situation will only get worse if James is permitted to relocate to Texas with their daughter. “He does not want me in the picture, he is negative. We couldn’t come to an agreement when we only lived 15 miles apart. So I believe I am trying to be replaced by Sandra Bullock,” she said.

The estranged mom added: “I will be there for my daughter’s every beck and call whereas Jesse and Sandra can not.” She said she does not share James’ concerns about the paparazzi stalking Sunny at the Waldorf School in Orange County, California.

PHOTOS: Hollywood’s Nastiest Divorces

Commissioner Thomas Schulte of the Orange County family court conceded that the power couple can offer the six-year-old a better lifestyle than Lindemulder but he insisted that would have no bearing on the custody case.

Lindemulder told the court that she is no longer working in the adult entertainment industry – and instead wants to attend Clown College because she would like to entertain old people and patients in hospitals. She added that Jesse’s son, Chandler, has poked fun at her clowning aspirations to Sunny.

Lindermulder – who appeared with a new Mohawk haircut revealing fresh tattoos on her head – says she is willing to take drug tests every day for the rest of her life to prove she is clean, claiming she last took illegal drugs back in 2007. She is also currently in the process of dissolving her marriage to Jeremy Aikman. 

PHOTOS: Sandra Bullock's Early Years in Hollywood

Earlier in the custody hearing, a court-appointed monitor Richard Shunkey told the court that Lindemulder hung up on him after he told her he would check her for drugs before the first scheduled visit on June 12th. The meeting took place and was problem-free. The monitor told the court that he believed both parents had tried to accommodate one another despite the fact that only eight out of 15 visitations actually took place.

Under cross examination by James’ lawyer John Schilling, Lindemulder admitted that she was taking Clonidine and Prestiq to deal w ith stress and that she suffered a stroke at Christmas 2009. Clonidine is used to treat high blood pressure and has other applications; Prestiq is an anti-depressant.

Lindemulder dismissed Schilling’s claims that she was addicted to Vicodin but admitted that she takes small doses of it to cope with other illnesses. Schilling established that over the past few years Lindemulder had lived in various and half-way houses in both Oregon and California.

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Shunkey also criticized Lindemulder’s choice of profession and questioned her appearance in the movie Dirty Desire, which was released this month. Lindemulder claims it was not pornography, just a series of vignettes that she was not aware had been turned into a movie.

The case continues.

Oscar winner Sandra Bullock’s name got dragged into the ongoing bitter custody battle between Jesse James and his ex-wife Janine Lindemulder on Monday as the feuding pair fell into a legal stalemate.

EXCLUSIVE VIDEO: Jesse James And Janine Lindemulder Talk To RadarOnline.com Outside Court

Lindemulder told the court that she had an emotional and belittling telephone conversation with Sandra Bullock while she was confined to a halfway house in Oregon.  Distraught Lindemulder visibly shook as she spoke of the upsetting call, which came after James and Lindemulder’s six-year-old daughter, Sunny, put Sandra on the phone to speak with her mom.

PHOTOS: Jesse James And Ex Wife In Court

The rocky relationship between the Oscar winner and the former porn star was emphasized earlier in the day when Sunny’s teacher testified that both Bullock and James made negative comments about Janine.

Alex Bon, a pre-kindergarten teacher of Sunny at Carden Academy in Huntington Beach, California, said: “Both Miss Bullock and Mr. James made derogatory comments. Sunny looked in shock.”

PHOTOS: Hollywood’s Nastiest Divorces

Bon went on to reveal details of the relationship between Janine and her daughter. “Janine Lindemulder was very loving towards Sunny and her daughter was always running to her arms when she saw her,” said Bon. Miss Bon also testified that staff at the school were instructed not to send Sunny’s artwork to Lindemulder while she was in jail.

PHOTOS: Sandra Bullock Moves Into New Home

Whether James trails Bullock to Texas has been an ongoing issue in the case. Earlier the motorbike mogul testified that he was moving to Austin to escape the paparazzi and because his home was more secluded there. He said, “Sandy and I have never had any problems in Austin. Not such a media frenzy as in L.A. or Orange County.”

James said he hoped The Blindside star would continue to play a role in his daughter’s life, although he did admit that Sunny loved her biological mom.

PHOTOS: Sandra Bullock’s Early Years In Hollywood

During Lindemulder’s cross examination, she claimed that James did not take her calls or reply to her e-mails to try and set up visits, and that her ex’s actions had made her feel bad and she “just wants to be a mom to her daughter.”

Under cross examination by Lindermulder’s lawyer, Richard Masson, James denied that he tried to block visits with Sunny over the 4th of July holiday weekend and claimed he could not get access to the monitor to supervise the exchange handover.

Jesse James Speaks Out Against Ex-Wife In Custody War

Commissioner Thomas Schulte ordered the couple and their lawyers to come up with various scenarios as to what should happen regarding visitation should James move to Texas or Janine live in California or they both relocate. He ordered all parties back to court on Tuesday before making any decision.

The case continues.

