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Family dispute leads to beating of man
Eagle woman admits she lied in filing DV charges in order to get kids in divorce
Woman knifes man in Colorado Springs apartment
Two Colorado Springs women arrested after shooting man in child custody dispute
Woman orders Colorado Springs man beaten nearly to death
Angry at her ex-husband, Forest Service employee sets fire to 138,000 acres and burns 133 homes
Greeley man stabbed five times by female roommate
Mutual combat leaves man shot in leg and woman with a broken arm
According to the Colorado Springs Gazette of March 13, 2002 (p. Metro5) James Aber, age 21, was severely beaten on March 12, 2002, when he confronted his sister about custody of her son.
Apparently his sister brought friends to a confrontation that occurred at the corner of Mount View Lane and Westmoreland Road. One of her friends is reported to have done the beating.
Aber was placed in the intensive care unit at Memorial Hospital after the assault.
At a jury trial in early April, during her testimony an Eagle County woman admitted that she intentionally started an argument with her husband, suggesting that he was not a good father, so she could gain custody.
The woman also testified that she lied to police that same day about a self-inflicted head wound to get her husband arrested on domestic violence charges.
She admitted she did this so that she would be in a better position to gain custody of their children.
The husband, who had decided just to leave the home for a hotel prior to his wife's injuring herself, was told to come back home by a law officer when he called home to check on his wife. He denied hitting her, but was still arrested.
In events leading up to her actions the wife stated: “I probably started drinking after 3 PM that day.”
“I instigated an argument intentionally. I pushed every button I could think of because I was trying to get out of the relationship. I did everything I could do to make him mad. I was scratching him and hitting him, doing everything I could,” she stated at trial. “It was the darkest day of my entire life!”
The wife testified that she wanted her husband to look bad to the community and to the courts. “That's how desperate I was because I knew he would get custody,” she said. “I did exactly what I needed to do.”
Later, the woman recanted her story in a letter to the District Attorney's office but the case was still carried to trial. “I'm coming clean, as God is my witness,” she told an Eagle County jury. “He has never laid a finger on me.”
“My husband is 100% innocent,” she stated.
As is commonly the case when a woman tries to withdraw the charges in domestic violence cases, the prosecution brought in an “expert” witness to testify that such recantations are a part of the “honeymoon” period of the “cycle of violence.” In short, the State knows better than the woman what is going on and, as the man, is presumed guilty the woman who brought the charges is no longer qualified to testify as to her actions. (Don't look for logic in this.)
After a debate as to whether the “expert” witness could testify about recantation, the judge in the case allowed the testimony from a woman who claimed that “it is not uncommon (for a woman) to recant.” Such a belief is dogma in the DV world where all men are “batterers” and all women are “victims.”
The “expert” testified that she had never seen the police reports, nor had she interviewed the husband or the wife. The “expert” was paid by the court for her testimony.
However, after hearing testimony from the husband that he had never struck his wife in his life, and the testimony of his wife, the jury found him innocent. Note that in a trial to a judge on the same charges the man would probably have been found guilty anyway. A trial to a judge by a man in Colorado is simply a long, slow way of pleading guilty.
After the trial, the woman said that she told the truth because of “God, myself, and my conscience.”
And such witch hunts with testimony from taxpayer-funded “experts” who know more about the event than the participants, even though they've never read any of the reports or interviewed any of the participants, are an everyday occurrence in the fantasy world of domestic violence. And the most frightening thing is that San Diego, California, and Boulder, Colorado, have found they achieve a higher conviction rate in such cases if the wife is not allowed to testify.
The approach is to try the case in the same fashion the prosecutor would a murder case, with no victim present (if the defense doesn't subpoena her). Statements made by the woman at the time of the arrest are recorded. Videos and photographs from the arrest are used as evidence against you. Police officers also testify and their notes are admitted.
According to the May 17, 2002, Colorado Springs Gazette (p. Metro1) Marie Louise Johnson, age 36, was arrested on suspicion of second-degree assault after police were called to the Bronzetree Apartments in the 2500 block of Hancock Expressway.
After an argument with Ms. Johnson, a 26-year-old man whose name was not released, was left in critical condition with a cut in his leg and head injuries. The victim was taken to Memorial Hospital.
According to the Saturday, May 18,2002, Colorado Springs Gazette (p. Metro2) two women, Jennifer Nicole Nelson, age 27, and Brandi Marie Abbott, age 21, were arrested May 17 th on suspicion of attempted first-degree murder and criminal conspiracy in connection with the shooting of Michael Marsh, age 29. He was in serious condition Friday at Memorial Hospital after being shot in the head.
