MENTAL ILLNESS
MENTAL ILLNESS
SUMMARY
Wife messaged her friends “[HUSBAND] HAS LOST HIS MIND” because “HE JUST LEFT ON FOOT TO GO TELL MY PARENTS ABOUT US SEPERATING/DIVORCING [sic]”.
Wife’s Sister “witnessed [Husband] speaking to [he]r parents” and described him as “kind” and “calm in demeanor”.
Wife and Wife’s Sister described Husband’s “erratic, unstable behavior” to police and the courts as:
“he walked off to go to my parents’ house, which is really far. He walked there. It’s crazy. It’s like he’s lost his mi— Something wasn’t right”
“an hour away in suburbia”
“he expressed a desire to walk to [her] parents’ house over an hour away and did so, further indicating his unstable state”
“it felt really erratic to decide to walk many miles”
“he decided to walk like an hour-plus”
“it was just really unusual and felt really erratic that he was going to walk”
“he was acting erratically. He just walked multiple miles on a bum knee. It just didn’t seem like the right state of mind”
“three miles or something on — on like a winter day. It was not like a comfortable, leisurely situation”
Wife’s Sister also described Husband’s “irrational, erratic behavior” to police as:
“the day before, he went and celebrated my dad’s birthday with him. … So, it’s really like crazy — out of nowhere”
“it just seems odd to be a loving family the day before and then to have this happen the next day”
Police recommended that Wife pursue “an emergency custody order, which gives us the authority to take him … involuntarily for a mental health evaluation”.
They instructed her to “articulate the fact that he literally walked from your house to your parents’ house, which to me is just not like normal processing behavior”.
Wife told Sheriff deputies serving the protective order with firearms drawn that Husband was “on the verge of a mental break” and “likely armed”.
Husband presented Judge T., Wife’s Lawyer O., and Wife with reports from 3 licensed medical mental health professionals concluding that:
he is “mentally fit to take care of his children”
“[n]o mental health issues/abuse noted”
he “demonstrates the necessary mental and physical capacity to perform all required caregiving tasks effectively“
Nonetheless, Judge T. ruled that Husband’s intention “to report [Wife’s Lawyer O.] to the bar” was “irrational” because “it won’t succeed with the state bar”.
Judge T. ordered that “[Husband]’s not in the right mental state to be given extensive physical custodial time with his children” and that “[Husband] has to be in some mental health treatment”.
A MMPI test reported that “[Husband’s] psychological testing resulted in him exhibiting NO CLINICALLY DIAGNOSABLE mental health symptoms at the time of test administration”.
Judge F. ruled that “[he] ha[s] suspicions [of Husband’s mental illness] but no evidence to suggest otherwise” and ordered Husband to be incarcerated for civil contempt of court for violating the order to “undergo a mental health evaluation that includes the Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory-2 (MMPI-2) testing”.
When asked if she had “seen any of the mental health reports, any of the four mental health reports, mental health evaluations that [Husband] has conducted over the last year and a half”, Wife responded “I don’t know if my seeing or not seeing any reports has anything to do with this case, and I don’t know”.
At their depositions, multiple police officers were ask to identify signs of mental illness in body cam footage of Husband’s previous interactions with the police.
Officer L. was unable to identify any signs despite a year earlier telling Wife that she “[thought] that there may be some mild mental illness beginning right there” because Husband was “kind of displaying certain signs”.
None of the other officers — including those specializing in mental health responses — were able to identify any signs of mental illness. TODO
Wife has repeatedly used — and continues to use — her concerns about Husband’s mental health to restrict all contact between him and his children for two years and counting. TODO
TIMELINE
DECEMBER 31, 2023
Wife messaged her friends “HUSBAND HAS LOST HIS MIND” because “HE JUST LEFT ON FOOT TO GO TELL MY PARENTS ABOUT US SEPERATING/DIVORCING [sic]”.
She later described Husband’s “concerning behavior” that day as “making the decision to walk on that bum knee an hour away in suburbia”.
She later claimed that she ”observed several behaviors from Husband that [she] would describe as erratic” that day, namely that “[h]e demanded that [she] sign a separation agreement … creating an unfounded sense of urgency and pressure” and that ”he expressed a desire to walk to [her] parents’ house over an hour away and did so, further indicating his unstable state”.
TODO urgency
Wife’s Sister “witnessed [Husband] speaking to [he]r parents” and later testified that “he was calm in demeanor”, “There was no yelling or elevated volume”, and “he was kind”.
She later testified that “culturally, that’s not what you do” — “culturally you would talk to your own family, and the other person would talk to their own family”.
JANUARY 1, 2024
Wife’s Sister told police that “[Husband] had shown some erratic behavior” — ”he walked off to go to my parents’ house, which is really far. He walked there. It’s crazy. It’s like he’s lost his mi— Something wasn’t right”.
Wife’s Sister added that “the day before, [Husband] went and celebrated my dad’s birthday with him. … So, it’s really like crazy — out of nowhere” and that Husband “was very crazy — came in her cursing” and "[has] shown some craz — some really bad behavior; he’s screaming and cursing” and “not well”.
Wife described the “not very stable behavior” to police that “it just felt like really erratic, unstable behavior to go and choose to talk to someone else’s parents”.
Police instructed Wife to pursue a protective order and to “articulate the fact that he literally walked from your house to your parents’ house, which to me is just not like normal processing behavior. Like why would someone want to do that?”
