Domestic Violence Divorce Legal Fee
Donation protected
There are may reasons why I stayed for so long, including knowing that on the other side of not staying was being able to afford providing a quality lifestyle for my children while simultaneously keeping us safe. Even though in my mind, I had figured out that the patterns of behavior displayed by my Husband on a regular basis were not likely to change into a consistent pattern of good behavior; I tried desperately to keep my Family together. Now I’m feeling deep within my heart why many women never leave or why so many families end up dead.
My life was threatened by my Husband so many times over the past 8 years, occasionally the threats included our 2, very young, beautiful Daughters. These verbally and emotionally abusive threats were a small fraction of the forms of power and control he wielded over us. I am aware that I can’t speak completely freely in fear I might be sued for damaging my Abusers reputation. The below events have been filed by me through the court system in which the fate of my Daughters, myself and him will be determined.
There are so many threats of violence to me personally as well as to include my young Daughters it is difficult to list them all.
Tuesday, February 20, 2018. The girls did not have school because of Parent Teacher Conferences. Our youngest Daughter had a Dentist appointment in the morning. We had a very short time before I had to meet my oldest Daughters Teacher at 11:15. Our youngest Daughter told him she was not happy about having to be with the group of kids that were together while their Parents were in conferences in an attempt to stay home with him. Rather than offering to join us or have her stay home, he told her that if she was unhappy I would stop what I was doing and bring her home. I told all of them that this was not a possibility, as my appointments were back to back and I assured them that they would have fun. My youngest Daughter was tired and got upset so he kept yelling at me, “yes you can Sam. You can bring them home of they aren’t happy. It’s your fucking job”. Then he told our young, 4-year-old, “You know what, if you aren’t happy, just kick and scream until they tell you that you can’t stay there. You will be able to leave”!
With his erratic behavior and the way he was sitting I asked him if he was hiding something behind his back (he has a history of hiding vodka behind the couch cushions, as well as various other places). He got up and pulled the heavy leather cushion off the couch knocking her down and threw the other one at my face. I am currently in treatment for TMJ and he knew this would cause me harm and had no consideration for our Daughters presence. Our 7-year-old Daughter also witnessed this. We got in the car and left. I was surprised that he showed no interest in attending the conferences to check in and see how either of the girls have adjusted since beginning their first year of school.
We had Karate that evening, and he did not attend.
When we returned he was lying in bed watching porn on his phone (I quickly closed the door as we live in a home that is 884 sq. ft. and I did not want the children to hear or see this. Again, he had no regards for them. He came out of the room, used the restroom and laid back in the bed and talked loudly so we could all hear about how much he hates it here and how this life with us is dumb and it sucks. Our oldest Daughter was taking a bath while I made spaghetti. I offered for him to join us to try to create an environment of peace and normalcy, but he declined. He then tasted the sauce from the stove and told the girls how disgusting it was. I had to pass by him as I was getting the girls milk and he body checked me very hard. I ignored it and saw that this made our oldest Daughter sad and uneasy. The 3 of us sat down and our youngest Daughter began to sing her blessings. He then walked over to where I was seated, picked his nose and smashed my food up with his hand while we are all sitting there. I asked him why he would do this and threw my food away, made a new bowl of food and asked that he leave right away. He walked around while we ate, out to his truck, the garage etc. We finished dinner and the girls started getting ready for bed. He and I were in the kitchen. I had plugged my phone in the girls room and left it charging on the bottom bunk. I was standing at the sink doing dishes and he started telling me he was going to mess me up and make me pay for what I was doing to him, stating he was going to kill me. (Please note * from where we were standing to where the girls were in their room, is only 20’; they heard everything even though he kept his voice low). He had scared me at this point, so I asked my oldest Daughter if she remembered how to call 911 in case I got hurt. He stated, “There will be no one left in this house when I am through”. I took this as a threat to kill not only me but also our Daughters and himself. He then went to the refrigerator and randomly poured a full half gallon of orange juice on the kitchen floor. Our 4-year-old saw this and asked, “Why would Dad do that Mom”? I told her I didn’t know and asked that he clean it up then leave. He did not clean it up but went out to the garage again. All he had on was a pair of shorts, so I opened the door to the garage and dropped his sneakers at which time he ripped the garage door opener attached to the wall from the wall while shutting my arm in the door. He then proceeded to leave. There were wires hanging down, so I believed that the door would not work electronically. I tried to fix it but could not; then I got a stool and tried pulling it down but that didn’t work either. It was very late (nearly 10pm) for the girls to be up and we all needed to go to bed. I assumed John was gone for the night, so I called the local police department to ask if they could help me put my garage door down. When they arrived, John had just pulled back in. I heard him yelling loudly at the officers and one came inside. Our oldest Daughter was sleeping at this this time but our little one was awake and talked to the officers. They asked him if he would like to leave and he said yes but that he could not drive because he had been drinking. I later found his keys thrown under the tree in the front yard. It is obvious to me that he did this in fear he would get another DUI. He has had 2 since we have been married and I believe 2 prior to that. The Officer asked me to get him a t-shirt and gave me a key but not the one he always uses and asked me if I would be towing his truck. I said that I would not. He left in an Uber. Shortly after, he asked if he could come back via text and I said no. I needed to sleep and have a peaceful home. I found a 1-liter bottle of Grey Goose under his seat and a receipt from that day for a Handle of 80 proof Smirnoff.