Mr. Marsh gave this account to police: He drove Ms. Nelson and Ms. Abbot, the mother of Marsh's child, to rural Old Stage Road in west Colorado Springs early Friday morning, where they got out to discuss custody of the child.
After a long conversation about custody of his child Mr. Marsh decided about 2:30 AM that he wanted to leave. All three then got into the car and traveled back toward the city.
Ms. Abbott, the child's mother, was sitting in the front passenger seat, and Ms. Nelson was in the back seat. Mr. Marsh alleged Ms. Nelson shot him in the back of the head with a small-caliber handgun while he was driving.
The bullet left his neck and lodged in his hand, police said. He then scrambled out of the car and ran to a house in the 1700 block of Old Stage Road for help.
The driverless car continued down the road and rolled onto its side.
Abbot and Nelson were convicted of second-degree attempted murder for the shooting and both women were sentenced to 10-years in prison by Judge Gilbert Martinez on October 14, 2003.
The Saturday, May 18, 2002, edition of the Colorado Springs Gazette (p. Metro2) relates the story of the beating of Paul Hill, age 22, who was found April 2 nd at Antelope Trails Elementary School, unconscious, with injuries on his face and head after being beaten nearly to death.
Marie Pauciello and Austin Gelsinger, both age 20, are accused of attempted murder and assault in the case. Investigators say Ms. Pauciello ordered Mr. Gelsinger to beat Hill.
A third person, David Anthony Fox, age 19, has also been arrested on suspicion of attempted first-degree murder and assault in the case. It is alleged Mr. Fox knew the assault was going to take place, drove Gelsinger to the location of the assault, watched the attack, and failed to take steps to prevent the beating.
June 8, 2002 — Angered by a letter from her ex-husband U.S. Forest Service technician Terry Barton, age 38, set fire to it in a campfire ring in the Pike National Forest near Lake George in Teller County while the forest was under a fire ban. She then drove away. Though she claims to have returned and tried to put it out, the fire spread in extreme drought conditions to eventually engulf 138,000 acres in the PIke and San Isabel National Forests, Colorado's largest forest fire in recorded history. The blaze destroyed 133 homes and 466 outbuildings over the course of three weeks. More than 8,000 residents were forced to evacuate during the blaze and $39 million was spent in firefighting efforts.
One woman died of an asthma attack brought on by the smoke from the massive fire and five firefighters were killed in an automobile accident rushing to the fire lines.
She was convicted in federal court of arson and served 6 years in a federal penitentiary. She is also required to pay back $14.6 in restitution costs. However, the court ruled she was acting as angry spouse when she set the blaze and not as a Forest Service employee. Thus, the Forest Service (read taxpayers) are not responsible for the damages she caused.
Once Colorado determines restitution costs for the state she could be liable for an additional $30 million.
Ms. Barton was originally sentenced to spend 12 years in prison — the first six on federal charges and the last six in Colorado on state charges. But because of a technicality she was resentenced in March 2008 and was allowed to serve the sentences concurrently. As of June 2008 she has been released from federal prison and was serving a 15-year probation during which she must perform community service in either Teller, Jefferson, Park or Douglas counties, where the fire took place as well as get a job to start paying back the restitution costs.
Her probation was set to expire in 2018 but was revoked in August by 4 th Judicial District Judge William Bain for non-payment of restitution. She was resentenced to 15 more years of probation. She has paid about $15,000 of the $42 million she owes at the rate of about $150 a month. Conditions of her probation require her to work 40 hours a week and continue to pay restitution.
According to the Wednesday, July 3, 2002, Denver Post (p. 4B) 40-year-old Robert Luna of Greeley was stabbed five times in the throat, chest, and arm on Tuesday. The attack is said to have occurred while Mr. Luna was driving with two female roommates north of Greeley. It is reported that he told one of the women she would have to move out prior to his being stabbed.
Mr. Luna was taken to the North Colorado Medical Center in Greeley and was in the intensive care unit according to the paper.
The Weld County Sheriff's was seeking one of the female roommates for questioning about the vicious attack on Mr. Luna. The two women were not identified.
According to the Tuesday, July 23, 2002, edition of the Colorado Springs Gazette (p. Metro3) police were called to a domestic violence disturbance at the Longs Drug store at 4158 Austin Bluffs Parkway about 7 PM Monday night.
Witnesses told police a man had been shot. The man had been seen arguing with a woman about five minutes before but she had apparently left the scene. The wounded man was taken to Penrose Hospital with a gunshot wound in his leg and was reported in fair and stable condition. A handgun was recovered at the scene.
The woman was reported to have been taken, or had gone to Memorial Hospital where she was treated for a broken arm.
Neither party was identified and no arrests had been made as of Tuesday, July 23 rd .
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