Police “[thought] that there may be some mild mental illness beginning right there” and recommended that Wife pursue “an emergency custody order, which gives us the authority to take him into custody” and “take him involuntarily for a mental health evaluation” because “You don’t want a crazy person in your kids’ life — unmedicated crazy person”.
JANUARY 5, 2024
In her affidavit for her petition for a preliminary protective order , Wife alleged that “Recently [Husband] seems to be acting erratically“.
Wife told Sheriff deputies serving Husband with a protective order that Husband was “on the verge of a mental break” and “likely armed”.
FEBRUARY 8, 2024
In her counterclaim for divorce, Wife “aver[ed] that Husband has mental health issues that this Court should take into consideration when deciding the issues in this case”.
APRIL 25, 2024
At her deposition, Wife testified that she wanted the protective order until Husband could “get to a better mental state”.
MAY 2, 2024
At her deposition, Wife’s Sister testified that “[Husband] needs help. He needs to see a doctor. We’re concerned about his mental health. We’re worried about him“ and that “Mostly we were worried about [Husband’s] mental health at that point”.
MAY 22, 2024
At the protective order appeal [hearing], Wife testified that “it felt really erratic to decide to walk many miles on the knee that gives out occasionally“ and that “[Husband] made some erratic decisions to inform [her] father about something that [she] thought would potentially cause a medical or a physical issue for [her father]. [Husband] chose to walk to [her] parents’ home, which felt like irrational, erratic behavior on — when [Husband] has a — an injured knee that at times gives out completely, and he decided to walk like an hour-plus”.
When asked to clarify “because I hear a lot of testimony about manic behavior, but I don’t really hear any specific evidence”, Wife’s Sister testified that "[she] can’t — answer your question if you don’t — tell me what you’re looking — what kind of manic behavior you’re looking for”.
TODO
Judge T. found that “[Husband’s] email to counsel’s law firm suggests that he’s not in the right mental state to be given extensive physical custodial time with his children” and ordered that “He has to be in some mental health treatment”.
Nonetheless, Judge T. ruled that Husband’s intention “to report [Wife’s Lawyer O.] to the bar” was “irrational” because “it won’t succeed with the state bar”.
Judge T. ordered that “[Husband]’s not in the right mental state to be given extensive physical custodial time with his children” and that “[Husband] has to be in some mental health treatment”.
MAY 25-27, 2024
Husband received reports from 3 different licensed medical professionals with whom he had recently completed mental health evaluations. The results reported Husband to be:
“mentally clear and is fully capable of providing care for himself and his children” and “he demonstrates the necessary mental and physical capacity to perform all required caregiving tasks effectively”
“mentally fit to take care of his children”
“negative for mental health illness”, “in a good mental health state” and “fit to take care of his children” with “[n]o mental health issues/abuse noted”
MAY 28, 2024
Husband presented the completion of an anger management course recommended by Husband’s Lawyer Ma. and the 3 mental health evaluation reports to Judge T., Wife’s Lawyer O., and Wife.
Nonetheless, Judge T. ordered that “The Father will enroll in and complete either an anger management program or [anonymized] program and be evaluated and follow all recommendations including treatment by a licensed mental health professional until further Order by a Court of competent jurisdiction regarding custody and visitation matters”.
SEPTEMBER 11, 2024
TODO Wife expressing concerns about Husband’s mental health
SEPTEMBER 23, 2024
To an interrogatory about Husband’s relationship with his children, Wife answered that “Husband]’s involvement has been limited since early 2024, primarily due to his emotional volatility” and that she “worr[ies] about his ability to meet their emotional needs, given his struggles with managing his own emotions, which could frighten the children”.
Wife added that “There is a protective order in place due to concerns about [Husband]’s emotional reactivity. His failure to seek assistance raises ongoing concerns about his suitability as a co-parent”.
OCTOBER 22, 2024
At the custody hearing, Wife testified that ”it was just really unusual and felt really erratic that he was going to walk” and that “he was acting erratically. He just walked multiple miles on a bum knee. It just didn’t seem like the right state of mind”.
Wife repeatedly testified that she had “concerns about [Husband’s] mental health” and his “mental health instability” and that “these concerns affect the custody schedule that [she] believe[s] is in the children’s best interest”.
Wife and Wife’s Lawyer O. repeatedly implied that they had not received Husband’s mental health results on May 28, 2024.
Wife testified to her concern that “So in two weeks he suddenly thinks that while he hasn’t done any of the things in terms of mental health evaluation or the anger management or done anything that felt like he was being a cooperative co-parent, that he should be getting more parenting time”.
NOVEMBER 4, 2024
In Wife’s secondary supplemental interrogatory answers, she claimed that “[Husband]’s mental health raises concerns, and he has been ordered by the circuit court to undergo a mental health evaluation” and that “There is a protective order in place due to concerns about [Husband]’s emotional reactivity”.
NOVEMBER 8, 2024
Judge F. expressed “concerns about [Husband’s] mental health” and ordered him to “complete a mental health evaluation, including Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory-2 — the MMPI-2 testing within 90 days and promptly complete all recommended treatment”.
NOVEMBER 12, 2024
At the assets hearing, when asked about “any other erratic behavior that prompted [her] to leave the house” besides “husband speaking to [her[ parents”, Wife described “[Husband] walking to my parents’ home when [his] leg didn’t work. And conveniently, suddenly, it was functional enough for [him] to walk. I don’t know, was that three miles or something on — on like a winter day. It was not like a comfortable, leisurely situation”.
