2010.06.28 - Kyron's Dad files for divorce and restraining order

[human]

This is actually really hard to guess on. It's been 5 years since the DUI/CE charges, but that might stop her )I don't know if those things ever expire in terms of teaching credentials). But in regards to Kyron's case, she might be safe - some school boards have to follow the laws about holding suspicion against a person without charges/convictions.

I remember a case a while back about a woman whose child died (I won't say how, as that would lead to a debate about how TH was worse, and about the pros and cons of this example's offenses - suffice it to say, it could have brought significant charges). She worked as an educator in a high school, and there was substantial resistance from the parents for having her retain her job working with their kids. The school board decided their hands were tied, since charges were dropped and she was not convicted.

Not saying this was right or wrong, but just that it is not certain TH will never teach again without charges/conviction - she just has to find the right board and district.

A bit scary, though. The fact is, you can't hold suspicion alone against a person. MOO.

Seriously, what school district would hire her?

There are plenty of teachers out there looking for jobs.

If she was ALREADY a teacher in a district, that would present problems to the district, but she is not an employee anywhere.

Can you imagine a school district announcing the new teacher, "Ms. Moulton"?

 

[DairyGirl]

I know about defense lawyers working pro bono to pay back for their services. One of my first jobs was with a very well known legal firm in D.C. involved in legal cases that I'd read about in my college text books.

In my experience, the pro bono cases the firm I worked for chose were low profile, and most often, the defendants were very low income and in very obvious need of good legal advice. Very often, the cases were rather 'simple'...i.e., they were cases with moral merit that would NOT monopolize the firm's time (they were, after all, working for paying clients...clients who were paying a LOT...at the same time).

There was much speculation on the Web when TH retained Houze that he was taking her on as a client pro bono because of the publicity. Local peeps with knowledge of him indicated that, beyond the fact he didn't need the publicity, there was nothing in his history to indicate that he'd take on a case simply because it was high profile. After much debate over his history, speculation turned to how TH was paying him, because with his history in regards to pro bono cases, he was getting paid. Add to that my experience...the attorneys I worked for would not represent TH pro bono...too high profile a case, too much time needed to defend, etc.

Rather, the attorney that my BF from college worked for would have taken the case pro bono. He was an ambulance chaser of the highest order and desperately craved media attention. From what I've since read about Houze, he does not need that kind of attention, nor has he ever shown a a pattern of seeking it out. I *could* be wrong. But my opinion about his working pro bono was made with *some* experience in the legal field and with local opinions about TH's lawyer .

Edited to add: Since TH is accused of trying to hire someone to kill KH and she is moving because of said violent behavior that resulted in a RO that she is not contesting, I don't see why she is entitled legally to financial aid...she is not moving because of the divorce, she is moving because of the RO. I cannot think of a case where the person seeking the RO was legally bound to pay the person threatening them to move. If you can dig up case history on that, please let me know, I'm very curious if it's happened before.

"Exactly what drives Houze is difficult to know. But friends say, though he makes a good living and drives a Porsche, his motivation has never been financial gain. On occasion, they say, he has been known to reduce his fee -- or perhaps waive it -- for criminal defendants he feels a responsibility to help. But he tries to keep these acts private, not wanting to flaunt good deeds or swamp his own office with the accused."
http://www.shouze.com/display-cases.asp?artID=2

I'm not saying he is working pro bono, just that he has been known to if he feels a responsibility to help. He may feel she is getting a bad shake in the media and want to help. Or it may be a challenge to him.

 

[pinkpuddytat]

I am not saying she is innocent....I am saying she hasn't been proven guilty and until she is she has the same rights as any other woman who's husband took their kid and snuck out and filed for divorce.

Huh? He moved out with the baby on advice from LE, and also based largely on information provided by LE, he filed for and got a RO prohibiting his wife from having any contact with him or with her own 19 month old daughter -- not even supervised visitation. And she is *not contesting* the order, not even to request supervised visitation with her baby daughter.

 

[human]

I read about lawyers doing pro bono on a website, and it was said that it hardly ever happens in real life. It was a website from some lawyer that was bemoaning the fact that lawyers don't actually do it.

It is an expensive proposition. I imagine an easy, short one would be possible.