• He has said many times on multiple occasions that someday I will “have an accident and not make it out of it alive”
• In the Summer of 2017 he told me to be careful while getting my mail, that he was hiring “some bitch to come fuck me up and teach me a lesson or two”
• 10-17 He says he will peel my face off in an email for transferring money he deposited in our joint account into my own. I did this because he had been depositing money and slowly withdrawing it if I would not comply to his requests to send him nude photos of myself & I needed to pay our bills.
• Throughout our time in Louisiana (from 2012 until 2015) He would often put his gun out for display to remind me that he would use it if he felt like doing so, often threatening to “turn the lights out” for all of us
• 2016 – He told me that he would kill a cop in front of me and make me watch before killing me. That no one will ever be able to help or save me
• he has described in detail that he will not kill me quickly, that he will torment me as much as he feels I have affected his life. That he will torture me then stick me in a concrete wall and seal it off so that I will never be found.
To anyone reading this, PLEASE UNDERSTAND, that due to the many, many times he has threatened ending my life and those of my children I am truly in fear that he will follow through with it someday ESPECIALLY now that I am standing up to him. His behavior has only gotten worse not only with me but on his own accord with getting into trouble with the law. He is intelligent, charming and clever as well as very strong physically. I pray for a lengthy Injunction protecting myself, and our Daughters to recover from the repetitive abuse we endured emotionally. I also want it to be known that I am not taking this responsibility lightly. I am in therapy for my mental well-being and self-defense training so that I can have the best opportunity possible to put up a legitimate fight if that day should ever come, which I pray it will not. (please note * due to the expenses that have accumulated fighting this I no longer have the privilege of affording for my girls and I to take Karate to defend ourselves).
That is the end of what I will share here that I have shared with the courts. There is more and there is more to come, however I feel compelled to share, that with every strike of my keyboard, I truly fear that I am writing my own death sentence just by calling him out publicly on what he put us through.
I find myself sitting here 2.5 years later soaking in the idea that I have been awarded some level of Justice. A Domestic Violence Judge awarded myself and my Daughters (ages 4.5 and 7.5) a 3-year NO Contact Injunction Order on May 3 of this year. The condition of this order stated that the Family Court Judge in charge of our case be allowed to lengthen or shorten this injunction as he sees fit. It has cost me $12,000.00 to get to where I am! I have exhausted all available credit and family resources. I have applied for legal aid but because I have career, I just barely surpass the cutoff for any aide. A few days ago, I found out that because of the amount of persistent contact he continues to have with his lawyer, and therefore mine, in an effort to make the injunction go away; I will be losing my lawyer soon if I can’t pay him. I simply can’t afford him any longer and it’s not his fault as he is running a business. My Husband, however has access to what I assume to be unlimited funds although he he demanding I pay HIS lawyer fees! In addition to being a newly Single Mom, I have incurred new medical bills to cover the expense of stress indused health related issues for the 3 of us.
My goal here, above all else, is for not only our safety but for anyone who should ever find themselves in this very dangerous position. I am in so much fear even writing this, but I cannot be silent any longer. I need help and I want to help change the way Domestic Violence Divorce cases involving Children are handled. I’m afraid that if he gains access to my children I will never see them again as he has told me if he can’t have them no one will.
PLEASE HELP US! Unfortunately, I can’t fight this without financial help and I do not qualify for legal aid although I am in the appeals process of that. It will be too late; his side is moving so fast that I am now at a serious disadvantage.