Wife testified that it “felt erratic” that “someone who has a bum knee left the home walking somewhere without their phone where you could have had a — a — like a medical emergency and wouldn’t even been able to move. I wouldn’t have known where [he] w[as]. [His] wife and children wouldn’t have known where [he] w[as] and [he] could have just been stuck out in the cold on New Year’s randomly somewhere”.
Wife testified that Husband was “erratic” and “weird” and “unpredictable” because “[he] w[as]n’t speaking to me, so [he] stopped talking to me. We’re literally in our home with our two children, I’m following [him] out of the house”.
Wife “d[id]n’t even know how to describe what that means for [Husband’s] temperament at the time, except for that it was erratic. It felt very concerning“ that Husband was “so, I don’t know, elevated in terms of the way that [he’s] feeling or some manic place that [he] can’t feel the pain that’s happening in [his] knee”.
Judge F. ordered that Husband “must undergo a mental health evaluation that includes the Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory-2 (MMPI-2) testing” and that he “shall promptly complete all recommended treatment stemming from this mental health evaluation”.
JANUARY 24, 2025
TODO ???
MARCH 4, 2025
At the rule to show cause hearing, Judge F. found “the biggest issues I think are the mental health — issues“ and “that those mental health services are probably pretty important to prevent further decompensation and this — for getting worse, right?” so “if there’s a medical issue here of a psychological nature, then it needs to be addressed, and I want to make sure that we don’t let a whole lot of time pass on that —”.
Judge F. said that “[he] would be surprised if [it] was the case here” that “evaluation may come back and say there aren’t any” “mental health issues to the extent that there are any”.
APRIL 12, 2025
After his mental health evaluation and MMPI test, “[Husband’s] psychological testing resulted in him exhibiting NO CLINICALLY DIAGNOSABLE mental health symptoms at the time of test administration.”
APRIL 24, 2025
At the rule to show cause hearing, despite having been personally handed 3 previous mental health evaluations and having seen the recent MMPI results and report, Wife’s Lawyer O. repeatedly claimed that “I don’t believe there’s been a sufficient showing that any of those have been complied with” and that “I would ask that -- that he be incarcerated, perhaps if the Court appoint him some sort of a guardian to ensure that he gets these mental health treatments done which I think are most certainly necessary”.
Despite admitting that “[Husband] did complete a mental health evaluation” and that “No mental health treatment was recommended as a result of that evaluation”, Judge F. concluded that “[he] ha[s] suspicions but no evidence to suggest otherwise”.
Judge F. found that “[Husband] did not complete a mental health evaluation including MMPI-2 testing within 90 days” and “That constitutes a violation”, despite the fact that Husband was repeatedly incarcerated during those 90 days for false accusations that resulted in 9 criminal charges, all of which were later dropped.
APRIL 25, 2025
At her deposition, Officer L. TODO
MAY 19, 2025
At her deposition, Wife testified that “[she] do[es]n’t know what [Husband’s] reasons are, if there’s something happening with [him] that’s making [him] feel unsafe or unstable”.
When asked if she had “seen any of the mental health reports, any of the four mental health reports, mental health evaluations that [Husband] has conducted over the last year and a half”, she responded “I don’t know if my seeing or not seeing any reports has anything to do with this case, and I don’t know. I don’t think so”.
MAY 30, 2025
At a hearing to quash subpoenas that Husband had issued for evidence to refute the allegations against him, Judge T. found that “Your subpoenas to all these people add to her argument. You are setting yourself up to lose custody of your children because of your actions, which I find to be erratic, without basis in law and fact, right?”
JUNE 27, 2025
At their depositions, Officers Mu. and Mc. TODO
JULY 8-9, 2025
At the protective order appeal, Wife testified that “In December 31st and on January 1st of 2024, there were multiple instances that escalated to a point of erratic behavior” but that “[she] can’t even say that [she] can speak to his mental state” except to say that “he was ordered to have a mental health evaluation” and “needed to do a mental health evaluation”.
EVIDENCE
LINK TO DECEMBER 31, 2023 MESSAGES BETWEEN WIFE AND HER FRIENDS
Wife: [HUSBAND] HAS LOST HIS MIND
Wife: HE JUST LEFT ON FOOT TO GO TELL MY PARENTS ABOUT US SEPERATING/DIVORCING [sic]
Wife’s Friend H.: ?!?!
Wife: I wouldn’t let him text dad and took his phone
Wife: I stood behind the car and didn’t want him to go so he left on foot
Wife: I didn’t want to be screaming for him in the streets so I called for him a couple times but I need to say home with the kids
Wife: I called [Husband’s Sister] before he walked out bc I felt like I had no options of someone to talk some sense into him
LINK TO JANUARY 1, 2024 A.M. BODY CAM
Wife: [Husband] walked to my parent’s home, which is about an hour-and-ten-minute walk away.
Police: He walked there?!
Wife: He walked there. Um, he probably ran.
Wife: it just felt like really erratic, unstable behavior to go and choose to talk to someone else’s parents.
Police: articulate the fact that he literally walked from your house to your parents’ house, which to me is just not like normal processing behavior. Like why would someone want to do that?
LINK TO JANUARY 1, 2024 P.M. BODY CAM
Wife’s Sister: And he had shown some erratic behavior.
