Consequences

Patricia's Recent Correspondence with Our Son

Stephen Avery — Wed, 24 Sep 2008 14:31:12 GMT

We turned the page on a new chapter in our story earlier this month with the Court declaring Patricia mentally incompetent.

So many chapters-- Murder-for hire, child abuse, domestic violence, suicide attempts, animal abuse, welfare fraud, fundraising on the internet, countless false legal charges against both myself and the children.

It is six and a half years since Patricia filed and there is simply no end in sight.

She wrote two letters to Glen this month, this makes a total of four letters since her arrest in February of 2004 and Glen and I spent a couple of hours with the sheriff’s department about the first letter.

Naturally, Patricia’s purpose in writing the letters had nothing to do with her son. It appears Patricia and her ‘father’ Joe Sanders experienced some type of falling out.

Let’s address the first letter factually, although it is now part of a police report I will not post the letter itself without Glen’s permission as it is addressed to him.

The letter begins with a single sentence telling Glen how much she loves him, his siblings, and I, more then we can imagine.

After this short statement she spends the vast majority of the rest of the letter telling our nineteen year old son that Sanders is planning to kill Glen, his siblings, and I.

She is very specific is her description of Sanders, providing his address, and telling Glen where Sanders hides illegal weapons in his house and car.

At the bottom of the second page, she takes a break and asks Glen to send her her birth certificate (which we do not have). She then resumes her warnings about Sanders and how to get him arrested. She ends by providing specific warnings about what Sanders is capable of doing to our daughter.

Patricia also denies ever claiming that Sanders is her biological father. I guess she forgot the recorded divorce trial with her second husband and the civil domestic violence hearing against her and Sanders. Both recordings are on the website.

Patricia has a history of writing such documents, as I reminded Glen when we discussed the letter. There was the letter Patricia wrote the JPO when Glen was fourteen accusing him of cruelty to animals. There was the letters written to the State Bar complaining about the Guardian Ad Litem, There were the numerous police reports made by Patricia against both Glen and I. There were the allegations made in the previous domestic violence filings. If I wasted more time thinking about it, I bet I could bring up at least a dozen more examples.

Given her history, the intent of the letter was obvious. I was to rush down to the police station and get them to go out and arrest Joe Sanders. That crazy bitch, my ex wife, involved our child in her petty attempt at revenge and trouble making. Further, she involved our child by claiming that his life and his family’s lives were threatened.

Of course I made the report, she did not leave me any choice. On top of the lack of credibility associated with Patricia’s record, can you imagine trying to get a judge to issue a search warrant on Sander’s house based on a letter written by an individual now found to be mentally incompetent?

You Tell me

Stephen Avery — Mon, 15 Sep 2008 19:06:55 GMT

On Wednesday, September 10, 2008, Judge Murdoch, on a motion by the defendant and agreed to by the State, declared Patricia Long mentally incompetent.

It was surreal. The hearing started with the public defender saying they finally had a report and the determination was incompetency and saying they needed to schedule a hearing on the matter. The assistant district attorney stated that she had no objection to the determination and thus a hearing was unnecessary.

There is so much to say, so much to ponder

Let us make it clear

Before Patricia entered the maws of the Beast Machine

· She graduated Phi Beta Kappa with a degree in Classical Languages

· Taught for five years to include one year teaching Latin and English at La Cueva High School

· When our daughter Jessica was born premature and spent a few weeks in ICU, Patricia left teaching and decided to stay home with the children

· All three children tested gifted with genius level IQs

· She volunteered for thousands of hours of work at church and at the children’s schools over the years.

· She helped me build my business by helping out with general tasks at the office and responding to RFP’s

This is not to say that her mental illness was not present. She made three or four elaborate suicide gestures, she could never keep friends, she abused the children and myself, she compulsively lied on mist subjects, and she seemed to have problems understanding right from wrong.

But despite these problems, she maintained a level of functionality that allowed her and those associated with her to move forward with their lives.

In February 2002, Patricia filed for divorce and threw herself into the maw of the Beast Machine, dragging the children and I with her. The highlights are recorded in a previous blog.

So, you tell me. Did the thirty or so mental health professionals involved in this case after 2001, hurt or help?

