Splitsville News

In general, I try to keep the tone of this site pretty light.  My thinking is that getting through a family law issue is already tough stuff.  There are silver linings to many clouds, and I try to show readers that lining when I can.

Unfortunately, however, there are some cases where the silver lining is thinner than a hair, if the lining exists at all.  This story on CNN.com is a sobering reminder of just how unhealthy some relationships can become.  Renee Pernice, of Kansas City, Missouri has been missing since January and police still have questions about her disappearance.  Many of those questions center around her husband’s actions after her disappearance.  I’d have questions, too, particularly given this comment that her husband made in an interview:  “It’s gut-wrenching thinking that either she’s got a rich-ass doctor boyfriend somewhere and she’s happy, or she’s dead.” Simplistic.  Creepy.  Very disturbing.

As you can imagine, Renee’s husband, Shon, has been named as a person of interest in the police investigation.  That makes a lot of sense given that he accessed a hazardous materials room (with solvents and cleaning products) and that he dropped off Renee’s dog at her family’s house just a few days after her disappearance.  Neither CNN’s story nor local new stories cite a history of domestic violence in the Pernice’s marriage, although I’d be far from surprised if future reports cite control and violence in the relationship.

I’m unfamiliar with the resources available in Kansas City for individuals who want to get out of a violent relationship, although I am glad to say that King County courts do have resources availble.  The court’s site is http://protectionorder.org/ and it’s one way for a person in a domestic violence situation to start their process of moving on.  My hope is that awareness of and access to these resources will continue to grow across the country.  We, as a country, are better off if there are no exceptions to my line that “there’s life after divorce” and if you don’t need a microscope to see the silver lining on the cloud of one person’s choice to move on.