Henry v. Whitlock-Henry

1

JOSEPH CLAUDE HENRY, Appellant v. MEGAN ANN WHITLOCK-HENRY, Appellee

No. 14-21-00550-CV

Court of Appeals of Texas, Fourteenth District

March 28, 2023

On Appeal from the 280th District Court Harris County, Texas Trial Court Cause No. 2021-52332

Panel consists of Justices Jewell, Bourliot, and Zimmerer.

MEMORANDUM OPINION

Frances Bourliot, Justice

This is an appeal from a thirty-five year family-violence protective order entered in favor of appellee, Megan Ann Whitlock-Henry. In the amended protective order, the trial court found that appellant Joseph Claude Henry committed family violence, was likely to do so in the future, and committed an act constituting a felony offense. Joseph challenges the amended protective order and contends (1) there is legally and factually insufficient evidence to support entry of the amended protective order, (2) there is neither statutory authority nor sufficient evidence to support the duration of the amended protective order, and (3) the trial court did not have the authority to include numerous provisions in the amended protective order that infringe upon Joseph's rights. For the reasons set forth below, we affirm.

Background

Joseph and Megan married in 2017. The parties did not have any children together, but both parties had children prior to the marriage.^[1] According to Megan, Joseph's behavior became increasingly violent and erratic after they were married.

On August 20, 2021, Megan applied for a protective order under chapter 85 of the Family Code. In her affidavit in support of her request for a protective order, Megan described the preceding events as follows:

The following are examples of Joseph's destructive behavior: On September 9, 2020, Joseph began punching holes in the wall of our master bedroom. At the time, Joseph was experiencing a fit of blinding anger and I could not reach him with words . . . . On April 29, 2021, Joseph punched holes in the wall of my step-daughter, Claire's bedroom. Joseph has also punched holes in the walls of our TV room and sawed down the door in the TV room. During his fits of rage Joseph has even thrown chairs and personal objects, and burned cash money on the gas stove. . . . On August 17, 2021 I had a disagreement with Joseph which escalated into an assault on my life. During our car ride home from dinner Joseph became enraged and lunged at me. My daughter was in the car during this incident and witnessed Joseph strangle me. He had a firm grip on my neck and began banging my head against the car window as I struggled to break free.

That same day, the trial court signed a temporary protective order and show cause order directing Joseph to appear via Zoom to show cause why the court should not issue a protective order. During the evidentiary hearing, Megan and Joseph both appeared with counsel. Megan, Keely Suitor, Gary Whitlock, and Joseph testified at the two-day protective order hearing.

Megan's Testimony. Megan testified about Joseph's steadily escalating episodes of extreme anger, destruction of property, and threatening behavior. She attested that Joseph's behavior concerned and frightened her. She described his behavior as "fits of rage" that began with Joseph raging at an "adamant object or situation" and then turning his anger towards her. She attested that when Joseph was extremely angry, he would call her names such as "a horrific wife," "the worst person that he's ever married," a "lived-hard," "a snowflake," and "a retard liberal."

She avowed that during these "episodes," Joseph "work[ed] himself into such a rage" that he punched walls in the marital home. She testified about three separate occasions where Joseph punched holes in the walls of the marital home. On one occasion, he punched the light switch with such force that he bloodied his knuckles and splattered blood on the wall. On another occasion, he sawed down the door to their TV room because he was angry that the door would not close properly. In addition to testimony about property destruction, Megan described an occasion where Joseph left a bruise on her. She stated that Joseph was trying to move past her and pushed her out of his way and into a wall, which resulted in a bruise on her arm.

Megan provided substantial testimony about the physical assault that occurred on August 17, 2021 and was the catalyst for her requesting a protective order. She testified that she and Joseph went to dinner with Claude, Claire, and L.G.K. An "argument ensued at the end of dinner," and they "continued arguing outside the restaurant to the point of getting into [her] car." She asserted that Joseph was in the driver's seat, and her daughter, L.G.K., was sitting behind her. Megan testified that Joseph "was having a fit of rage and . . . lunged across the car . . . grabbed [her] neck with both of his hands while he was screaming . . . and just squeezed [her] neck while he was pushing [her] against the window of the car." She attested that she could not breathe while Joseph's hands were around her neck. She stated her neck was "quite swollen . . . [and] it had red marks." Megan further attested that this act of violence occurred in front of L.G.K., who subsequently expressed that she was fearful of Joseph.

