Holmes v. Holmes
| Decision Date | 16 September 1952 |
| Docket Number | No. 28275,28275 |
| Citation | 251 S.W.2d 390 |
| Parties | HOLMES v. HOLMES. |
| Court | Missouri Court of Appeals |
William L. Mason, Jr., Elmer M. Gaskill, St. Louis, for appellant.
Benjamin B. Tepper, A. S. Tepper, St. Louis, for respondent.
WOLFE, Commissioner.
This is an action for divorce in which the defendant filed a cross bill. The plaintiff was granted a decree whereby she was awarded the custody of two children born of the marriage with temporary custody in the husband until such time as the plaintiff established a suitable home. She was also awarded alimony and attorneys' fees. Defendant below prosecutes this appeal.
Plaintiff's petition alleges that her condition as defendant's wife had been rendered intolerable by threats of violence, beatings, bitter quarreling and faultfinding. She prays for custody of the two children, support money for them, and for alimony.
The defendant denies any misconduct on his part and charges in his cross bill that the plaintiff associated with other men and was violently quarrelsome and jealous of his parents.
These parties were married in June of 1941, when the defendant was twenty-seven years of age, and they lived together until July of 1950. Two children were born of the marriage, the older being Nancy who was age seven at the time of the trial and the younger named Betty who was only three years old at that time.
Defendant worked as a clerk and earned approximately $250 a month after customary deductions. It appears that he managed the spending of the household funds and that his wife handled very little of the money. When he came home from his work, if the evening meal was not to his liking, he would take his older daughter and leave the house. He went several nights a week to his parents' home, leaving the plaintiff alone with the younger child. All during the marriage of these parties defendant appeared to have an unusually strong attachment for his parents.
Plaintiff testified that her husband never gave her any money or purchased her any clothing. She did not know what salary he earned. She made all of the clothing for the children and kept them well cared for and clean. She said that she could do nothing to please her husband and that night after night he would come home and take Nancy with him to his parents' home. He was faultfinding and abusive toward her. She stated that the minute he came in the house he started an argument, using vile language toward her and frequently striking and choking her. He shwed her no affection and told the children not to mind her, that she was a witch. At one time she announced her intention to take over the direction of a Brownie Scout group, to which Nancy belonged, and this started an argument, with her husband telling her she was not a fit person to do such work. When Nancy became old enough to learn to play cards he would play with her and tell her that her mother did not have sense enough to play the game. She finally decided that they could no longer live together and apparently by agreement she sold their household furniture for about $300 and left for California with Betty, the younger child. She intended to go to a friend's home there and seek employment, with the idea that when she became established she could come back and get Nancy. Upon reaching California Betty became very ill and the plaintiff was obliged to return at once with the child by air to St. Louis. When she got back to St. Louis she went to the home of her mother-in-law and father-in-law, where her husband and Nancy were staying. She waited for her husband to return from work and although he was angry because she had come back to St. Louis, she persuaded him to go in a room apart from the rest of the family to discuss their problems. She said that he launched into an argument that eventually resulted in him beating her into unconsciousness in the presence of his parents and the children. From that time on she has never had the actual custody of either of her children and although a stipulation was entered into which permitted her the right to visit them at certain times pending the outcome of the divorce action, such visits were usually marked by quarrels and the presence of her mother-in-law did not enable her to have a satisfactory visit with the children.
The defendant testified that at the time of the trial he and the two children were making their home with his parents, and that the arrangement was quite satisfactory to him. They lived in a small flat with just one bedroom and Betty slept in the bedroom with her grandparents where she had a small separate bed. Nancy slept in the living room with her father on a rubber mattress. As to his wife's conduct he testified that she did not like housekeeping and was of a nagging, quarrelsome disposition. He stated that she swore at the children and struck Nancy in the back with her fist and struck and swore at him. She complained that he failed to show her any affection and said that there were other men that she could go with and particularly named a Bob Becker. She said she had gone out with him. He was a man who worked at the wartime plant at Weldon Springs where the plaintiff herself had worked. The defendant said he knew that Becker drove her to and from work, but admitted that this was due to lack of transportation facilities and that plaintiff was but one of a group that Becker transported in his car. He testified that she told him he was not the father of their younger child, but that he had no...
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