Grandpa Joe

Stephen Avery — Sun, 07 Sep 2008 17:35:11 GMT

November 16, 2005

Deadly sick as I was, I dragged myself to court Monday for the Domestic Violence Hearings with Patricia and her ‘father’ Joe.

For those that have not heard the latest in the strange life of my ex, in the end of September, she introduced a strange man in our lives as her biological father.

Patricia had told the story for years about how she was the result of an affair that her mother had. I discuss this story in my draft and had always attributed it as one of Patricia’s fantasies.

The fantasy took a strange and deadly form in September as Patricia’s second husband, Kyle, introduced me to Grandpa Joe at Patricia and Kyle’s divorce trial. And Joe was not an appealing figure. He showed up to court in a brown knit shirt unbuttoned to his navel and brown knit pants. Almost the first words out of his mouth were “If Patricia does not get to see the kids, I will”.

Absolutely amazing story, thirty-eight years ago, Patricia’s mother had an affair with an Albuquerque native named Joe while both families were stationed in Spain. Joe then finished his career in the Army and returned home to Albuquerque. In 1986, amazing as it may be, Patricia married an Albuquerque boy serving in the 82d Airborne and they moved to Albuquerque. Father and daughter living in the same town unknown to each other until 2003 when Patricia went out looking for her daddy and discovered he lived only a couple of miles away.

Now reunited with his daughter he was ready to see his grandchildren, Glen, Jessica, and Montie.

What is a father suppose to do? I grilled Joe about this amazing story and some of the facts did not add up. He told me the affair happened in the Carolinas and he told me that Patricia’s mother and younger sister were aware of the reunification between Father and daughter. But not Patricia’s older sister with whom I might be in contact My understanding of Patricia’s past indicated that any affair that resulted in Patricia’s birth took place in Spain while Patricia’s family was stationed there and nine months before Patricia was born outside of Madrid.

One of the reasons I am alive and not dead, despite the well published efforts of my ex-wife, is a healthy respect for both Patricia’s intelligence and craziness. I made a decision to act the moment Joe brought my kids into this. New Mexico is a state with presumed Grandparent visitation rights and I could see this spiraling into an ugly fight if I did not address the issue at once.

The logical next step was to contact Patricia’s mother Edna. Picture calling your ex mother-in-law and telling her – “Oh, by the way, I met a man today that claimed that he had an affair with you thirty-eight years ago and that Patricia was the result. Yes, yes, I have heard this story from Patricia over the last two decades and the guy tells me that you knew about him and Patricia getting together”.

I called Patricia’s younger sister, told her the story, and told her that I needed to bring this up with their mother, “Mel”, I told her, “you understand why I need to approach Edna about this, I am not going to let this guy see the kids if I can help it. You are going to have act in the best interest of your family and decide how we approach your mother”.

Mel agreed she was on the spot and wanted to talk it over with her husband before deciding on the best course of action. She called me back a few hours later and said that they decided that she should approach Edna, and that she had done so. Result – Edna very much wanted to talk to me.

I called Edna and her reaction is best described as livid She did not appreciate her daughter labeling her as an adulterer, especially in open court. She provided a specific timeline that refuted Joe’s version of events. Specifically, that they had been in Spain for three uninterrupted years from January of 1965 until December of 1967. Patricia’s conception must have occurred around May of 1966. I later confirmed this timeline with Patricia’s older sister, ten at the time, and Patricia’s legal father, Ed.

Simply put, three witnesses, two of which hated each other’s guts, Edna and Ed, all made Joe’s story about the affair a lie.

My biggest concern, and still is, is Joe’s motivation. Patricia’s motivation is easiest to assume as an effort to cause pain, no matter what the cost. But why would Joe perjury himself in court? The question became even more critical as Joe further intruded into my life.

The next evening, Joe telephoned the house and Jessica answered the telephone. The conversation lasted about twenty minutes and the intent was to convince me that he was indeed Patricia’s father. He told me that Edna had called him and chewed him out for breaking his promise of thirty-eight years. He then proceeded to tell me about the recent death of his son.

Finally, he broached the matter of Patricia’s attempt on my life. “You know what she went to jail for I have been accused of”, he told me.

“What, trying to kill a spouse” I replied.