 

[Kat]

sorry, I just saw this now. I think Houze has now said he will defend the family law case, as well. The visitation and custody, however, can't be addressed apart from the RO. She needs to get that out of the way before she can get into the regular family court aspects of custody. In other words, custody in the context of a typical family court proceeding can't go forward if there's a separate RO in place precluding any contact. The RO must be modified to allow some contact first. It looks to me like they intend to do this all at once on July 22nd, which is unusual ime. Typically, the RO court and the family court are completely separate.

Thank you wondering.

It has been reported she is requesting funds from her Husband. Under Oregon law doesn't she have the right to request half of what they've accumulated or at the very least money to for finding another place to live and support until she can find a job?

(I'm sorry for asking what seems to be such a silly question but in the military community that I live within, the above is a given and ordered by regulation~ just trying to understand the oregon civilian laws)

TIA.

 

[JSR]

She can't contest it until the court date. So I am not going to assume there is something to the allegations.

Judges sign off on almost all temp. requests.

Actually, NO they don't. They need good cause to sign one. In fact we had one in CA that was denied. And her boyfriend killed her a few days after she attempted to get a PO against the boyfriend.

Judges don't sign PO on whims. They always need good cause. And sometimes even when they have somewhat good cause they deny the request and like the case in CA someone can get killed and in that case someone did.

 

[pinkpuddytat]

Yes...instead of destroying her slowly with hearsay and suspicion and tawdry tales of sexual prowess. Instead of kowtowing to public pressure and media frenzy... Instead of taking away her baby, her home, her reputation as a good mother...base your suspicions on evidence and charge her accordingly.

Keep in mind that we don't know why they haven't charged her yet. Lacking sufficient evidence to support any criminal charge is certainly not the only plausible reason. They may have plenty of evidence to support charging her will relatively minor crimes (e.g. providing false information to police in connection with the investigation into Kyron's disappearance), but feel the chances of eventually finding out what happened to Kyron are increased by leaving her without formal charges, letting her imagine that she may never face any criminal charges, and letting her carelessly go about her activities until she slips up and does/says/texts something that provides critical evidence.

Another possibility is that her attorney has asked them to hold off on bringing charges, as he is in the process of trying to get her to agree to a voluntary psychiatric evaluation, and the commotion and stress of charges and an arrest would be likely to significantly delay this process, and would also delay a thorough involuntarily evaluation by a court-ordered psychiatrist. Or a voluntary evaluation may already be underway, but can't be completed without taking some time, running some medical tests, interviewing her when she in different moods, trying medication, or trying taking her off medication if she's on any -- and the attorney, LE, and psychiatric professionals doing the evaluation may agree that it's better not to interrupt the process. If I was her attorney, I would definitely be working on an insanity defense, no matter what she might ultimately be charged with, and it wouldn't be inappropriate for an attorney to ask LE to give him some time to bring her around or to allow an already-started psychiatric evaluation to be completed.

LE might also have information from profilers to suggest that she's so unstable that she might be a suicide risk if she learned was about to be arrested and charged with a crime. She's not supposed to have any firearms, but they can't be sure she doesn't at this point, and they certainly don't want her blowing her brains out as the police car pulls up to arrest her, thus losing any chance of getting her to tell what she knows about Kyron's disappearance. Nor do they want her choosing some other method of suicide that might endanger other people too (driving a car into a building at high speed, filling the house up with gas and lighting a match as she greets police at the door). They may have reason to believe that gradually increasing pressure on her is more likely than an arrest/charges, to result in her deciding to confess and submitting to arrest peacefully.

I'm not willing to jump to the conclusion that LE doesn't know what they're doing in this case.

 

[JSR]

If it is child support from her son's father, or an inheritance, that would be hers. And if she deposited that in the joint account, then legally, she should get it back, I would think. For all we know, she might have brought money of her own into the marriage, and he spent it all. Who knows?

Nope if it's separate $$$ you can't co-mingle. You then forfeit getting that $$$ back,

 

[newone]

Huh? He moved out with the baby on advice from LE, and also based largely on information provided by LE, he filed for and got a RO prohibiting his wife from having any contact with him or with her own 19 month old daughter -- not even supervised visitation. And she is *not contesting* the order, not even to request supervised visitation with her baby daughter.

