[font=Verdana,Arial]The husband of Michelle Rust, the Halethorpe woman missing since 2002, wants a divorce.
D.J. Rust Jr. testified in a Howard County courtroom last week that he has not seen his wife since July 20, 2002, and has no reasonable hope of reconciling with her.
The 29-year-old Rust was the last person to see his wife, then 24, and has been watched by police since then.
A Baltimore County detective was in the courtroom Feb. 13 to observe the divorce proceedings before Court Master Mary Kramer, who told Rust she would recommend that a Circuit Court judge grant the divorce and give him sole custody of his and Michelle's son.
"The rest of it is just a matter of paperwork," Kramer said, adding that Rust probably would receive the divorce decree by mail in less than a month.
Under Maryland law, when a couple has been living apart for more than two consecutive years without a reasonable expectation of reconciliation, both partners have grounds for divorce.
Although Rust lives in Baltimore County, the Howard County courthouse in Ellicott City was most convenient for him, according to testimony. Rust continues living in the house he and his wife shared in the 1800 block of Clark Boulevard and has had custody of their only child, who turned 7 last summer.
http://news.mywebpal.com/news_tool_v2.cfm?pnpID=805&NewsID=785517&CategoryID=5768&show=localnews&om=1
[/font]
D.J. Rust Jr. testified in a Howard County courtroom last week that he has not seen his wife since July 20, 2002, and has no reasonable hope of reconciling with her.
The 29-year-old Rust was the last person to see his wife, then 24, and has been watched by police since then.
A Baltimore County detective was in the courtroom Feb. 13 to observe the divorce proceedings before Court Master Mary Kramer, who told Rust she would recommend that a Circuit Court judge grant the divorce and give him sole custody of his and Michelle's son.
"The rest of it is just a matter of paperwork," Kramer said, adding that Rust probably would receive the divorce decree by mail in less than a month.
Under Maryland law, when a couple has been living apart for more than two consecutive years without a reasonable expectation of reconciliation, both partners have grounds for divorce.
Although Rust lives in Baltimore County, the Howard County courthouse in Ellicott City was most convenient for him, according to testimony. Rust continues living in the house he and his wife shared in the 1800 block of Clark Boulevard and has had custody of their only child, who turned 7 last summer.
http://news.mywebpal.com/news_tool_v2.cfm?pnpID=805&NewsID=785517&CategoryID=5768&show=localnews&om=1
[/font]