“No, no, but for years the police have thought of me as a hit man”, he said “and everyone that has ever argued with me in public has ended up missing”

And I am thinking to myself, “What the hell”, and wishing I had a way to record this. Wait a moment; I remember the house is set up to record telephone conversations. Two years ago, when the State took away the kids from Patricia, the court order gave me the right to record all conversations for later review. The gear was still hooked up to the phone. I rushed into the den and turned on the recorder just as Joe was repeating himself about everyone that argues with him in public disappears.

Yes, one sided recording of telephone conversation is legal in New Mexico. There is not even the requirement for a ‘beep’ to notify the other party. The Albuquerque Journal ran an article on Sandia recording employee conversation a couple of months ago. You can hear most of the recorded conversation as part of the audio record in the subsequent hearing at fatheriam.com

And let’s remember folks, I am dealing with an ex wife that placed an ad on the Internet and hired two hit men to kill me. Fortunately, the first one never showed up and the second one was an undercover sheriff deputy. Let me add that the plan was to kill me in the family home with the children in the home. What do you think would have happened to my kids if they had surprised the hit man?

No apologies for turning the recorder on Joe, just kicking myself for not having thought of it earlier.

On the tape is both the second and third time Joe stated that anyone that argued with him ended up missing and a long story about a former Lobo basketball player that ended up dead after arguing with Joe on Central. Of course Joe denied that he had ever killed anyone.

When I talked to the various police departments over the next few days, they referred to Joe’s behavior as ‘fronting’. This is common criminal behavior where one lies about one’s history to appear more threatening.

Joe was not a criminal, it appears he had been investigated several times but never convicted of a crime.

The same could not be said for his children, Patricia’s relationship aside. The son he discussed in the September 29, 2005 telephone conversation died while in the awaiting trial on charges of kidnapping and rape of a child under thirteen years old. Another daughter was serving out in Women’s Correctional Facility in Grants on charges of drug dealing, prostitution, and child abuse.

Isn’t the Internet wonderful? All of this information available after only a few keystrokes.

Wait a moment, Grants? The pieces started coming together. One of Joe’s real daughters was serving time out at Grants with Patricia. It seemed much more likely that Patricia and Joe met each other through this other daughter while they both served in prison. I thought this more likely than the story they told, plus it added to the incredible circumstance. Why, not only was your biological father living in the same town you moved to in 1986, but by sheer coincidence you and your half sister were serving in the same women’s prison. Right……

Grandpa Joe fronting as a hit man with two children spending time in prison for crimes involving children, any wonder I took the Walther out of the gun safe and chambered a round? Anyone remember my window being shot out a couple of months previous? Certain security procedures went into place.

The questions proved simple. First, to what extent was Uncle Joe a threat to the children and myself? Second, after the possibility of violence, what were Joe and Patricia’s other objectives? Third, again, what in the world could motivate Joe to perjury himself and take these other actions on Patricia’s behalf.

One of the first indications of wisdom is the understanding that you will never find answers to many of your critical, vital, questions.

A second indication is the ability to chart a successful course despite a lack of information and answers.

I am not making any pretensions of wisdom, but I am an individual that actively believes the important decision is when to be active. If I prove unsuccessful in this effort, feel free to dig up my dead body and gloat.

I decide to act, first with law enforcement and then to file a restraining order against Joe and Patricia. The Dixie Chicks accurately describe the feebleness of a restraining order, but I restricted my actions to legal actions and believed the important step was disrupting the timing of whatever Joe and Patricia planned.

I got a little bit of a runaround with the police initially, due to the nature of our relationship with the police. Patricia was initially arrested by the Sheriff’s department and by their homicide unit. This is probably one of the most overworked units in the Albuquerque area. Obviously, it made sense for them to pick up any further possible criminal acts by Patricia and obviously it had a lower priority. Half of them were in New Orleans helping with hurricane relief and the rest were in the middle of a horrible child molestation and possible murder case in the east mountains.

I also called the judge presiding over Patricia’s second divorce and told them what I discovered about Patricia’s actual relationship with Joe and his testimony that he was her father.

