UPDATE: GET OFF THE BENCH EPISODE 76: Family Court Is a Deadly Business
The Family Court System has its' fair share of problems, but one of those problems that has not had a very thorough review is that it is an ever-increasing "Deadly Business." In fact, I didn't even start thinking about the effects of our country's public policies regarding single-parent custody awards and "unilateral divorce" until my recent involvement and trip in Frederick, Maryland. For the most part, I only looked at the effects inside the courtroom specifically, not outside.
There should be substantial concern over the instant murder-suicides, premeditated murders, attempted murders, murders-for-hire, and drastic number of suicides that are occurring in families that are involved with domestic relation suits or family courts around the nation.
In Frederick Maryland, several families over a six month period of time were reported as having ongoing child custody disputes that resulted in death. There are other reports of attempts at murder-for-hire and attempted murders as well. The most recent eye-opener which drew my attention regarding the Thanksgiving Holiday "massacre" that occurred in Frederick County, Maryland is what prompted me to start searching out other occurrences. Information was indeed easy to find and too numerous to list all of the occurrences.
"On Thanksgiving night, police found five dead bodies in the town of Laytonsville, Maryland at 1.5 acre Unity Park. It is believed to have been a murder-suicide with a domestic related motive. Laytonsville, Maryland is a small town that is located about twenty-five miles away from Washington." (Thanksgiving Murder-Suicide in Laytonsville, Maryland; Associated Content, November 24, 2007)
"A man shot and killed his ex-wife, their three children and himself in a small-town park where they had met for the woman to hand over the youngsters for a visit, investigators said Friday." (Police: 5 Dead in Murder-Suicide in Md; Associated Press, November 23, 2007)
The above is not the first of these type of murder-suicides in the Frederick County, Maryland area. The above Associated Press article also reported in the same article that:
"In April, a father hanged his two young children before committing suicide in rural Boyds, in Montgomery County. In March, the remains of four young children were found in a town house in neighboring Frederick. The father's body was found hanging from a bannister, and the mother remains missing. "
"There is a trend that demonstrates that custody and family court litigation has dire consequences when allowed to continue as adversarial proceedings. One party often finds themselves at the tail-end of a powerstruggle that results in a level of hopelessness. When someone feels that they have nothing else to lose, they can become unpredictable," states Lary Holland, Host of Get Your Justice Live and author of this document.
Looking through the various newspapers there are demonstratively a large number of articles that support that ongoing adversarial child custody disputes are resulting in disastrous conseqences. Pro Wresler, Chris Benoit, is one of those cases that resulted in a murder-suicide, along with the high-profile case of Darren Mack who was involved in the shooting of a family court judge and the slaying of his ex-wife.
Annie Gowen of the Washington Post on February 20, 2002 in her article, Custody Battle Probed in Double Slaying:
In the cold pre-dawn hours Friday, Alan G. Bates left his Frederick town
house to fly to Birmingham for a deposition in a bitter child custody battle
with his ex-wife.
Later, in Birmingham, Bates and his ex-wife, Jessica McCord, faced off
over a conference table in a downtown law office.
Bates had planned to pick up his two daughters for the weekend that night.
Instead, his body and the body of a woman [were discovered].
Nelson Hernandez also of the Washington Post on September 28, 1005 in his article, 2nd Trial of Lawyer Accused in Plot to Kill Husband Opens; Prosecutors Cite Lost Custody Battle states:
The Bethesda lawyer accused of conspiring with her best friend to kill
her estranged husband as a way of resolving a bitter child custody battle
went on trial in Frederick County yesterday, nine months after Maryland's
highest court threw out her conviction by a Montgomery County jury.
The Wichita Eagle on April 4, 2003 reported in the article Child Custody At Heart of Murder-Suicide that:
When Eric Leckenby confronted his girlfriend's ex-husband with a gun Wednesday, he had already decided neither man would leave alive.
The Miami Herald reported on December 5, 2007 in an article entitled Tragic Couple Went to BSO Before Dying, "A Weston man and his wife visited the Broward Sheriff's Office the day before they perished in a murder-suicide" and further stated that:
"Her husband, Frank, was with her and, according to the BSO report, they were there to discuss ''a child custody'' dispute.
The BSO log, obtained by The Miami Herald, indicates the couple, who were in the midst of a bitter divorce, arrived about 5:30 p.m. and stayed in the lobby of BSO's Weston office for 45 minutes."
The Fresno Bee reported on December 4, 2007 in an article carrying the title Dead Couple Fought Over Custody, "Pair in Tulare murder-suicide sought court orderes" and further stated that:
"TULARE -- A bitter dispute over custody of a 17-month-old daughter may have factored into a late-night murder-suicide in a dark cemetery."
Some of the most recent deaths also have occured in Michigan, where two families in as many weeks have had custody disputes surrounding plots to murder other family members. "The issue of post custody hearing slayings goes beyond the simple issue of domestic violence and is indicative of a larger problem with the system itself," states Holland.
The Kalamazoo Gazette on December 12, 2007 in the first line of the story titled Custody may be linked to killing of woman states as follows:
"PULLMAN -- Investigators believe the death of a 19-year-old woman Tuesday at a house in Allegan County's Casco Township may have been linked to an ongoing child-custody issue, police said."
Other papers covering the aforementioned story in Alleghan county slated the story as being the second tragic incident in the past week, which should raise significant pressures on the local family court to explain what some of the possible factors are in the most recent tragedies. One of the tragedies involved an ex-wife allegedly using her current husband to kill her ex-husband which was widely reported in Western Michigan.
Similar plots and outcomes were involved in at least four known cases of domestic dispute slayings in the past year around Michigan involving Pro Wrestler Chris Benoit, a mutilation story, and now the two Alleghan incidents.