Wife’s Sister: And he walked off to go to my parents’ house, which is really far. He walked there. It’s crazy. It’s like he’s lost his mi— Something wasn’t right.
Wife’s Sister: He said something about ‘We’re not happy with each other. We need to split up.’ How that showed up out of nowhere because the day before, he went and celebrated my dad’s birthday with him. … So, it’s really like crazy — out of nowhere.
Wife’s Sister: But now my kids started to come home, and they’re scared of this man, and I asked them to leave, but now they’re all scared because [Husband] was very crazy — came in here cursing.
TODO ??? Note that Wife’s Sister’s “kids” were men in their mid-twenties at the time.
Wife’s Sister: now he’s shown some craz — some really bad behavior; he’s screaming and cursing.
Wife’s Sister: And she doesn’t think that he needs to be around the kids in this condition.
Police: Just my opinion, I think that there may be some mild mental illness beginning right there.
Wife’s Sister: Yeah, he’s not well.
Wife: I think [Wife’s Sister] had given you some of the context of the not very stable behavior
Police: This is my opinion, and I’m guessing it’s the opinion of [Officer M.] as well, that he seems to be suffering from some kind of mental illness.
Police: What this all means to you is that there’s something called an emergency custody order, okay? [Husband]’s not displaying to us any signs or symptoms that we could take him involuntarily for a mental health evaluation, okay? However, you see different things than we have, okay? … You can also go to the magistrate and get what’s called an emergency custody order, which gives us the authority to take him into custody and take him for a mental health evaluation. Maybe, he could get on the right track as far as getting some help, getting a diagnosis, and getting some meds. And maybe that would help the whole situation stabilize a little bit. … And for us to take him involuntarily, just so we’re all on the same page here, he has to display that he’s going to hurt himself or hurt someone else. I don’t think that we’re there yet with him; however, I can see this escalating to that point — where you’re calling us going ‘He’s threatening to hurt me, hurt the kids’ whatever and then you know — then we are in a situation where we are taking him involuntarily. So, anyway, the emergency custody order that would be TODO magistrate’s office. We would serve on him, we would take him into custody, we would bring him to a place called [anonymized], where he would see a clinician. You would speak to a clinician or whoever would speak to the clinician one of you guys explain to them what you observed and then they would determine a course of action from there. I would suggest you do both of those things, okay?
Police: You don’t want a crazy person in your kids’ life — unmedicated crazy person.
Police: I’m just saying that perhaps if you or the sister can encourage [Husband] to get some mental health help, then maybe you know — that would help balance him out a little bit to be a better — you know — dad, not husband, but dad.
Police: I’ve been doing this a long time, and you know — when somebody is kind of displaying certain signs, and [Husband TODO] was definitely displaying them to me when he was talking to me just for a few minutes.
Wife’s Sister’s Husband: [Husband]’s going to go crazy because he’s planning to leave on Thursday with the kids to Texas.
LINK TO JANUARY 5, 2024 AFFIDAVIT FOR PETITION FOR PRELIMINARY PROTECTIVE ORDER
Wife: Recently he seems to be acting erratically
LINK TO JANUARY 5, 2024 BODY CAM
Wife: The last officer — one of the last officers that came when he did something at my sister’s house — said that he’s on the verge of a mental break.
TODO JANUARY 18, 2024 PROTECTIVE ORDER HEARING
TODO CONFIRM NO REFERENCES TO MENTAL ILLNESS
LINK TO FEBRUARY 8, 2024 WIFE’S ANSWER TO COMPLAINT FOR DIVORCE AND COUNTERCLAIM FOR DIVORCE
After Husband left the home, Wife took the children to her sister’s residence a few blocks away given Husband’s anger and unpredictable behavior.
LINK TO APRIL 25, 2024 WIFE’S DEPOSITION
Q: How long do you want the protective order to be?
Wife: However long it will take for him to address his issues and hopefully get to a better mental state.
Q: Do you have any recordings of him screaming or yelling at you or acting erratically from before [you took the kids to your sister’s]?
Wife: I don’t know. I have a lot of general videos and things of our lives over the years. I don’t know if any of them have him screaming or yelling at me.
Q: So again I know you say you don’t know or you don’t recall, but everything you’ve produced to us is all after December 31, 2023 in terms of the negative communications. Am I right about that?
Wife: Correct.
LINK TO MAY 2, 2024 WIFE’S SISTER’S DEPOSITION
Wife’s Sister: [Husband] needs help. He needs to see a doctor. We’re concerned about his mental health. We’re worried about him.
Wife’s Sister: Mostly we were worried about [Husband’s] mental health at that point.
Wife’s Sister: She told me he wanted to go and tell my parents that they are splitting up, and it will probably be a shock to them since they were all there together celebrating my father’s birthday the day before. And culturally, that’s not what you do.
Q: You said culturally you don’t do that. Can you explain that to me what you mean by that?
Wife’s Sister: Well, I suppose I meant that it just seems odd to be a loving family the day before and then to have this happen the next day.
Wife’s Sister: And culturally you would talk to your own family, and the other person would talk to their own family.
Q: Is that a cultural issue that is related to your ethnic origin, or do you just mean more generally?
Wife’s Sister: Generally.
Q: Do you recall her telling you that she had his phone?
Wife’s Sister: The video says I did. I don’t recall it.
Q: And, in fact, you did interact with him, did you not?