In the early morning hours following the physical assault, Megan testified that Joseph sent her concerning text messages. The trial court admitted text messages where Joseph sent Megan the following:

You are the most evil, lying, manipulative bitch I've ever known. Of all I've done for you and given you. You were done with me months ago but not adult enough to admit it. You have treated me like dirt. I have no feelings for you whatsoever. It makes me sad that [L.G.K.] will never have as loving a man in her life because you don't deserve one. You are a piece of gutter shit. You are not my wife. You are a thief. An amoral, hateful devil.

And Claire is a much better person than you could dream of being. If you ever attack her again I will kill you. Yes, megs shitty lawyers, that is a threat. Attack my kids again, your life ends.

She testified that she believed Joseph wanted to kill her or L.G.K based on the text messages. She also asserted that after the text messages, Joseph also emailed her. The trial court admitted the email, and in relevant part, the email stated:

I apologize for all my mean and vicious words and actions, all of which came from a childish and most often drunken place. . . . Many actions and words are horrible, reprehensible and indefensible. Some of those are unforgiveable. . . . Now that you've left me, I have nothing more to fear. I am living in my deepest pain. I am facing my abandonment directly and proximately. I'm staring into the abyss. I have no more to lose. . . . I have been weak in managing my depression and anger, which is rooted in fear and not strength. I have allowed my anger to manifest in physical violence, which is not defensible in any circumstance. I have made you feel unsafe, when your safety is my responsibility. . . . I have been drunk too much and too often. I have been arrogant in my drinking. I did not encourage you when you were working on sobriety. . . . I am making an appointment to go back to a doctor to reevaluate depression medications. I need to find one that balances right and works for me, however long that takes. I will be working on my anger and irritability. . . . If AA or another program is appropriate, I will follow that road.

Keely's Testimony. Keely, Megan's co-worker, testified that on the night of the physical assault, she went to Megan's house after receiving a text message from another party. She stated that when she arrived, she met with Megan, who was very upset and crying. Keely asked Megan what was wrong, and Megan "informed [her] that she had been assaulted by [Joseph]" and that "he had placed his hands around her neck and strangled her." Keely stated that she did not see bruising or marks but noticed that Megan's neck "looked puffy." Keely asserted that Megan was extremely upset and said that she had twelve hours to vacate the residence.

Keely testified that she called the Bellaire Police Department to report the physical assault and that officers responded within ten to fifteen minutes. Keely also testified that the officers were present for over an hour and spoke with both Megan and L.G.K. Keely remained at the residence with Megan because Megan "was very concerned about some continuity for [L.G.K.], about getting [L.G.K.] to school and trying not to upset [L.G.K.'s] routine for the first day of school."

Keely stated that the following morning, Joseph returned to the house. Keely overheard a conversation where Megan told Joseph that she wanted to work out an amicable way to end their marriage and Joseph expressed that it was not his desire. Keely observed that Joseph was "unhappy" with the thought of the marriage ending and overheard him tell Megan that it was her fault. Keely described Joseph's tone as "somewhat belligerent" and that "he was forceful about stating . . . that it was entirely [Megan's] fault."

Gary's Testimony. Gary, Megan's father, testified that on August 17, 2021, he was at his Michigan home with his wife, Pam. He testified that he missed a call from Megan and called her back on FaceTime.^[2] Megan was "extremely distraught," and he could see her "really crying." Gary testified that Megan told him that Joseph "slammed [her] head against the window and choked [her] . . . [and] tried to kill [her]." While Gary was on the phone with Megan, Pam was on the phone with Joseph.

Gary stated that Pam had Joseph on speaker phone, and Gary heard Joseph "screaming and cursing" that Gary should "come get [his] fucking psychotic daughter now or [Joseph would] kill her . . ....