Bitter divorce led to fiery crash that killed father, 2 children

Daytona News Journal Online ^ | 122703 | Associated Press

[Archangelsk]

Bitter divorce led to fiery crash that killed father, 2 children

Associated Press

Last update: 27 December 2003

ORLANDO -- A man who killed himself and his two children in a fiery Christmas Day crash had been involved in a bitter divorce that included accusations of child sexual abuse, fights over money and a failed attempt by his estranged wife to get a protective order.

Shahab Behzadpour, and his wife, Hope, had gone before a judge earlier this month to argue over who could be with the children on Christmas Day. The judge ordered that they split Christmas with the children. She was to get them on Christmas Eve and Christmas morning and he was to get them for the rest of Christmas Day.

"They should bend over backward to make sure that the children's lives are peaceful and that they are kept out of the discord between the parties," Circuit Judge Cynthia Mackinnon said in her order six days before Christmas.

Shahab Behzadpour, 46, was killed along with his daughter, Nikki, 6, and son, Sammi, 3, when the car he was driving crashed into his in-laws' home in the Orlando suburb of Altamonte Springs.

State Fire Marshal's investigators studied the charred vehicle Friday to determine what set off the fire.

Neither the car nor the house were badly damaged by the crash itself, raising questions about whether the fire was intentionally set inside the car before the crash, said Altamonte Springs police spokesman Jack Harrison.

"There wasn't enough damage to the car to say he wanted to crash into the house," Harrison said.

Earlier in the year, Hope Behzadpour had sought a protective injunction against her husband, whom she described as emotionally distraught.

"I fear for myself and my children," Hope Behzadpour said in her request. "My husband has threatened to take our lives. He has on several occasions promised that I will never have the children and he will never give them up."

A judge denied the request in September, saying there was not enough evidence.

Hope Behzadpour also said in court papers that she suspected her husband had sexually abused their daughter. She said her husband would massage her daughter's body and that, over her objections, he would sleep in the same room with his daughter, behind a locked door.

She took her daughter to a hospital to be examined after her daughter complained about pain while urinating. A hospital physician notified sheriff's deputies and the state child-protection agency, Hope Behzadpour said in court papers.

Department of Children & Families spokesman Bob Brooks said Friday he wasn't allowed to comment on whether the agency had opened an investigation.

In court papers, Shahab Behzadpour denied the sexual abuse allegations and said his wife had told him she would make up charges against him to get him out of their house if he didn't leave voluntarily.

The divorcing couple also fought over money.

In April, Shahab Behzadpour, who had quit his job working for Mears Transportation and was unemployed, transferred almost $41,000 from an account he shared with his wife to his sister's bank account with the intent of opening a restaurant in Canada, his wife alleged in court papers.

He also took a $6,400 cash advances on their credit cards and took his wife's $3,500 wedding ring without her knowing about it, Hope Behzadpour said in a request demanding her half of the money back.

Shahab Behzadpour's bitterness with his wife also extended to her parents. He tried unsuccessfully to get a protective injunction against his in-laws, accusing his father-in-law of threatening him with his fists. A judge denied the request.

Shahab Behzadpour also tried to prevent his in-laws from having unsupervised contact with their grandchildren. Mackinnon, the judge, also denied the request, but she urged the in-laws during a Dec. 15 hearing to stay out of the divorce battle.

"The grandparents are to permit the dad to come to and from their home to drop off and pick up the kids," the judge said in court. "There is not to be screaming by the parents at each other or by other family members in front of the children."

[Archangelsk]

Possible "Religion of Peace" alert.

Definite "Dumb Judge" alert.

Probable "Poor Marriage Decision" alert.

Absolutely "Hope the Scumbag is Frying in Hell" alert.

How the hell do you murder your kids to spite someone?

[Hawkeye's Girl]

You have to be completely selfish...and evil.

[ValerieUSA]

Why the hell didn't the court order a psychiatric evaluation?

[petercooper]

iranian?

why do we keep letting these people in?

[Archangelsk]

That's why I said 'Possible'.

[Archangelsk]

Why the hell didn't the court order a psychiatric evaluation?

Who the hell knows?

[Syncro]

It's amazing how many times Judges dismiss a restraining order and someone gets hurt.

But many people just ignore them, they need to be locked up after the first violation.

Psych Evaluations some times do no good at all even if the man comes out really bad on it.

But everything possible should be done, sometimes it works.

[Archangelsk]

Da Judge.

[FITZ]

I have a feeling this guy didn't even believe in Christmas --- I guess if the kids were being exposed to Christianity --- in his mind they're better off dead. A Muslim must have Muslim kids ---- and it's the death penalty if you try to leave Islam.

[ejo]

Just perused your homepage....Magnificent pictures ....Now why couldn't this 'dunderhead' see the awesomeness of the Almighty at work, and he could have avoided this mayhem...

[sheikdetailfeather]

WFTV news here in Orlando interviewed a neighbor who said the man was in tears two days before at a Publix store and said he missed his children.

[Mercat]

Sadly, the stuff leading up to this tragedy is heard over and over again in custody cases. The judge probably wanted to order a psych eval but who was going to pay for it. It typically costs between $3-10,000.00. Some of the larger counties have a home study process but that's usually done by just out of school ditsy social workers who have no children or live experience. They hit it right about one/half of the time. Not very good odds. Fact is, can't protect the children if the parents go nuts. I've been doing custody law for 28 years. Never had a child die. Had a few parties off themselves. Was at the court house twice when parties took their lives.. one also killed his wife. All of which is why I am going to try to work myself out of the litigation business in the next year. It's just too hard not to mention corrupts my soul and Pope JPII said to get out of the business too.

[trussell]

A judge denied the request in September, saying there was not enough evidence.

Is there enough evidence now??

[Orangedog]

All of which is why I am going to try to work myself out of the litigation business in the next year. It's just too hard not to mention corrupts my soul and Pope JPII said to get out of the business too.

The law schools are filling up quick now that engineering and techincal jobs are going away. Sadly it seems that law is the only growth industry we have left.

[ValerieUSA]

They fought over who got the kids for Christmas -- were either of the parents even Christians?

[FITZ]

You wonder ---- it sounds like they did a lot of fighting over the kids and money ---- this was just another good day to do that. Poor kids.

[ValerieUSA]

Thank you.
His own children were beautiful creatures of God, too, but he saw them only as his own possessions.

[FITZ]

why I am going to try to work myself out of the litigation business in the next year

Maybe they need better people in the litigation business --- maybe you should stay. I think sometimes the lawyers help make problems because that gets them richer --- but maybe the right advise could help in some of these cases, someone telling a parent the money isn't really worth a big war. Or reminding them that the children should not be used in divorce tug-of-wars.

[ValerieUSA]

I don't think it is fair to characterize the dispute as "they fought over money" if he was taking money out of their joint account and sending it to his sister and borrowing against credit cards when he didn't have a job. I would say he was putting the family into deep debt.

[familyop]

My, my, aren't we humanists so intelligent! We just can't figure out a way to make people go along with no-fault, no-justice divorce and not be upset by the reason for divorce! [Irony, sarcasm] And the violence rate keeps going up, just like it did before Noah's time. Hey, I know--maybe our humanism rationalizing witch doctors can fix people so they don't mind the exciting Sodom living!

We've been corrupt since wayward, early American preachers and their "suffragist" friends taught "soul communion" (pretty word for adultery) and that their congregations were "gods" (Henry Beecher, for only one example). And we, as a society, just won't even admit we made a mistake.