Wife’s Sister: Yes.
Q: What was that interaction like?
Wife’s Sister: I tried to reason with him. I asked him if he wanted a ride. He had had a lot of knee problems. We were surprised he was even walking that far on his bum knee, and he said he did not want to ride in the car with me.
Q: Was he cursing you out in any way?
Wife’s Sister: No.
Q: Okay. Were you cursing him out in any way?
Wife’s Sister: Not him, no.
Q: Who were you cursing out?
Wife’s Sister: I said, “This is fucked up.”
LINK TO MAY 22, 2024 PROTECTIVE ORDER APPEAL HEARING
Wife: So it felt really erratic
to decide to walk many miles on the knee that gives out occasionally.
January 1, 2024 phone call played in court TODO context
Wife: And you are being unstable. Yes, you are.
Wife: You escalated in an unstable — and unsafe way — holy shit.
Wife: You’re — you’re [sic] erratic behavior —
Wife: I feel like that may have to do with some of these erratic behaviors, so I feel like he should consider some sort of substance abuse program, probably a parenting class.
Wife: I was concerned with his erratic behavior, what he may do if he got a hold of the passports.
Wife: It’s erratic, so I — it would be, in my opinion, not warranted to leave the country.
Q: Do you recall the police officer indicating to you that [Husband] may be suffering from some kind of mental illness?
Wife: Yes, I remember that.
Wife: I had gotten into an argument with my husband, and he started — he made some erratic decisions to inform my father about something that I thought would potentially cause a medical or a physical issue for him. He chose to walk to my parents’ home, which felt like irrational, erratic behavior on — when he has a — an injured knee that at times gives out completely, and he decided to walk like an hour-plus.
Q: Now, when he was in your presence and you told him, you know, this is fucked up and everything, did he scream and yell at you?
Wife’s Sister: No.
Q: No. And he wasn’t manic and angry and out of control when he talked to you, was he?
Wife’s Sister: He seemed out of it, but he wasn’t out of — I don’t know. What do you mean by out of control?
Q: That’s an interesting question because I hear a lot of testimony about manic behavior, but I don’t really hear any specific evidence, so why don’t — tell me — So you didn’t —
Wife’s Sister: So then I can’t — answer your question if you don’t — tell me what you’re looking — what kind of manic behavior you’re looking for.
Q: Never mind. That’s — that’s the answer — I was looking for actually. There was no cursing back and forth with you?
Wife’s Sister: Not that I recall.
Q: And you witnessed [Husband] speaking to your parents?
Wife’s Sister: I did.
Q: And he was calm in demeanor, was he not?
Wife’s Sister: Yes.
Q: There was no yelling or elevated volume?
Wife’s Sister: No, he was kind.
Judge T.: He has to be in some mental health treatment.
Judge T.: This email to counsel’s law firm took me back from thinking of the extended custodial time that I was prepared to — to attempt to give him, but this email suggests that he’s not in the right mental state to be given extensive physical custodial time with his children.
Judge T.: So therefore, the Respondent’s argument to [Wife’s Lawyer O.’s] law firm that the evidence of pushing was falsified, it really touched at the end of the day an immaterial fact, given all their evidence of erratic behavior that was displayed that this Court find provided greater weight of evidence sufficient to result in a reasonable apprehension of physical harm by the Petitioner.
TODO ???
LINK TO MAY 25, 2024 MENTAL HEALTH REPORT
TODO
mentally clear and is fully capable of providing care for himself and his children
he demonstrates the necessary mental and physical capacity to perform all required caregiving tasks effectively
LINK MAY 27, 2024 MENTAL HEALTH REPORT 1
TODO
mentally fit to take care of his children
LINK TO MAY 27, 2024 MENTAL HEALTH REPORT 2
TODO
negative for mental health illness
in a good mental health state
fit to take care of his children
[n]o mental health issues/abuse noted
LINK TO SEPTEMBER 11, 2024 WIFE’S DEPOSITION
Q: As part of the earlier separation discussions is it correct that you and husband had discussed that a no-fault divorce in Virginia requires a one-year legal separation?
Wife: Yeah, I think that was like a common knowledge data point at some point. I don’t remember when.
Q: Is it correct that [Wife’s best friend] publicly attributed her divorce to her husband’s mental illness?
Wife: I don’t know how public that was.
Q: When you speak about the behavior, the behavior being notifying the parents, was there any other behavior that was concerning?
Wife: Yes.
Q: What was the other concerning behavior?
Wife: That you were about to talk like an hour-ish away on foot when you just, I don’t know, within the last few weeks had multiple instances of your knee giving out to the point where you couldn’t walk, unannounce — like, there was no heads-up as to — when that happened, but you were making the decision to walk on that bum knee an hour away in suburbia.
LINK TO SEPTEMBER 23, 2024 WIFE’S ANSWERS TO INTERROGATORIES
3. The Relationship Between Each Parent and Each Child
Wife: [Husband]’s involvement has been limited since early 2024, primarily due to his emotional volatility. I worry about his ability to meet their emotional needs, given his struggles with managing his own emotions, which could frighten the children.
5. The Role Each Parent Has Played
Wife: Prior to the protective order, both parents were actively involved in their lives. However, due to [Husband]’s conduct, the court restricted access for a period.