Sincerely,
Samantha Willis
UPDATE: he now no longer has an attorney at the present time however he has scheduled a hearing to have his sentence reduced and is doing all that he can to make the No Contact order go away. I still need help to fight this legally with a lawyer. I’m praying that my story gets in the hands of someone who can help me make a difference not only for my Daughters but all Survivors of Domestic Violence.
Thank you!
My life was threatened by my Husband so many times over the past 8 years, occasionally the threats included our 2, very young, beautiful Daughters. These verbally and emotionally abusive threats were a small fraction of the forms of power and control he wielded over us. I am aware that I can’t speak completely freely in fear I might be sued for damaging my Abusers reputation. The below events have been filed by me through the court system in which the fate of my Daughters, myself and him will be determined.
There are so many threats of violence to me personally as well as to include my young Daughters it is difficult to list them all.
Tuesday, February 20, 2018. The girls did not have school because of Parent Teacher Conferences. Our youngest Daughter had a Dentist appointment in the morning. We had a very short time before I had to meet my oldest Daughters Teacher at 11:15. Our youngest Daughter told him she was not happy about having to be with the group of kids that were together while their Parents were in conferences in an attempt to stay home with him. Rather than offering to join us or have her stay home, he told her that if she was unhappy I would stop what I was doing and bring her home. I told all of them that this was not a possibility, as my appointments were back to back and I assured them that they would have fun. My youngest Daughter was tired and got upset so he kept yelling at me, “yes you can Sam. You can bring them home of they aren’t happy. It’s your fucking job”. Then he told our young, 4-year-old, “You know what, if you aren’t happy, just kick and scream until they tell you that you can’t stay there. You will be able to leave”!
With his erratic behavior and the way he was sitting I asked him if he was hiding something behind his back (he has a history of hiding vodka behind the couch cushions, as well as various other places). He got up and pulled the heavy leather cushion off the couch knocking her down and threw the other one at my face. I am currently in treatment for TMJ and he knew this would cause me harm and had no consideration for our Daughters presence. Our 7-year-old Daughter also witnessed this. We got in the car and left. I was surprised that he showed no interest in attending the conferences to check in and see how either of the girls have adjusted since beginning their first year of school.
We had Karate that evening, and he did not attend.
When we returned he was lying in bed watching porn on his phone (I quickly closed the door as we live in a home that is 884 sq. ft. and I did not want the children to hear or see this. Again, he had no regards for them. He came out of the room, used the restroom and laid back in the bed and talked loudly so we could all hear about how much he hates it here and how this life with us is dumb and it sucks. Our oldest Daughter was taking a bath while I made spaghetti. I offered for him to join us to try to create an environment of peace and normalcy, but he declined. He then tasted the sauce from the stove and told the girls how disgusting it was. I had to pass by him as I was getting the girls milk and he body checked me very hard. I ignored it and saw that this made our oldest Daughter sad and uneasy. The 3 of us sat down and our youngest Daughter began to sing her blessings. He then walked over to where I was seated, picked his nose and smashed my food up with his hand while we are all sitting there. I asked him why he would do this and threw my food away, made a new bowl of food and asked that he leave right away. He walked around while we ate, out to his truck, the garage etc. We finished dinner and the girls started getting ready for bed. He and I were in the kitchen. I had plugged my phone in the girls room and left it charging on the bottom bunk. I was standing at the sink doing dishes and he started telling me he was going to mess me up and make me pay for what I was doing to him, stating he was going to kill me. (Please note * from where we were standing to where the girls were in their room, is only 20’; they heard everything even though he kept his voice low). He had scared me at this point, so I asked my oldest Daughter if she remembered how to call 911 in case I got hurt. He stated, “There will be no one left in this house when I am through”. I took this as a threat to kill not only me but also our Daughters and himself. He then went to the refrigerator and randomly poured a full half gallon of orange juice on the kitchen floor. Our 4-year-old saw this and asked, “Why would Dad do that Mom”? I told her I didn’t know and asked that he clean it up then leave. He did not clean it up but went out to the garage again. All he had on was a pair of shorts, so I opened the door to the garage and dropped his sneakers at which time he ripped the garage door opener attached to the wall from the wall while shutting my arm in the door. He then proceeded to leave. There were wires hanging down, so I believed that the door would not work electronically. I tried to fix it but could not; then I got a stool and tried pulling it down but that didn’t work either. It was very late (nearly 10pm) for the girls to be up and we all needed to go to bed. I assumed John was gone for the night, so I called the local police department to ask if they could help me put my garage door down. When they arrived, John had just pulled back in. I heard him yelling loudly at the officers and one came inside. Our oldest Daughter was sleeping at this this time but our little one was awake and talked to the officers. They asked him if he would like to leave and he said yes but that he could not drive because he had been drinking. I later found his keys thrown under the tree in the front yard. It is obvious to me that he did this in fear he would get another DUI. He has had 2 since we have been married and I believe 2 prior to that. The Officer asked me to get him a t-shirt and gave me a key but not the one he always uses and asked me if I would be towing his truck. I said that I would not. He left in an Uber. Shortly after, he asked if he could come back via text and I said no. I needed to sleep and have a peaceful home. I found a 1-liter bottle of Grey Goose under his seat and a receipt from that day for a Handle of 80 proof Smirnoff.