I think that this is a very astute move on her part (probably urged by her attorney) that she play passive possum because the spotlight is on her for larger issues (i.e. what the heck happened to Kyron) and all the energy needs to be focused on her ''defence'' (a.k.a. ''innocence''). Her daughter is in good hands and I suspect her parents and attorney are urging her to stay ''calm'' .

 

[Calliope]

I like both these lawyers. They seem to be no-nonsense and take their jobs seriously. They appear to be trying to control the media circus instead of encouraging it. JMO.

Thank. God.

 

[pinkpuddytat]

BBM. Respectfully, we don't have any evidence that TH sacrificed anything for the kids or that she put their care ahead of her own. Especially considering the many hours it takes to achieve the physique of a bodybuilder. We can generalize and say that "most" stay-at-home moms are worth a LOT... but maybe (just maybe) this one is different. MOO

And it's worth remembering that on the day Kyron disappeared from school, Baby K spent part of the day with a babysitter, even though ostensibly Terri had no special plans for the day beyond dropping Kyron off at school early in the morning with his science fair project. I'm sure the court will be looking into just how much time the baby (and perhaps sometimes Kyron as well) was spending with babysitters (paid for out of Kaine's salary) while Terri was busy with her various recreational activities. The DUI/child endangerment conviction raises some question about her dedication to full-time motherhood as well. How did she happen to be drunk at a time of day (night?) when she would need to be driving her young son, and when she was not with her husband?

Lots of stay-at-home moms are knocking themselves out taking care of their children, cleaning the house, cooking healthy meals, carefully conserving money as they shop for necessities, and leaving their husbands free to focus on their careers without having to worry about things falling apart on the home front. I just haven't seen any indication that Terri fell into this category.

 

[pinkpuddytat]

I've wondered how much money, if any, Terri might have earned when she was a competitive body builder. Anyone have knowledge of this?

Almost certainly zero. She was competing in "over age ##" categories, which are by definition part of firmly amateur competitions. Even the top competitive female bodybuilders in the world are probably not getting enough in prize money to cover their training expenses, though a tiny few are probably making a decent living through endorsement income. I'm sure Terri's bodybuilding activities fell into the same category as the red Mustang -- things Kaine was paying for so she could have fun.

 

[captivagrl]

I have zero, ZERO!, sympathy for TH. But, since the start, everyone assumes that stay-at-home moms have no equity in the marital home. FALSE. It's the assumption that pisses me off, not this instance in particular.

Unless there's a pre-nup or an arrest, like it or not(I don't) that is her home. If he wants her out without waiting for further action regarding the separation/divorce, I think he will be forced to pay for her apt. Please remember I am not on her side at all, but I've experienced this through a very close friend.

 

[pinkpuddytat]

I have zero, ZERO!, sympathy for TH. But, since the start, everyone assumes that stay-at-home moms have no equity in the marital home. FALSE. It's the assumption that pisses me off, not this instance in particular.

Unless there's a pre-nup or an arrest, like it or not(I don't) that is her home. If he wants her out without waiting for further action regarding the separation/divorce, I think he will be forced to pay for her apt. Please remember I am not on her side at all, but I've experienced this through a very close friend.

This is Kaine's home. He bought it before the marriage, and it has remained in his name only. Most "marital homes" were bought jointly by the already or about-to-be married couple. In some cases, the home was already owned by one of the parties prior to the marriage, and the other party is added to the deed at the time of the marriage. Otherwise, it's not joint property. We can only wonder why Kaine chose not to add her to the deed, but he didn't, and so it's his home and his only.

 

[xin]

Keep in mind that we don't know why they haven't charged her yet. Lacking sufficient evidence to support any criminal charge is certainly not the only plausible reason. They may have plenty of evidence to support charging her will relatively minor crimes (e.g. providing false information to police in connection with the investigation into Kyron's disappearance), but feel the chances of eventually finding out what happened to Kyron are increased by leaving her without formal charges, letting her imagine that she may never face any criminal charges, and letting her carelessly go about her activities until she slips up and does/says/texts something that provides critical evidence.