The sheriff’s department came out and took my initial report. The deputy who took the report had been in the room when the department started exchanging email with Patricia during her search for the hit man. He told they all stood around the computer during the rapid exchange of emails, initially refusing to believe that she was serious and then coming to realize just how serious she was in her efforts to seek my death.

Before I could get full involvement from the law, Joe decided to contact me a second time, he called the office on October 6, 2005.

I got the recorder on during the first few minutes of the conversation. This time Joe called to tell me that a judge had ordered him to take a DNA test and that the results proved without a doubt that he was Patricia’s father.

This time I proved a little less polite then my first telephone conversation with Joe and grilled him pretty hard.

Which judge? He could not tell me.

Where did the test get done? Somewhere on second street

When did the test get done? On Wednesday.

And they had the results this quick, in about thirty hours? Why of course

So, can I get a copy of the test? Sure, if you could find it.

So, tell me your blood type? What are you going to play judge, now?

You claim to be my kid’s grandfather and almost your first words to me were that if Patricia did not see the kids, you would. I am acting in the best interest of my children. Okay, but I just said I would try and see the kids.

On and on, me asking the questions and him evading answers, telling me again and again that there was no doubt that he was Patricia’s father and my kid’s grandfather.

He ended up telling me that he did not want to intrude on me. I said, right – he had called twice in a week, the first time at home and my daughter answered the phone, the second time at the office. He was intruding; he was imposing himself on our lives.

I really felt that when one lie failed, he simply moved on to the next one. He was not worried at all about my confrontation. My impression was that of a con man always believing that he could land the mark.

Not understanding his motivation worried me. What in the world did he expect to gain by perjuring himself and harassing me from a crazy, broke, imprisoned woman?

And let me tell how upset Patricia’s mother was. She called on an almost daily basis for updates. Here I am, forty-four years old, single and the number one woman I conversed with is my ex-wife’s mother.

One story that also came from Joe, Patricia’s mother, and her sister was Patricia insistence that she was seriously ill. It occurred to me that if Joe was on file with the Department of Corrections as Patricia’s next of kin, we would never learn any truth about her health. I suggested to my ex mother-in-law that she write a letter to the Corrections Department refuting Joe’s claim of fatherhood and noting that she was Patricia’s true next of kin. I figured it was a constructive way for her to address the pain Patricia caused her.

The sheriff’s department decided to spend several hours with Joe to assure him that they were interested in his involvement with my family, the next day they served him with the temporary restraining order I sought. I am eternally grateful for their actions and wrote a thank you note to Sheriff White.

I filed for a restraining order against both Joe and Patricia. I knew I had a solid case against Joe, but the only way that I could prove Patricia’s involvement was if I got Joe to admit that he called me at Patricia’s request. Unfortunately, on the hearing on Monday, I was pretty sick and not at my best. Additionally, KOAT ran a story on the hearing Monday morning. It is possible that the Commissioner saw the story and became aware that a typical easy restraining order granted against Patricia might mean six years more in jail for her and a headache for him.

Obviously, Patricia and Joe came into the hearing prepared to refute my claims. What they did not anticipate was the recordings I made. I questioned Joe for several minutes and elicited lie after lie. He lied about telling me that he wanted to see the kids, he lied about his reason for calling me on the 29^th, and he lied about telling me that people who argued with him disappeared. The last proved a little interesting. I guess he felt a little vulnerable on this one, because he went into this long story about how he had told me about this guy who worked for Kinney Bricks that used to claim that everyone he had argued with in public disappeared.

Joe was not happy when I pulled out the CDs and played them for the Commissioner. I obtained a two year restraining order that does not allow whim to be with 100 yards of my home or work, or 15 yards in a public place. It also requires him to surrender all firearms for the next two years and not to have one in his possession at any location. Any violation results in an immediate arrest until a hearing is held.

As I was half expected, he did not give Patricia up and I did not get a restraining order against Patricia.

Motivation still bothers me. Commissioner Sheppard seemed to have the same doubts about the relationship between Joe and Patricia. He told Joe that he could only issue the restraining order because he was Patricia’s biological father, he emphasized the point, but Joe stood mute and let him issue the order.

Woundn't Mind

Stephen Avery — Wed, 13 Aug 2008 12:21:18 GMT

We were notified in Court this morning that Patricia’s hearing was rescheduled for September 10, 2008. This will be Patricia’s 356^th day of incarceration since her re-arrest on September 20^th of last year. I also believe this was our eighth appearance in Court with any hearing.