6. The Propensity of Each Parent to Support the Child’s Relationship with the
Other Parent
Wife: Conversely, [Husband] often reacts with anger and frustration, which complicates conflict resolution. His emotional reactivity has been a repeating cycle, making collaboration challenging.
9. Any History of Family Abuse
Wife: There is a protective order in place due to concerns about [Husband]’s emotional reactivity. His failure to seek assistance raises ongoing concerns about his suitability as a co-parent. The protective order has been in effect since May, during which time he has consistently been late for visitation and has left many messages unread or unanswered.
LINK TO OCTOBER 10, 2024 WIFE’S SUPPLEMENTAL INTERROGATORY ANSWERS
Q: You have described Husband’s behavior on the afternoon of December 31, 2023 as “erratic”. Specify in detail the “erratic” behavior that you claim prompted you to leave the marital residence with the children and their passports.
Wife: On the afternoon of December 31, 2023, I observed several behaviors from Husband that I would describe as erratic. Specifically:
I believed he had been drinking, as I saw a bottle on the counter.
He was smoking marijuana, which heightened my concerns about his state.
He demanded that I sign a separation agreement that I was seeing for the first time, creating an unfounded sense of urgency and pressure.
Despite having a bum knee that had given out multiple times in the prior weeks, he expressed a desire to walk to my parents’ house over an hour away and did so, further indicating his unstable state.
He was fixated on immediate actions regarding our divorce, insisting that
everything needed to happen that day and expressing this insistence in a
forceful manner.
Given these behaviors, and his previous statements of not wanting to live in the United States, I felt it was necessary to leave the marital residence with the children and their passports for our safety and well-being.
LINK TO OCTOBER 22, 2024 CUSTODY HEARING
Wife’s Lawyer O.: Again, I am not going to try to re-litigate the protective order case,but I do think it, the events that give rise to the protective order, protective orders, excuse me, speak to his concern, our concerns about his mental health instability.
Wife’s Lawyer O.: he has provided no information on completing the anger management and mental health evaluation and treated is [sic] ordered by Judge [T.].
Q: As far as your husband’s mental health, do you have any concerns about his mental health?
Wife: I do.
Wife: I, I mean it was just really unusual and felt really erratic that he was going to walk.
Wife: He was angry, he was acting erratically. He just walked multiple miles on a bum knee. It just didn’t seem like the right state of mind
Q: The orders require him to seek certain mental health counseling and anger management as well as an evaluation. Are you aware of that?
Wife: Yes.
Q: Have you inquired with [Husband] about his progress on those matters?
Wife: I have, more than once.
Q: Has he provided you any response?
Wife: None.
Q: Do you continue to have any concerns about [Husband]’s mental health as it relates to his anger?
Wife: I do.
Q: Do these concerns affect the custody schedule that you believe is in the children’s best interest?
Wife: I do.
Wife: So then now he needs to go down an entire line of why, while he says that they should do like a overnight, et cetera. And this is, mind you, this is only like two weeks or so after the order has been given.
Wife: So in two weeks he suddenly thinks that while he hasn’t done any of the things in terms of the mental health evaluation or the anger management or done anything that felt like he was being a cooperative co-parent, that he should be getting more parenting time.
Q: Are you also asking that the Court order once again, that [Husband] complete all of the mental health and anger management requirements that Judge [T.] put in the two orders that were entered on May 28th?
Wife: Correct. I do.
LINK TO NOVEMBER 8, 2024 HEARING
Judge F.: However, there are concerns about [Husband’s] mental health.
Judge F.: Father must complete a mental health evaluation, including Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory-2 — the MMPI-2 testing within 90 days and promptly complete all recommended treatment.
LINK TO NOVEMBER 12, 2024 ASSETS HEARING
Q: When you mention erratic behavior,— you’ve in your deposition, mentioned that the erratic behavior was husband speaking to your parents. Was there any other erratic behavior that prompted you to leave the house?
Wife: You walking to my parents’ home when your leg didn’t work. And conveniently, suddenly, it was functional enough for you to walk. I don’t know, was that three miles or something on — on like a winter day. It was not like a comfortable, leisurely situation.
Wife: When you left, you wouldn’t even like be responsive to me. I — I was trying to ask you questions. You had originally tried to drive, like it — none of that felt safe. Like you literally left — someone who has a bum knee left the home walking somewhere without their phone where you could have had a — a — like a medical emergency and wouldn’t even been able to move.
Wife: I wouldn’t have known where you were. your wife and children wouldn’t have known where you were and you could have just been stuck out in the cold on New Year’s randomly somewhere. But that felt erratic and it felt like you weren’t calming down.
Q: Do you acknowledge that on the night of December 21st, after you claimed the husband was adding — acting erratically that in the message, you claimed that you were frustrated and disappointed? Sorry, quote, “Frustrated and disappointed,” end quote.
Wife: Instead of saying that I said, “Hey, that was really uncalled dear kind friend. Can you please calm down so we can have a normal conversation,” like that’s what’s — read between the lines here. And I know you can read between the lines.
Wife: You were erratic. You were weird. You were being like just like un — un — unpredictable. You went from — and then you weren’t speaking to me, so you stopped talking to me. We’re literally in our home with our two children, I’m following you out of the house.
Wife: I don’t even know if I had shoes on cause I’m like, “Don’t — what are you doing? Don’t do this. What — where are you going?” And you just decided to like walk off. And again, this is in the month where your leg had so many instances of you not being able to walk that you couldn’t go pick up [Son] from school.