Another possibility is that her attorney has asked them to hold off on bringing charges, as he is in the process of trying to get her to agree to a voluntary psychiatric evaluation, and the commotion and stress of charges and an arrest would be likely to significantly delay this process, and would also delay a thorough involuntarily evaluation by a court-ordered psychiatrist. Or a voluntary evaluation may already be underway, but can't be completed without taking some time, running some medical tests, interviewing her when she in different moods, trying medication, or trying taking her off medication if she's on any -- and the attorney, LE, and psychiatric professionals doing the evaluation may agree that it's better not to interrupt the process. If I was her attorney, I would definitely be working on an insanity defense, no matter what she might ultimately be charged with, and it wouldn't be inappropriate for an attorney to ask LE to give him some time to bring her around or to allow an already-started psychiatric evaluation to be completed.

LE might also have information from profilers to suggest that she's so unstable that she might be a suicide risk if she learned was about to be arrested and charged with a crime. She's not supposed to have any firearms, but they can't be sure she doesn't at this point, and they certainly don't want her blowing her brains out as the police car pulls up to arrest her, thus losing any chance of getting her to tell what she knows about Kyron's disappearance. Nor do they want her choosing some other method of suicide that might endanger other people too (driving a car into a building at high speed, filling the house up with gas and lighting a match as she greets police at the door). They may have reason to believe that gradually increasing pressure on her is more likely than an arrest/charges, to result in her deciding to confess and submitting to arrest peacefully.

I'm not willing to jump to the conclusion that LE doesn't know what they're doing in this case.

Thank you for this post.

I think they are going for the death penalty, and need a tight case, and a body, to go for the capital crime. Like Scott, and like it appears with Casey.


MOO

 

[Haeve]

And it's worth remembering that on the day Kyron disappeared from school, Baby K spent part of the day with a babysitter, even though ostensibly Terri had no special plans for the day beyond dropping Kyron off at school early in the morning with his science fair project. I'm sure the court will be looking into just how much time the baby (and perhaps sometimes Kyron as well) was spending with babysitters (paid for out of Kaine's salary) while Terri was busy with her various recreational activities. The DUI/child endangerment conviction raises some question about her dedication to full-time motherhood as well. How did she happen to be drunk at a time of day (night?) when she would need to be driving her young son, and when she was not with her husband?

SBM

Wait, what? Do we know this for sure now? Kaine said in the MSM that Baby K was with TH at the science fair. What about after?

 

[Breathe]

I have a question to ask that seems trivial considering the circumstances but what about the division of property inside the house?

Couldn't the spouse remaining in the house bring in a U-Haul and clean everything out of it? (Speaking in general not about TH.) Who monitors what goes and what stays? My stuff before marriage, your stuff, our stuff, the kids stuff, the cat, etc. How is it decided what things are fair to take and what things you need to buy my share of? Doesn't there need to be some sort of division of asset agreement before one party moves out and the other one moves in?

It seems like such a tiny thing in light of this entire situation but I can see how it can easily add fuel to an already raging forest fire.

 

[newone]

SBM

Wait, what? Do we know this for sure now? Kaine said in the MSM that Baby K was with TH at the science fair. What about after?

That's what was confusing me .... where was the toddler? Thanks for clearing that up for me.

 

[LotsaLatte]

Okay, I am trying to catch up here and hope nobody already asked this........please forgive me if someone already asked/answered.
Can anyone think of any reason that TH can't move in with her parents for the short term? Isn't that where her son lives??? She's not charged with anything (yet), her attorney can handle everything in court (divorce negotiations), etc. (I know mine did), her son is close by or there (you'd think she might want to be with him?), it would be a roof over her head, and Lord knows that she hasn't been out searching for Kyron.

 

[newone]

Okay, I am trying to catch up here and hope nobody already asked this........please forgive me if someone already asked/answered.
Can anyone think of any reason that TH can't move in with her parents for the short term? Isn't that where her son lives??? She's not charged with anything (yet), her attorney can handle everything in court (divorce negotiations), etc. (I know mine did), her son is close by or there (you'd think she might want to be with him?), it would be a roof over her head, and Lord knows that she hasn't been out searching for Kyron.

Maybe they don't want her:angel: