Don't Disclose Your Address At Abuse Hearing If Fearful Of Your Spouse

Sadly, today’s paper reports again about a Maine man facing murder charges after shooting his wife last Friday at her brother's home in Fairfield, Maine.  It appears that the man learned of his wife’s whereabouts after she disclosed in open court — with her husband standing just a few feet away — where she was living.  A few days later he got a gun and killed her while their two young children were in the home.

Now people are asking why his wife was ordered to disclose where she would be living during the protection from abuse hearing.  A Press Herald columnist wonders:

“[A] vexing Catch-22 hangs over this tragedy -- one that has long troubled those who work to prevent domestic violence in Maine.

 

It goes like this: How can the state tell a man to stay away from a woman without specifying where that woman is living so the man will know where to stay away from?

 

Put more simply, how do we prevent a protection-from-abuse order, complete with home address, from becoming a road map to murder?”

 

This flawed system of letting an abuser know where his victim will be staying must be changed to prevent this tragedy from happening in the future.

 

Comments

[Houston Divorce Lawyer]

This is a real catch 22. There is virtually no way to fully protect the spouse as the couple works through the divorce process in the courts. This is a real concern for my clients. Having visitation just adds to this difficult problem.

[eben_cole]

Hey, thought some people might be interested in this. Just a little film I worked on that has something to do with the issues I've been discussing on this forum. Here's the website: http://www.islanderthemovie.com/

Let me know what you think.

-Eben