Wife: You were icing your knee all the time. And then suddenly for you to like — I don’t know, like either be so, I don’t know, elevated in terms of the way that you’re feeling or some manic place that you can’t feel the pain that’s happening in your knee that prevented you from being able to walk and drive to go pick up your son, which is pretty damn important, to suddenly be able to have to race over somewhere to do something that was not actually urgent.
Wife: Like I don’t — I — I — I don’t even know how to describe what that means for your temperament at the time, except for that it was erratic. It felt very concerning.
LINK TO NOVEMBER 12, 2024 CUSTODY ORDER
D. (ii) Father’s Mental Health Evaluation Requirement. Within 90 days of this Order, Father must undergo a mental health evaluation that includes the Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory-2 (MMPI-2) testing. Father shall promptly complete all recommended treatment stemming from this mental health evaluation.
LINK TO JANUARY 24, 2025 EMERGENCY CUSTODY HEARING
Q: [Wife], since the custody order in November of 2024, has [Husband] updated you on any of his efforts to comply with the terms related to mental health screening and/or treatment?
Wife: No, he has not.
Q: Are you asking that future modifications of custody be conditioned on [Husband]’s compliance with the mental health provisions of the order in November?
Wife: Yeah, there’s mental health and there was also anger management in there as well.
LINK TO MARCH 4, 2025 RULE TO SHOW CAUSE HEARING
Judge F.: It seems to be that those mental health services are probably pretty important to prevent further decompensation and this — for getting worse, right?
Judge F.: But the biggest issues I think are the mental health — issues and then constraining the communications to align with the order.
Judge F.: I think the mental health services are probably going to assist with the — with the second part, right?
Judge F.: And — but let’s address the issue of enforcement of my order because I really do believe that the nature of the party’s communication and especially the mental health issues to the extent that there are any, and obviously evaluation may come back and say there aren’t any, I would be surprised if that was the case here.
Judge F.: But, you know, if people have medical issues, you know, as parents, we have to take care of ourselves for our kids and that’s what needs to happen. So if there’s a medical issue here of a psychological nature, then it needs to be addressed, and I want to make sure that we don’t let a whole lot of time pass on that —
LINK TO APRIL 12, 2025 MENTAL HEALTH REPORT
[Husband] (DOB: [ANONYMIZED]) recently consulted with me for an evaluation to determine whether he had any clinical diagnosis that would be present at this time on 04/12/2025. He arrived on time to his appointment and did not appear to be guarded in his discussion of his symptoms or history. He readily acknowledged his concerns, future goals, and understood the procedure he was embarking upon.
He was psychologically tested for any signs of difficulty with comprehension, cognitive functioning, or mental health disorders which could impede his ability to function. He did not appear to have any difficulties with comprehension, cognitive functioning, or understanding the psychological process. He did process information at an average standard, had no cognitive flexibility difficulties, and is considered to be within normal limits on cognitive functioning. He appears to have an adequate understanding of the process and what is expected of him.
He denied a history concerning a lack of insight, impulsivity, self-control, addiction, substance abuse, suicidal attempts or ideation, arrests, or incarceration. There was no evidence to determine these would be concerns. He has been compliant with other procedures and requests asked of him even with requests made of him for this psychological testing administration.
He was assessed with a diagnostic clinical interview and the following test: Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory, 3rd Edition (MMPI-3). All tests were considered to be valid and there was no evidence of any random responding meaning we can be confident that he answered in a forthright manner.
The self-concept of [Husband] appears to involve a generally stable and positive self-evaluation. He is normally a confident and optimistic person who approaches life with a clear sense of purpose and distinct convictions. These characteristics are valuable in that they allow him to be resilient and adaptive in the face of most stressors. He describes being reasonably self-satisfied, with a well-articulated sense of who he is and what his goals are.
In considering the social environment of [Husband] with respect to perceived stressors and the availability of social supports with which to deal with these stressors, his responses indicate that he reports having a level of stress comparable to that of normal adults, with the demands of the environment buffered by a large number of individuals to whom he can turn for support when needed. The combination of a highly developed system of social supports with a reasonably low stress environment is a favorable prognostic sign for future adjustment.
His psychological testing resulted in him exhibiting NO CLINICALLY DIAGNOSABLE mental health symptoms at the time of test administration. The symptoms are not considered to be impairment creating and they have not impaired his abilities to independently function, manage himself in difficult situations, or manage others well-being. It is in my clinical opinion that [Husband] does not pose a risk to his well-being or others around him. I do not have any hesitations that he would not be able to manage himself appropriately.
LINK TO APRIL 24, 2025 RULE TO SHOW CAUSE HEARING
Wife’s Lawyer O.: Father’s mental health evaluation requirement, he was supposed to con — undergo a mental health evaluation within 90 days of that order. We have not received any indication either from [Husband] or his counsel that that has happened or that he is completing any recommended treatment from that evaluation.
Wife’s Lawyer O.: And I will further explain that, Your Honor, in both -- and in my opening and my closing, that [Husband] -- that my client’s and my concerns again, are on all of these, but -- but certainly on the mental health aspects of this order, given that we’ve not received any assurances that he’s done any of those things.
Wife’s Lawyer O.: I understand. You know, the -- the -- there -- the mental health requirement, I think that is significant in this case, Your Honor. I don’t believe there’s been a sufficient showing that any of those have been complied with. I think that the Court should be concerned that those haven’t been complied with.