Jesse James won the first round in the bitter custody battle with ex-wife Janine Lindemulder on Monday.

PHOTOS: Jesse James And Ex-Wife In Court

Court appointed attorney, Loni Klein, told the Orange County court that she recommended that Sunny remains in her father’s care. “Jesse James is doing a good job being a father to Sunny. Although both parents love Sunny, they do not trust one another. Janine has faced a tough road and has been getting therapy recently but still requires more treatment.”

PHOTOS: Jesse James and Sandra Bullock Through the Years

She went on to say, “Mr. James could do with better parenting tools and should attend parenting classes. But in my opinion, at the moment Sunny should remain in Mr. James’ care.”

The warring couple went before Commissioner Thomas Schulte at Orange County family court Monday.

PHOTOS: Sandra Bullock Moves Into New Home

In his opening statement Jesse James’ lawyer, John Schilling, told the court that Lindemulder was a convicted felon, porn star and drug addict. He added that it would be in Sunny’s best interest to move to Texas to be with Jesse and his extended family.

EXCLUSIVE: Jesse James’ Sister Supporting Him In Bitter Custody Battle

Janine Lindermulder’s lawyer, Richard Masson, blasted Jesse James for not obeying court orders and restricting Sunny to only eight out of 15 scheduled visits. He also claimed that James’ move to Texas is motivated by wanting to be closer to Sandra Bullock.

John Schilling had claimed that during a recent visit to a water park, Janine had lost Sunny for over one hour and guests were sending e-mails concerned about the child.

Jesse and Janine married in 2002 and split in October 2003.  Lindemulder later served time in a federal prison on income tax charges, and was sent to a half-way house after her release.  She has wanted visitation with her daughter since leaving the half-way facility last month.

PHOTOS: Hollywood’s Nastiest Divorces

A motion by James to get a psychiatric evolution of Sunny was denied by the court.

Both Lindemulder and James are in court today as they try to secure custody of Sunny. The case continues.

Motorbike mogul Jesse James took the stand in the bitter custody dispute with ex-wife, Janine Lindemulder, at the Orange County Family court on Monday.

James claimed that in a telephone conversation with Lindemulder that she admitted to being on really strong anti-depressants that made her spin out when she tried to change the medication.

PHOTOS: Jesse James And Ex Wife In Court

James also alleged that former porn star Lindemulder has asked her ex-spouse, Jeremy Aikman, to get take anti-depressants, but conceded that Lindemulder had tested clean for illegal drugs during four ordered-tests.

Sandra Bullock’s ex-husband revealed to the Orange County Family court that the Oscar winner looked after his six-year-old daughter, Sunny, while he was in rehab in Arizona last March following his sex scandal.

PHOTOS: Sandra Bullock Moves Into New Home

James told the court that Sunny visited him during his month-long stay but did not make it clear if Bullock was with her at the time.

The court heard that Sunny has her own private phone so that visits can be arranged. James revealed that Bullock had access to the phone.

EXCLUSIVE: Jesse James’ Sister Supporting Him In Bitter Custody Battle

Under cross examination, Lindermulder’s lawyer Richard Masson argued that James did not take her calls or comply with court ordered visits.

James countered that he understood the visits were to be supervised when in actual fact the court order stated that Janine was to see Sunny privately.

PHOTOS: Jesse James and Sandra Bullock Through the Years

Commissioner Thomas Schulte at Orange County family court clarified that the hand-overs were to be supervised because the paparazzi had been chasing Sunny and her mom.

James went on to deny allegations by Lindemulder that he had been working with Jeremy Aikman to frame her.

EXCLUSIVE: Jesse James’ Ex Tells Cops – ‘He Is Trying To Spike My Food & Drinks

RadarOnline.com was the first to report that Lindemulder had contacted police because she feared for her safety.

“This guy (James) won’t stop until he drives me into the ground,” Lindemulder told exclusively told RadarOnline.com. “I went to an Orange County police station to voice my concerns because I believe he wants to try and spoil my food or spike my drinks so that I have a dirty [drug] test.

“I’ve been told he might use a mutual female friend to try and trick me - this guy will stop at nothing to get his way.”

PHOTOS: Hollywood’s Nastiest Divorces

Lindemulder’s lawyer Richard Masson claimed that James had arranged to pay her $4,000 a month for child support and that he would fly Sunny on a private jet to see her mom during her stint in a half-way house in Oregon. James has refuted these claims saying no such conversation ever took place.

Jesse’s sister, Julie James England, is also in court and expected to give evidence.  The case continues.

Jesse James' sister Julie James England will appear in court next Monday to support her brother in his bitter custody battle with ex-wife Janine Lindemulder over their 7-year-old daughter Sunny James, RadarOnline.com is reporting exclusively.

England has constantly sided with her famous sibling, despite all his recent troubles after his marriage to Oscar winner Sandra Bullock ended when he was exposed as a serial cheater.

She supported Jesse’s claims that their father Larry James was abusive to him as a child, and she also released e-mails claiming that Lindemulder begged her for pain-killers in 2008 to “numb” the pain of their custody battle.