Inside Elijah Blue Allman’s troubled relationship with his mother Cher, 77, as singer files for conservatorship of her son – following claims she hired four men to kidnap him

Cher filed court papers to gain custody of her son Elijah Blue Allman after years of tension between the couple.

The 77-year-old singer said he was addicted to drugs, unable to manage his financial affairs and had health problems both physically and mentally, with a trial date set for March 2024.

This is just the latest development in Cher and her son’s rocky relationship, which has seen the couple publicly clash on multiple occasions.

Elijah Blue is the son of Cher and late rock star Gregg Allman. died aged 69 in May 2017and has faced numerous personal challenges in recent years.

MailOnline looks back at the couple’s woes over the years…

The fight against drugs

Elijah has admitted in the past that he started taking drugs when he was 11 years old and had a long battle with heroin addiction.

In an interview with Entertainment Tonight in 2014, Elijah said: “I started using drugs around the same time as the rest of us, around 11 years old.

“I mean, that’s exactly what you did, that’s what everyone did.”

He said he started with marijuana and ecstasy and then moved on to harder drugs.

“I just wanted to get away from everything that was in my past, and then when you turn to these kinds of drugs, you know, heroin and opiates,” he said.

“Heroin saved me. If I didn’t have it at that moment, I don’t know what I would have done. You can jump off the bridge. If only you could get through that period of time, get through it, and then get help.”

He admitted that there were times when he almost died.

“I had some dangerous situations and moments where I really felt close to death,” he said.

“I’ve always kept it somewhat safe, but it will never be done. Even if you think so, of course, the wrong things can happen.

“The wrong combination of things can happen and you can just fall into the abyss.

“I knew it was wrong and I knew I was very unsatisfied with life at that moment.”

Public quarrels

Much of the tension between Cher and Elijah stemmed from his ex-wife Mariangela King.

Elijah married 36-year-old Mariangela, who goes by Queenie in the rock band KING, in 2013. They have no children.

King, who was born in Mumbai, India to a British father and a German mother and spent his childhood in 30 different countries, is one of six siblings who have played for KING at various times.

Cher, 77, has long had a contentious relationship with both Elijah and her sister-in-law Mariangela, whom he met in Germany after he went there to be treated for a particularly bad case of Lyme disease.

The film and music icon allegedly did not congratulate the newlyweds after they eloped and even refused to acknowledge their engagement.

She often went months or even years without even speaking to her son, whom she sent to boarding school when he was just eight years old.

Hiring a caretaker

In early September, Cher hired a caretaker to look after her troubled son, who began leaving the hotel and wandering the streets.

“The caretaker sat at the entrance to the hotel and just waited to see where and what Elijah was up to.”

But DailyMail.com has learned that the situation came to a head on September 14, the day Cher planned to intervene in her son’s affairs.

Before this could happen, hotel staff discovered his lifeless body lying face down on the sidewalk leading to the hotel entrance, with his arms at his sides. Hotel staff picked him up and escorted him inside.

Two days later, police arrived and escorted Elijah from the hotel, the source said. He was then sent back to rehab.

Allegations of kidnapping

In September, Cher was accused of hiring four men to kidnap her son from a hotel room as he tried to reconcile with his wife on their wedding anniversary.

The Oscar, Emmy and Grammy winner was worried about Elijah Blue Allman’s health, her daughter-in-law Mariangela King said in a statement to the Los Angeles court hearing the couple’s divorce.

In her statement to the court, King said she and Elijah spent 12 days in New York trying to work on their marriage.

“I believe that if the time comes, we will make peace,” she said.

But their attempts to kiss and make up were interrupted, she wrote.

“On November 30, 2022, the night of our wedding anniversary, four men came to our hotel room and took (Elijah) out of our room.

“One of the four men who grabbed him told me that (Elijah’s) mother hired them.

In a statement filed four days after the alleged abduction, she added: “I am currently unaware of my husband’s well-being and whereabouts,” although she added that he was “in isolation in a treatment facility of which I have not been informed.” .

She ended her statement by saying, “I understand his family’s efforts to keep him healthy and I want the best for my husband.”

In October, Cher spoke with People about King’s past claims that Cher kidnapped Elijah, calling them “not true.”

She added: “I do not suffer from any problems that millions of people in the United States do not have. I’m a mother. It’s my job to try to help my children in one way or another.

“You do everything for your children. Whenever you can help them, you just do it because that’s what being a mother is all about.

“But it’s a joy, even through the heartache—mostly, when you think about your kids, you just smile and love them and try to be there for them.”

Mariangela’s accusations

In her statement to the court, Mariangela also said she was unable to pay her lawyers because child support payments to Elijah had been sporadic.

“I only received $25,000, half of the support I was owed,” she said.

She also said Cher kicked her out of the home she was living in after Elijah began unspecified “medical care” in August 2022.

“I lost both my housing and my medical care, and I had to leave the country for a while to live with relatives,” she said.

“In my husband’s absence, (Elijah’s) mother asked me to leave our family home.

“I was not allowed to remove all of my belongings from our main home and residence, and I was not given the opportunity to take an inventory of our belongings.”

She also said she was unable to get her property out of storage, which contained “one-of-a-kind pieces of art, antiques and musical instruments” that needed to be appraised before the divorce.

Cher filed for custody

In December 2023, Cher filed court papers asking for Elijah Blue Allman to be placed under conservatorship, claiming he was addicted to drugs, unable to manage his financial affairs and had health problems both physically and mentally.

According to her, in court documents reviewed TMZ that Elijah is “virtually unable to manage his financial resources due to severe mental health issues and substance abuse.”

According to the publication, the trial date in this matter is set for March 6, 2024.

Sher said Elijah receives interval payments from a trust fund set up by Allman and that she is concerned that he will use his money to purchase new medications instead of paying for basic expenses.

The “If I Could Turn Back Time” singer said that as Elijah’s mother, she is best suited to serve as a guardian and has received internal family support on the issue.

Sher said Elijah’s ex-wife, Mariangela King, 36, was a disruptive presence in his life and was hindering efforts to get him the help he needed for drug and mental health issues.

The “If I Could Turn Back Time” singer said that as Elijah’s mother, she is best suited to serve as a guardian and has received internal family support on the issue.

Cher said Mariangela was a disruptive influence on his life and prevented him from getting the help he needed for drug and mental health issues.