Posts tagged with "Custody" | Chappaqua Poison

Act IV

Post 22 ●

The Uber

Three months before the departure, Tara texts a friend asking to be kidnapped. On June 4, 2018, she walks out with Evie and calls an Uber to a bus zone. Bryan Crutcher jumps in the back seat. The recording captures everything — including Tara telling her father that police will arrest her for poisoning Steve. Walsh Sr. tells her to come home. Then agrees to conditions he later admits, under oath, he was never genuine about. Tara flies to New York and never returns.

2019 ECS 92

Act V

Post 23 ●

Crabtree's Kittle House

The first supervised visit after the emergency order. Steve surrenders California jurisdiction to see his daughter. The grandparents bring Evie to a parking lot in Chappaqua. Maura refuses to let go. Walsh Sr. intervenes. The child calms in her father's arms and cries when she sees her grandmother.

2019–2020 ECS 88

Post 24 ●

A Special Relationship

The court appoints a supervisor who promises integrity and transparency. She meets privately with Tara before the first visit, invites her to attend in violation of the court order, dismisses Steve's concerns about being poisoned, and tells him she has a special relationship with the judge. She charges $250 an hour. The judge who appointed her later admits she wanted Steve to die on his own sword.

2019 ECS 88

Act VI

Post 25 ●

Sixteen Visits

Sixteen visits. Five supervisors. Every observer reports the same thing: Steve is attentive, Evie is happy. The supervisors keep changing. The reports keep disappearing. The visits stop for five months. The court grants sole custody anyway.

2019–2020 ECS 85

Post 26 ●

The Bruises

During Visit 15, Steve and two other adults discover bruises on Evie consistent with deliberate injury. Both parents report the bruises as concerning. Tara tells the Attorney for the Child. Steve tells his attorneys, and then the police. Within ten days, the story migrates three times — from concerning to normal to nonexistent — and the court accepts the final version. Months later, Tara's own attorney recuses from the case.

2020–2021 ECS 88

Act VII

Post 31 ●

Five O'Clock

Kelly undergoes surgery. Steve's attorneys request remote appearance at a visitation conference. At five o'clock the evening before, the court denies the request. He boards an overnight flight. When he arrives, Judge Horowitz has already entered a default — granting permanent custody and a five-year order of protection at what was scheduled as a status conference.

2021–2022 ECS 85

Post 32 ●

Two Defaults

Steve seeks a Temporary Order of Protection in New York. The TOP is granted. At the evidentiary hearing, Tara and her attorneys fail to appear. Twice. A second default is entered. Judge Humphreys recuses himself.

2022 ECS 82

Act VIII

Post 37 ●

Bora Bora

His attorney was in the courtroom. He was not. The phone rang after. The voice on the other end sounded beaten. 'Well, that didn't go well.' The orders were final.

2024–2025 ECS 82