March 23, 2019: The 911 Call and Denial of Visitation

The Scheduled Visitation Attempt

One month after a new supervisor was agreed upon (Franceska with Supervision Services), Stephen Russell, accompanied by the court-appointed supervisor, arrived for what was to be Russell's first scheduled visit at the driveway leading to Tara's parents' house. This was the pickup location for Evie, as specified in the court's visitation order.

Russell had properly provided 48 hours' notice, as required by the January 1, 2019 visitation order signed by Hon. Gordon-Oliver. The court order was explicit: "Dad 'SHALL' have visits with 48 hours notice. and it was MOM who 'shall not be present at pickups and dropoffs.'"

Steve Walsh's Response

Upon Russell's arrival at the gates of the Walsh family compound, a car followed them on their drive from the Crab Tree Kiddle House to the gates. When they arrived, the car pulled in behind them and Steve Walsh got out. According to the court-appointed supervisor's contemporaneous notes:

Russell responded: "We are here for a visit. This is a court appointed supervisor."

Steve Walsh replied: "WE didn't agree ... we didn't get to meet the supervisor. Is someone going to bring Evie out. Are you denying the visit?" When pressed, Walsh became explicit: "No...[Unintelligible] yes, yes, we are denying the visit."

The Court-Appointed Supervisor's Report

The court-appointed supervisor documented: "No one else was present at the interaction beyond Dad, Steve Walsh, and the court-appointed supervisor. No one was visible up the long and winding private drive. True to Steve Walsh's words, no one came down from the estate nearly a quarter mile away or even poked their head out."

Russell, having clearly been denied the visit in violation of the court order, complied with the supervisor's instruction. He got back into the car and backed up so he and the supervisor could leave, which they calmly did.

The False Police Report

A police report was filed regarding the incident. The officer told Russell that he had warned Steve Walsh not to be present at future pickups and drop-offs. However, Steve Walsh had directly violated this warning by being present and denying the visitation.

In discovery in the San Francisco Battery Case, Tara's sister's text messages revealed that Steve Walsh became furious after talking to police. According to the documentation: "He was not going to allow any more visits and he asked his daughter to file a response."

Tara's False Temporary Order of Protection

In response to the incident — at which she was not present and was nearly a quarter mile away in the estate — Tara Walsh filed a request for a Temporary Order of Protection on March 27, 2019. In her filing, she wrote what Steve Walsh told her, claiming Russell had been aggressive or threatening. However, the court-appointed supervisor's contemporaneous affidavit contradicted Tara's account entirely.

The affidavit stated explicitly: This was untrue. The noticed visit, with the agreed and appointed supervisor was per the court's exact instructions. The Visitation Order signed by Hon. Gordon-Oliver on January 1, 2019, made clear that Dad "SHALL" have visits with 48 hours notice, and "it was MOM who 'shall not be present at pickups and dropoffs.'"

The Failure to Proceed on Tara's False Claims

Steve Walsh refused to appear at the hearing on the matter scheduled for April 2019 to corroborate his daughter's statement to the court. Without his testimony, and faced with the supervisor's affidavit directly contradicting Tara's claims, the hearing should have been dismissed.

Instead, no hearing was held, no hearing was rescheduled, and no extension was followed. The matter was left to expire.

A year later, without a hearing on the merits, Judge Morales-Horowitz would issue a 5-year order of protection against Russell "on default" at a visitation conference — characterizing the matter as uncontested despite the clear documentary evidence that it was disputed. This default order occurred "just as COVID began" and would prevent in-person visitation for years.