Help my family survive domestic violence

T.W. Domestic Violence

6 and a half years ago, my father James Briscoe was arrested for 9 counts of assault after nearly beating my mom to death. Our entire lives until that day were lived in fear, never knowing what to expect. On March 2nd of 2018 I stayed awake waiting for my parents to come home. After they pulled into the garage, there was silence. My brother called and called, and when he finally got through he told my father that the police would be called if he did not come inside. What we did not know is that if we had waited a moment longer, my father would have struck a crowbar into her head.

Since his arrest, my father denied this event and all other abusive behaviors leading up to it. On several occasions, he would strike my mom, hit my siblings and me, verbally abuse her and us, trap us in our house so we could not leave, make us watch, and would destroy phones if we tried to call for help.

You might read this and think that certainly, the justice system did its job, or that by now, we would have finally been able to move on with our lives. This assumption has been anything but the case.

James postponed the criminal proceedings as much as possible to discredit our testimony. He hired the best people for the job and did everything he could to get away with what he did, and it worked. In Manitoba, domestic violence is a crime against the province meaning that we are not responsible for his prosecution directly, rather we were witnesses and a crown attorney was assigned to our case. Together, our crown attorney and his defense lawyer created a deal wherein he would plead guilty and endure 3 months of house arrest; he was allotted 8 hours of his day to work, and others to work out, and buy groceries, while we processed the irreparable damage he caused to our lives. This plea relinquished our right to a trial.

We later found out that my mom endured a brain aneurysm as a result of her near-death beating at the hand of my father. This could take her life any day if she is not able to manage her blood pressure. Her doctor was willing to testify at the sentencing but was not called on by the crown attorney. In Manitoba, assault causing permanent bodily harm has a penalty of 10 years in prison.

The turmoil only grew worse in the divorce proceedings. Once again, my father did everything and continues to do everything he can to avoid giving us a penny. He is a multimillionaire, having sold his business for millions. Meanwhile, my family is going to the food bank. The divorce is still ongoing.

He has most recently stopped showing up to court where he is now self represented. He has stopped paying child and spousal support. My mom is trying to restart her life. She is the most dedicated and hardworking person I know. She is studying sociology and trying to make something of the life she has left, 30 years of it having been taken away, all while representing herself in court. My siblings and I are also in school and as a result are unable to support our family in a meaningful way. We have maxed out every credit card, every loan, and are now out of options and in a position to have our house and car repossessed.

In my healing journey, I have been extremely grateful for the people who have heard my story. Without you I don’t know if I would still be here. I have never asked for any monetary support, but now, the situation is completely dire. We have spent thousands of dollars on lawyer fees and can not afford to go on anymore. I just know this can’t be the end of our story.

You might be asking yourself, how is my father able to get away without paying child support even though he is under an order to do so by law. The long and short is that the judicial system is ignoring new laws that protect against this behavior. This behavior is called financial abuse. There is a government organization called the Maintenance Board whose purpose is to enforce child support and spousal support orders. My father has fled the province to British Columbia which means he is no longer under the jurisdiction of the Manitoba Maintenance board. An inter-judicial support order has been issued which would involve the British Columbia Maintenance board but is not yet in effect because the new client intake has a wait time of 3-6 months. Once my mom is a client, the case goes back to square one and the officers have to reevaluate the evidence that had been accrued by the Manitoba branch adding an additional 2-3 months to the process.

I need YOU, this situation is “all hands on deck.” If there is anything at all you can spare to help us cover our living expenses until the divorce trial ends, it would mean the whole world and you’d be saving the lives of four beautiful, strong and courageous people.

I have a great network of emotional support to help me at this time, but if you would like to talk to me or ask questions or suggest any other kind of support, please reach out.

We just want to live our lives; the lives we were always meant to live, and finally put this man and his chapter of horrors behind us.

Please stay well, be positive. I love you.