I told a couple of people that I would mind going to Court ever six weeks or so and be told to come back for, let’s say, the next ten years.

Just the Facts, A Recent Timeline

Stephen Avery — Thu, 17 Jul 2008 09:27:44 GMT

Patricia’s hearing was reset again for August 13^th. They are running up against the second six months and I believe any extension can only be made by the Court of Appeals or Supreme Court, unless the Judge, State, and defense agree.

Here is the time line for the last year.

September 20, 2007 – Patricia is taken into custody as she is being discharged from Intensive Care at UNMH. Basically, she is charged with violating her probation by attempting to kill herself .

October 10, 2007 – First hearing is held. An attorney hired by “Grandpa Joe” (“Avery verses Sanders” and Avery Statement to Parole Board December 2005) takes me out to a broom closest (I am serious) and begins to tell me the defense plans for Patricia. It takes us a few minutes to realize that he thinks I am “Grandpa Joe”. When he realizes he has been talking to the victim, he disappears and is never seen again.

The Public Defender’s office raises the issue of Patricia’s mental competency with the judge and the judge orders a competency evaluation.

Later that day, the first of four sealed documents are filed with the court

January 2, 2008 – We are notified in the courtroom that the hearing has been rescheduled for the 30^th

January 30, 2008 – We are notified in the courtroom that the hearing has been rescheduled for February 27, 2008

February 27,2008 -- We are notified in the courtroom that the hearing has been rescheduled for April 23, 2008

March 18,2008 -- A sealed Documents is filed with the court

March 19, 2008 – A sealed document is filed with the court

April 23, 2008, -- We are notified in the courtroom that the hearing has been rescheduled for June 18, 2008

May 14, 2008 – A sealed document is filed with the court

June 18, 2008 -- We are notified in the courtroom that the hearing has been rescheduled for July 16, 2008.

July 1, 2008 – I am contacted by someone representing themselves as a social worker with the State of New Mexico trying to meet with Glen. I subsequently learn that the individual works for the public defenders office or Patricia.

July 8, 2008 – Glen meets briefly with the public defenders office only to be told that Patricia has vetoed whatever they were planning.

July 16, 2008 -- We are notified in the courtroom that the hearing has been rescheduled for August 13, 2008.

This is seven trips to the courthouse in the last ten months with at least one more to go.

Oh, what will they ever do?

The Truth, the Whole Truth, and Nothing But the Truth

Stephen Avery — Sun, 13 Jul 2008 13:53:01 GMT

Tuesday afternoon, the first, I received a telephone call on my cell from a woman who identified herself as Michelle Franoansky, a social worker with the State of New Mexico, looking for our son Glen.

I told her that I was Glen’s father and Glen was at work. I further stated that I assumed this had something to do with Glen’s mother and that I would relay a message. I asked if Patricia was okay, as I did not want to unduly alarm Glen. She stated that Glen was fine and provided me her telephone number 841-5185.

I sent Glen the following text “Glen, the state called about your mom, she is okay vur (sp) they want you to call 841-5185, michelle franoansky”.

Glen called a few minutes later and I confirmed my message and added that the lady identified herself as a social worker. Glen said he would call her and call me back.

Glen called back a little later and stated he had appointment with the social worker at 10:00 am Monday.

Yes, it appeared as if the competency evaluation on Patricia was finally moving forward.

Patricia’s pre sentence evaluation did not include an interview with Glen, but he was a minor at the time. It did include an interview with me and an interview with Patricia’s mother, Edna. I could see them not feeling the need to interview as my thoughts are pretty openly posted on the website, but I anticipated a new interview with Edna.

Glen called Edna a couple of hours later and she had not been contacted. We speculated that the process was still early and she would be called in the next couple of days.

Of course, trusting soul I am, I called Michelle’s number at about 9:00 pm that evening and discovered via her voice mail message that she worked for Patricia’s attorneys, the public defenders’ office. She was not a neutral party working for the State of New Mexico, but an advocate for Patricia employed by the State of New Mexico.

