The parents of a West Shore man who is serving a prison term for trying to hire a hit man to kill his wife have lost a custody battle involving their granddaughter. Joyce and Gene Mattson of Mechanicsburg, parents of Todd Mattson, had gone to Cumberland County Court to try to secure visitation rights to see their 6-year-old granddaughter. Todd Mattson, 36, of Lower Allen Twp., is serving a 4- to 8-year state prison term for solicitation to commit murder. His wife, Heather, the alleged target of the aborted hit, opposed the grandparents’ visitation appeal. She claimed Joyce and Gene Mattson had been trying to convince the child that Todd Mattson hadn’t committed a crime. Judge Kevin A. Hess ruled Thursday that ordering forced visitation would not be in the child’s best interest.
