ALBANY — Relatives of kindergartner Kenneth White, who was strangled to death, continue to vie for custody of his two young sisters, now in foster care.

Bruises were found on the girls’ bodies after they were taken from Brenda VanAlstyne’s home in December, Judge Gerard E. Maney said in family court Tuesday; he continued to deny VanAlstyne supervised visits with the girls, ages 5 and 4, based on the allegations.

The marks were revealed in a medical examination, Maney said, performed after the body of the girls’ 5-year-old brother, Kenneth White, was found in a snowbank, near their trailer in Knox. The bruises could have been attributed to Brenda VanAlstyne or her only daughter, Tiffany VanAlstyne, Maney reported.

Tiffany VanAlstyne, 20, has been indicted on two counts of second-degree murder and one count of first-degree manslaughter for Kenneth White’s death.

She is being held in the county’s jail without bail, awaiting trial in Albany County Court. Assistant public defense attorney Rylan Richie said in court Tuesday that Judge Stephen Herrick had ordered all attorneys involved in the case to not speak about it with the media.

Family members have been seeking custody of White’s surviving siblings, Christine and Cheyanne, in Albany County Family Court since his murder, with a trial now scheduled for March 25 and 26.

Michelle Sweet, claiming to be the girls’ great aunt, and Mary Rotgers, their paternal grandmother, attempted separately to request custody for the second time. Both were denied.

Attorney James Green for Albany County, representing the Department for Children, Youth and Families, told Maney that Rotgers has a history with child protective services.

With abuse petitions already filed against Tiffany VanAlstyne and her mother, and Green told Maney that he expects neglect petitions will be filed against the girls’ parents, as well.

“We believe the department is under an obligation to allow her to have supervised contact,” VanAlstyne’s attorney, Jeffrey Berkun, told judge Maney.

Describing the abuse petition against Brenda VanAlstyne, Maney also cited her awareness of her daughter’s mental health issues, and that she and her daughter were not involved in adequate treatment or medication while Tiffany VanAlstyne was left with the children and Kenneth White was murdered.

During her arraignment in Knox Town Court in December, VanAlstyne said she has bipolar disorder and that she takes a variety of medications.

Berkun told Maney that Brenda VanAlstyne has so far seen a psychotherapist three times on a weekly basis, “to discuss issues surrounding the death of Kenneth, as well as what’s going to follow after.”

“The young man in the glasses, that comes with her all the time?” Maney asked about VanAlstyne’s companion in court.

“He’s like my stepson,” responded VanAlstyne, adding that she has raised him for the last 10 years and she shares custody of the 18-year-old Brandon Rios with his mother.

Jayson White’s two other children, Jaydon and Jaylize, were removed by child protective services in Berkshire County after the investigation into Kenneth White’s death, Green said in court Tuesday, with similar family court proceedings underway in Massachusetts.

Green said the girls’ parents, Christine and Jayson White, who live separately, haven’t gone to their scheduled family assessment appointments ordered by the court in January, and they didn’t call to reschedule. Their supervised visits to the girls in foster care have been intermittent, he said.

“We would like to see them attend and we would like to see them attend regularly,” Green said.

Maney ordered the parents to call a day ahead of their scheduled visits to confirm.

Alternate public defense attorney Leah Walker Casey said Jayson White didn’t attend some appointments because of the weather.

“And he does apologize for that,” she said.