Again, technically, I guess she is a state employee who works for the State of New Mexico, but the whole truth is that she is an agent of my ex-wife, a truth she did not disclose to either myself or Glen.

Just as technically, her contacting me was a violation of Patricia’s probation order, and sentencing order. Her contacting of both Glen and I is ‘technically’ a violation of the standing custody order issued by Judge Jewell.

So, if she wishes to get technical about how loose she was with the truth…….

Of course, she has just proven how stupid she is by trying to put this over on us. Eventually we would have discovered her true identity. I wonder if she shares a cubicle with the social worker from the public defenders office that labeled me a rapist based only on Patricia’s representation?

Then what is so important that she must avoid the whole truth in order to see Glen, Patricia’s nineteen year old son?

We settled in our planning on some harebrained scheme for Patricia’s civil commitment with Glen as her guardian. State law gives Glen priority as an adult child over Patricia’s mother. Who knows? Who cares?

Thinking they could run over or manipulate Glen, would have brought them a bit of a surprise.

About thirty minutes before the scheduled appointment, Michelle called me again to cancel the appointment. This time she identified herself as working for the public defenders office, apparently when they ran the scheme past Patricia’s she objected strongly.

One must wonder…. If they consider Patricia’s mental health of such a state they think the solution is putting her nineteen year old son in charge, then why listen to Patricia when she objects?

Experience with the Beast Machine indicates a level of stupidity (listening to a crazy individual) and laziness (trying to find the easiest way to remove Patricia from the case load).

I wrote a blog recently where I outlined my belief that the Beast Machine could not come up with a plan that I would object to. I did not mean it as a challenge, yet they found a way to annoy me by attempting to put all of this crap, crap they created, on my nineteen year old son.

Of course he is better qualified then any of these lazy idiots, but I believe they should clean up their own mess and not attempt to victimize the innocent to solve their own problems.

The only positive part of this would be listening to their attempt to explain this crazy idea to the judge

A couple of weeks ago, a friend of mine brought up the idea of walking away from Patricia, just turning my back and ignoring whatever happens.

Well, I received an email this week from someone in jail with Patricia and she made it crystal clear Patricia’s continued hate of me and tendency to blame me for all evil in her life.

This is one reason for keeping an eye on Patricia, especially when you consider the lunacy of “Grandpa” Joe threatening me as a third hit man.

Another reason is there are still children involved, Patricia is their mother and all of you with crazy ex’s understand how close to impossible it is to walk away when minor children are involved.

Well, another hearing scheduled for Wednesday. Can not wait to hear what they have planned.

Same Old, Same Old

Stephen Avery — Wed, 18 Jun 2008 14:52:02 GMT

Well, we had our sixth, yes sixth non hearing/hearing this morning on the Motion to Revoke Probation, Patricia’s probation filed by the State back in September of 2007. Friday will mark Patricia’s ninth month since her arrest for alleged probation violations as outlined by the State.

It is a little tough on the kids, but I imagine it is tougher on Patricia.

Your Guess is as Good As Mine.

Stephen Avery — Tue, 17 Jun 2008 15:49:46 GMT

There is a hearing scheduled in Patricia’s criminal case for June 18^th, This will be the latest in several hearings over the last nine months on the question of Patricia’s mental competency. To date, all of the hearings have ended without the presentation of any evaluations or evidence. As of the last scheduled hearing the competency evaluation is still underway.

There are several sealed pleadings in Patricia’s criminal case. This not unusual in a case where mental illness is an issue, but the District Attorney’s office, despite all of their public support for victims, has never contacted me since Patricia’s arrest in September of 2007. Not even to inform me that several hearings were cancelled.

My ego leads me to conclude that my successful ability to bring our case to the public attention and, possibly, to influence decisions, has led to a conscious decision on the Department of Corrections, the District Attorney’s office, and even the Honorable Judge Murdoch, to prevent my interference in this case.

I discussed the DA’s attitude in a previous blog and do not anticipate even the illusion of victim support from Brandenberg and her staff. Obviously, Patricia and her attorney consider themselves in opposition to me, and I do not blame the Department of Corrections for attempting to avoid further conflict with me.

The truth guys, is why bother? To be less then kind, our conflict over the years arose out of your refusal to acknowledge the extent of Patricia’s mental illness. You caught up with me and we now share the next problem – how to do deal with Patricia’s illness to insure the safety of my family and society as a whole.

