(CNN) -- An 8-year-old American boy is caught in the middle of an ugly custody battle so high profile that Secretary of State Hillary Clinton is using her clout to try to bring the boy home.



David Goldman's legal battle to gain custody of his son has drawn the attention of Secretary of State Hillary Clinton.



In 2004, David Goldman dropped off his wife, Bruna, and then-4-year-old son, Sean, at the airport for a two-week vacation in Brazil. Shortly after she arrived in her native country, Bruna told David she wanted a divorce and planned to stay in Brazil with their son.



Bruna later remarried and got pregnant, but she died while giving birth last summer. Goldman thought he was getting his son back, but a Brazilian family court judge granted custody of Sean to Bruna's new husband.



Goldman talked with CNN's Larry King about the international legal battle he is waging to gain custody of his son. King also talked to Helvecio Ribeiro, Bruna Goldman's uncle. The following is an edited version of the interviews.



Larry King: What caused the breakup of the marriage?



David Goldman: I don't know. Apparently, she decided she wanted to live in Brazil, where she said she had more friends and more family and where she was known.



King: Did you feel happily married?



Goldman: Yes, I thought we were happily married.



King: So this was a call out of the blue?



Goldman: I was completely blindsided and crushed.



King: What did you do then?



Goldman: Well, I (got) a phone call. My mom tracked it down as being Father's Day, about three days after they arrived. The first call was they got there safe, everything was OK. Then, I got a phone call and a very serious voice -- a voice they didn't recognize, really, as being, you know, it was out of her normal tone.



Bruna says, "David, we need to talk. You're a great guy. You're a wonderful father, but our love affair is ended, is over. I've decided I want to live in Brazil and you need to come down to Brazil immediately and sign 10 pages of papers with my attorney." There was a list of demands on these papers. One was giving her full custody. Another was to never go to the courts to file any claims of kidnapping or criminal charges.



King: Did you get to talk to your son?



Goldman: I got to talk to my son. In fact, I got to speak with all of them in the beginning, while they were still trying to get me to go down there and be trapped in this custody battle. At that point, I wasn't the enemy until I didn't meet her demands and I did go to the courts.



King: Well, when you went (to Brazil), who did you see? What did you do?



Goldman: I went to the courts. I went to every ruling on every court proceeding and with the guise that they would honor the Hague Treaty and return (my) son. And every time, it just got worse and worse.



In the first instance, they kept Sean for over a year before they made this ruling. And then they said, 'Well, you know, yes, he was taken unlawfully and he should have been returned, but now he's settled with the mother. These are Brazilian judges who have admitted that he's been held unlawfully and wrongfully.



King: How did you hear she died?



Goldman: I have friends who, kind of, have an ear to the ground in Brazil, and there were some articles that came out in some local Brazilian newspapers and they did some on the Internet and said she'd passed away.



King: Did you try then to get the child back legally?



Goldman: Yes. As soon as I was notified, I called both counsel in Brazil and in
What happened to Bruna after she remarried? Whow as awarded custody of the boy in a Brazilian court? Where did David Goldman's wife take their son? What did Goldman's wife do? Who died while giving birth? What is David Goldman's wifes name? Who was awarded custody of Goldman's son?
got pregnant, Bruna's new husband. Brazil. told David she wanted a divorce Bruna Bruna, Sean to Bruna's new husband.
question: What happened to Bruna after she remarried?, answer: got pregnant, | question: Whow as awarded custody of the boy in a Brazilian court?, answer: Bruna's new husband. | question: Where did David Goldman's wife take their son?, answer: Brazil. | question: What did Goldman's wife do?, answer: told David she wanted a divorce | question: Who died while giving birth?, answer: Bruna | question: What is David Goldman's wifes name?, answer: Bruna, | question: Who was awarded custody of Goldman's son?, answer: Sean to Bruna's new husband.