Given that the divorce rate is certainly not on the decline and no expectation of a decline over couples fighting over money, power, and children in the future, there should be a reasonable prediction that there are more tragedies to come. "A serious review of the family courts nationwide should be placed as a high priority when selecting candidates for the upcoming election because the current social institution has definitely failed the families listed in this article," states Holland.
For more information about Lary Holland, visit his website at http://www.laryholland.com.
You can contact him at 800-883-9619 x2 for further comment.
UPDATED (2-11-2008) Stories Continue to come in and will be updated under this topic line.
The authorities say he killed her - perhaps by choking her -- to end an acrimonious divorce and child custody battle. (Last Prosecution Witness to Take Stand in Hans Reiser Murder Trial; Defense to Get Case, February 11, 2008, Wired Blog Network)
UPDATED (2-12-2008) Closing Arguments in Ex-Officer's Trial: More Family Court Death
CANTON, Ohio (AP) — A former police officer intentionally killed his pregnant lover to get out of child support payments, a prosecutor told jurors during his closing argument Tuesday. (Closing Arguments in Ex-Officer's Trial; Associated Press, February 12, 2008)
UPDATED (3-18-2008) Geary man accused of attempted murder-for-hire.
CALUMET, Okla. (AP) - A Geary man is behind bars after authorities say he tried to hire someone to kill his wife and her parents.
David Phillips was arrested outside a Calumet restaurant Sunday after the Oklahoma State Bureau of Investigation monitored a conversation between him and a private investigator he hired during a child custody battle with his wife. (Geary man accused of attempted murder-for-hire; Associated Press; March 18, 2008 Orig.)
UPDATED (3-11-2008) Wife Stabs Husband in Phoenix during talk about divorce
A Phoenix woman stabbed her husband with a knife then pepper sprayed him on Monday during an argument about divorce proceedings. (Wife stabs husband in Phoneix during talk about divorce; March 11, 2008 Orig)
UPDATED (3-19-2008) Father and son, 10, dead in apparent murder-suicide
FORT STEVENS STATE PARK, Ore. - Clatsop County officials are investigating an apparent murder-suicide involving a Portland man and his 10-year-old son.
Investigators say the father, 49-year-old Rockland Stephens, ran a hose from the tail pipe into the cab of the vehicle. They said the man and boy both likely died of carbon monoxide poisoning.
The deaths reportedly come shortly after events connected to a child custody battle. (Father and son, 10, dead in apparent murder-suicide; Katu.Com; March 19, 2008 Orig)
UPDATED (3-29-2008) Clark County man sentence Friday to more than 53 years in prison
A Clark County man was sentenced Friday to more than 53 years in prison for offering to pay four men to beat or kill his estranged wife last year during contentious divorce and child custody proceedings.
(Reported in the Oregonian. March 29, 2008. Link not available.)
UPDATED (6-29-2008) Shooter kills 2, self in Cambria Township
EBENSBURG — A child-custody dispute led to an exchange of gunfire between a divorced couple and ended in a double murder and suicide.
Cambria Township police were dispatched just before 3 a.m. Sunday to the 1200 block of Allie Buck Road in Cambria Township after reports of a break-in.
Instead, they found themselves in a standoff with David Gerlach, 42, of Ebensburg.
Gerlach allegedly became agitated late Saturday or early Sunday with his ex-wife, Debra Gerlach, 41, who was living in the Cambria Township residence, which was in the process of being sold.
According to Cambria County Coroner Dennis Kwiatkowski, David Gerlach went to the residence with his handgun.
"There were two guns in the residence,” Kwiatkowski said. “One was Debra’s and one was the shooter’s. They exchanged gunfire at some point.” (Shooter Kills 2, self in Cambria Township; The Tribune-Democrat; June 29, 2008 Orig.)
UPDATED: (7-07-2008) Convicted Husband leads Calif. Police to a body (ReiserFS inventor convicted of killing as a result of adversarial child custody proceedings.)
OAKLAND, Calif. (AP) — A prominent software programmer who had denied having anything to do with his estranged wife's disappearance even after he was convicted of her murder led police Monday to what is believed to be her body, defense attorneys said.
The two were involved in a bitter custody dispute, traces of her blood were found in his home and car and witnesses testified she would never have left her children. (Convicted Husband leads Calif. Police to a body; Associated Press; July 7, 2008; Orig)
UPDATED: (7-07-2008) Police hunt man accused of shooting estranged wife
PORTOLA HILLS - The couple had hostile encounters when exchanging custody of their 9-year-old son in the past, and on Wednesday eveningauthorities said, 46-year-old Lonnie Ramos grabbed a 9mm and shot his estranged wife in the face.
After she filed for divorce in May 2003, Gynnae Ramos sought to reduce the amount of time that Lonnie Ramos had custody of their son, stating she had been threatened by Ramos and she was afraid he would take out his anger on their child. (Police hunt man accused of shooting estranged wife; OC Register; July 3, 2008 Orig.)
UPDATED: (7-17-2008) Holland martial-arts instructor tried to hire undercover cop as hit man
Police arrested Ung, 42, of Holland, at his school Wednesday night, apparently while students were in the building. Court documents show he tried to hire a man to kill Linda Siripanya, a woman with whom he has battled in court since 2003 over custody of their daughter.
Holland Police would not divulge a motive, but Ottawa Count Circuit Court documents reveal a contentious court struggle between Ung and his former girlfriend, with each firing accusations against the other. Each had tried more than once to get judges to issue personal protection orders against the other, and both claimed threats by the other. (Holland martial-arts instructor tried to hire undercover cop as hit man; Grand Rapids Press; July 17, 2008 Orig.)
