Comparatively few spouses blow up buildings, as police suspect a Manhattan doctor may have done, but things can still get pretty extreme:
Prominent New York divorce attorney Raoul Felder was more specific. “I had a client murdered by his wife,” Felder said. “I have seen [cases in which] a kitten [was] put in a washing machine, a puppy in the microwave — the puppy died, the kitten lived.
“I have seen art collections slashed, a guy with a vinyl record collection had it returned by his wife all smashed into bits,” Felder added. “I’ve seen clothes ripped up. One gentleman got his wife tickets to some hot play, and when she returned, her stuff was in the street. I’ve seen children taken at airports.”
(Chris Francescani and Kristen Depowski, ABCNews.com, Jul. 11; Anemona Hartocollis and Cara Buckley, “Divorce, Real Estate and Rubble: When Marriages Go Really Awry”, New York Times, Jul. 12 (note similar quotes from Felder, who’s clearly not afraid to give the same interview twice); Jane Ridley, “Divorce gets dirty”, New York Daily News, Jun. 12(et plus encore for that same kitten and puppy)). And: Rebecca Goldin at STATS.org chides ABC for sensationalism (Jul. 14).
Bonus video link: Patsy Cline, “A Church, A Courtroom, and Then Goodbye” (YouTube) (via Terry Teachout’s fabulous new listing of online video and audio resources).