Wife’s Lawyer O: The fact that he has not done the mental health counseling also is concerning, especially with his writing about the idiocracy of the legal system. I don’t think he participates fairly in -- in -- in judicial proceedings. And I think there is some significant mental health concerns there.
Wife’s Lawyer O.: And so, Your Honor, I would ask that -- that he be incarcerated, perhaps if the Court appoint him some sort of a guardian to ensure that he gets these mental health treatments done which I think are most certainly necessary.
Judge F.: So, you know, it -- it’s when you -- when you have a situation where he does an evaluation and it says that no treatment’s necessary, it does suggest that to the extend that if the Court was concerned he may have been unable to comply with the order due to a mental health issue, that’s not an issue.
Judge F.: Plaintiff did not complete a mental health evaluation including MMPI-2 testing within 90 days after the entry of the Custody Order entered on November 12, 2024. That constitutes a violation of Section D2 of the Custody Order entered on November 12, 2024.
Judge F.: However, Plaintiff did complete a mental health examination on April 12, 2025, roughly five months after the Custody Order was entered. No mental health treatment was recommended as a result of that evaluation. Plaintiff did not complete the Court approved anger management within the 90 days after entry of the Custody Order entered on November 12, 2024.
Judge F.: And so I know that there’s a suggestion that there’s no mental health issue at play. I -- I don’t have any evidence that should -- I have suspicions but no evidence to suggest otherwise.
LINK TO APRIL 25, 2025 OFFICER L.’S DEPOSITION
Q: You’ve now seen all of your interactions with [Husband], all of the times you were able to observe [Husband] on January 1st, 024.
Q: Did you notice any signs of [Husband] suffering from mental illness.
Officer L.: I did.
Q: Could you please enumerate those signs that you saw mental illness, please?
Officer L.: In your mannerisms, the way that you were talking, the way that you would not look at me when you talked to me; it was not in accordance with normalcy. You were speaking very rapidly. Your answers to me were not in accordance with normalcy. Your whole demeanor was very jumpy, very — you appeared very nervous, disproportionately.
Officer L: I think that answers the question.
Q: So you said jumpy and disproportionate and nervous; is that correct?
Officer L.: Yes.
Q: Have you had any training diagnosing mental illness?
Officer L.: No.
Q: What are the most obvious signs of mental illness that you believe are the clearest indicators of someone suffering from mental illness?
Q: Of the ones that you just enumerated, are there any specific signs of mental illness that you believe are more compelling?
Officer L.: Just not answering questions and not in appearance with normalcy.
Q: And is it correct that you said, speaking to him, he seemed to display some signs of mental illness?
Officer L.: Yes.
Q: Did you make your report on mental illness based on your observations of [Husband] or on [Wife]’s and [Wife’s Sister]’s discussions with you inside the house?
Officer L.: The totality of the circumstances.
Q: I’m just going to have you read this one page, and then that’s — just one question after that, and then we’re done.
Q: Does this change your opinion of your assessment in your police report from January 1st, 2024?
Officer L.: No.
Q: Last question is, as far as you’re aware, are any - are any police officers regularly trained to diagnose mental illness and look for the signs of mental illness?
Officer: We are trained to look for the signs of mental illness —
Q: You are? You are trained?
Officer L. — but not diagnosis.
Q: Could you explain that training?
Officer L.: Various mental health classes through our police academy.
Q: And when — so when was the — Before January 1st, 2024, when was the most recent time you had taken their training —
Officer L.: I don’t know.
Q: — if you remember?
Officer L.: No.
LINK TO MAY 19, 2025 WIFE’S DEPOSITION
Wife: So, I don’t know what your reasons are, if there’s something happening with you that’s making you feel unsafe or unstable, that you don’t want to be around them at all.
Q: Have you seen any of the mental health reports, any of the four mental health reports, mental health evaluations that [Husband] has conducted over the last year and a half?
Wife: Objection on relevance. I don’t know if my seeing or not seeing any reports has anything to do with this case, and I don’t know. I don’t think so.
LINK TO MAY 30, 2025 MOTIONS TO QUASH SUBPOENAS HEARING
Judge T.: Your subpoenas to all these people add to her argument. You are setting yourself up to lose custody of your children because of your actions, which I find to be erratic, without basis in law and fact, right?
TODO LINK TO JUNE 27 OFFICER MU.’S DEPOSITION
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LINK TO JULY 8, 2025 PROTECTIVE ORDER APPEAL HEARING DAY 1
Wife: On January -- I’m sorry. In December 31st and on January 1st of 2024, there were multiple instances that escalated to a point of erratic behavior on the part of the respondent that made me feel incredibly unsafe and it was very threatening.
Wife: And he was ordered to have a mental health evaluation, go to anger management, to pay my attorney’s fees, to only communicate with me via a parenting app --
LINK TO JULY 9, 2025 PROTECTIVE ORDER APPEAL HEARING DAY 2
Q: And you referred to my client as crazy that day, true?
Wife’s Sister: He would be if he broke into a house; right? And that is my opinion.
Q: But you could have used not that language to describe my client?
Wife’s Sister: I could have used any language I want to.
Wife: I can’t even say that I can speak to his mental state, but just what he’s willing to do.
Wife: He needed to do a mental health evaluation.
TODO LINK TO ??? ???, 2026 MENTAL HEALTH REPORT
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