• He has said many times on multiple occasions that someday I will “have an accident and not make it out of it alive”
• In the Summer of 2017 he told me to be careful while getting my mail, that he was hiring “some bitch to come fuck me up and teach me a lesson or two”
• 10-17 He says he will peel my face off in an email for transferring money he deposited in our joint account into my own. I did this because he had been depositing money and slowly withdrawing it if I would not comply to his requests to send him nude photos of myself & I needed to pay our bills.
• Throughout our time in Louisiana (from 2012 until 2015) He would often put his gun out for display to remind me that he would use it if he felt like doing so, often threatening to “turn the lights out” for all of us
• 2016 – He told me that he would kill a cop in front of me and make me watch before killing me. That no one will ever be able to help or save me
• he has described in detail that he will not kill me quickly, that he will torment me as much as he feels I have affected his life. That he will torture me then stick me in a concrete wall and seal it off so that I will never be found.
To anyone reading this, PLEASE UNDERSTAND, that due to the many, many times he has threatened ending my life and those of my children I am truly in fear that he will follow through with it someday ESPECIALLY now that I am standing up to him. His behavior has only gotten worse not only with me but on his own accord with getting into trouble with the law. He is intelligent, charming and clever as well as very strong physically. I pray for a lengthy Injunction protecting myself, and our Daughters to recover from the repetitive abuse we endured emotionally. I also want it to be known that I am not taking this responsibility lightly. I am in therapy for my mental well-being and self-defense training so that I can have the best opportunity possible to put up a legitimate fight if that day should ever come, which I pray it will not. (please note * due to the expenses that have accumulated fighting this I no longer have the privilege of affording for my girls and I to take Karate to defend ourselves).
That is the end of what I will share here that I have shared with the courts. There is more and there is more to come, however I feel compelled to share, that with every strike of my keyboard, I truly fear that I am writing my own death sentence just by calling him out publicly on what he put us through.
I find myself sitting here 2.5 years later soaking in the idea that I have been awarded some level of Justice. A Domestic Violence Judge awarded myself and my Daughters (ages 4.5 and 7.5) a 3-year NO Contact Injunction Order on May 3 of this year. The condition of this order stated that the Family Court Judge in charge of our case be allowed to lengthen or shorten this injunction as he sees fit. It has cost me $12,000.00 to get to where I am! I have exhausted all available credit and family resources. I have applied for legal aid but because I have career, I just barely surpass the cutoff for any aide. A few days ago, I found out that because of the amount of persistent contact he continues to have with his lawyer, and therefore mine, in an effort to make the injunction go away; I will be losing my lawyer soon if I can’t pay him. I simply can’t afford him any longer and it’s not his fault as he is running a business. My Husband, however has access to what I assume to be unlimited funds although he he demanding I pay HIS lawyer fees! In addition to being a newly Single Mom, I have incurred new medical bills to cover the expense of stress indused health related issues for the 3 of us.
My goal here, above all else, is for not only our safety but for anyone who should ever find themselves in this very dangerous position. I am in so much fear even writing this, but I cannot be silent any longer. I need help and I want to help change the way Domestic Violence Divorce cases involving Children are handled. I’m afraid that if he gains access to my children I will never see them again as he has told me if he can’t have them no one will.
PLEASE HELP US! Unfortunately, I can’t fight this without financial help and I do not qualify for legal aid although I am in the appeals process of that. It will be too late; his side is moving so fast that I am now at a serious disadvantage.
Sincerely,
Samantha Willis
UPDATE: he now no longer has an attorney at the present time however he has scheduled a hearing to have his sentence reduced and is doing all that he can to make the No Contact order go away. I still need help to fight this legally with a lawyer. I’m praying that my story gets in the hands of someone who can help me make a difference not only for my Daughters but all Survivors of Domestic Violence.
Thank you!
Organizer
Samantha Willis
Organizer
Dunedin, FL
