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Mother describes episodes of alleged abuse, financial control and child‑safety concerns
Summary
Rachel Thomas testified to repeated episodes she described as domestic abuse — including being left stranded, bank accounts zeroed, and household damage (stove out of service for seven days) — and said those factors informed her safety and custody requests.
Under oath, Rachel Thomas described multiple episodes she characterized as abusive conduct by Michael Thomas during their marriage and following separation: she testified that he emptied or disabled access to joint accounts on several occasions while the family was traveling, that he removed keys and left the household without transportation, and that he once disabled a stove for seven days by pulling an oven cord. She told the court those incidents sometimes occurred while children were present and that they contributed to her concerns about Scarlett’s safety.
Thomas also testified to repeated verbal abuse and threats and to an incident she reported to police on Sept. 21, 2025, that she described as sexual assault; she said she filed a police report and that some criminal charges previously connected to their relationship were not currently pending. Defense counsel challenged the frequency and documentation of many of these incidents, and the court noted conflicting evidence while allowing testimony and recordings to be considered. Thomas said she feared unsupervised contact between Michael Thomas and Scarlett and recommended supervised or phased reintroduction; the court adopted phased visitation with protective conditions and ordered a guardian ad litem to assess safety and parental fitness.