I am under no legal or moral obligation to leave this responsibility to the “professionals” as they demonstrate time and time again how they simply make things worse, with the exception of Judge Murdoch. Yet, I am responsible to my family, to my children, a responsibility Judge Murdoch does not carry. In case the point is clear, although this case has consumed over half of his life, Montie is only eleven years old.

I, along with the children, am the victim in this case, but Patricia is not the only offender. The Beast Machine prodded and poked Patricia until she lost control of her already fragile mental health. I never abused Patricia, but the Social Worker who stood in open Court and called me a rapist based on nothing other then her own agenda and Patricia’s mental illness, did abuse Patricia by feeding Patricia’s illness just to advance her own agenda.

Having asserted my right to my rights, I really do not see my intervention in Patricia’s future. Frankly, I have given up on the Beast Machine’s ability to either help Patricia or contain her. As stated previously, I also understand their unique ability to make things worse. I just do not know what they can do. I suspect their own thoughts along this line are the basis for the continued delays in trying to figure out what to do.

Since Patricia’s arrest last September I continue to puzzle with this question and the possible solutions Judge Murdoch may impose. I see five possibilities.

One, declare Patricia mentally incompetent.

Two, admit Patricia to the State Hospital in Las Vegas for civil commitment.

Three, release her to continue probation.

Four, return her to prison to finish her initial suspended sentence.

Five, release her completely.

One, declare Patricia mentally incompetent – I am just not seeing this as a real option. The standard in this case is her ability to help with her own defense. Over the hearings this year, Patricia demonstrated both her awareness and control of her defense.

Two, admit Patricia to the State Hospital in Las Vegas for civil commitment – This is the solution recommended by Patricia’s probation officer. There are two problems with this. First, I believe Patricia has already been through a civil commitment evaluation in Las Vegas and quickly discharged. This occurred during the interval between her release from prison and her arrival in Albuquerque and discussed in an Albuquerque Tribune article at the time. I do not see any changes in circumstances that would make Vegas revaluate their decision made during her last visit.

Also, and this goes along with option one; I do not perceive Patricia’s form of mental illness as among those normally treated in mental hospitals. I do not believe she is schizophrenic but a psychopath. The prognosis for treatment of psychopaths is negative.

So, Vegas discharged her once and they are not likely to keep her a second time. Although, I do consider it likely they will send her to Vegas for a second evaluation. This is simply an expedient way to deal with the impossibility of her case.

Three, release her to continue probation- I see this as a likely outcome, just reset and give her another chance. Not that she deserves one, but what other realistic options does the State have?

I do not see my self in a position to object to this course of action, her release back to supervised probation and a new half-way house. I, along with others, forsee this ending in a repetition of her last release.

Four, return her to prison to finish her initial suspended sentence— Despite the wonderful program on Dateline a couple of weeks ago about women who hire hit men and their prison sentences, I was not uncomfortable with Patricia’s initial sentence. The Judge anticipated this very future -- send her to jail for a couple of years and hopefully she would learn her lesson, if not send her back to jail for the rest of the eight years.

I only see this happening if the Judge is convinced that Patricia can not be rehabilitated, is not treatable for mental illness, and an immediate danger. If nothing is going to change, this just postpones the inevitable.

Five, release her completely—I assume this is within the judge’s discretion and there is some basis for it in the statutes dealing with mental incompetency.

There is part of me that wonders if this would be safer then releasing her on active probation. Active probation set her up in conflict with her probation officer, case worker, and mental health providers. This conflict quickly bled over to her filing new DV charges against me.

On the other hand, there is always the concern that if Patricia has no one else to fight with, she will fight with me. You would hate to be the judge who loosened a sentence only to have it blow up in your face a few months later.

Well, these are my possible options and the truth is they all are inadequate. I do not envy Judge Murdoch his decision. The wild card is Sanders, if he is still involved with Patricia then all bets are off and I am for any option that removes him from the picture. Patricia’s probation officer shook off Sander’s continued involvement several months ago, but I am not sure. Since I never understood this relationship, I will not attempt to predict Patricia’s or Sander’s behavior.