PROVO, Utah — Before an AMBER Alert was issued this weekend, followed by a multi-country search for the man accused of running away with his Saratoga Springs children, the boys’ mother had worried that their father was violent.
FOX 13 News investigative reporter Nate Carlisle read through court documents and listened to audio recordings from the custody case involving Dane Richman and the mother of his sons, Lizzie Tomich.
In a Provo courtroom in October, Tomich’s lawyer asked for a permanent protective order against Richman that could have prevented him from being near his sons or their mother.
“...and my client lived in a constant state of fear in that home, a fear of not knowing what Dane would say or do. He had a short temper," said Tomich's attorney, Mark Hales, during the hearing.
But Richman’s attorney denied any threats of violence, and the judge said there was not a preponderance of evidence that violence or the threat of it occurred.
“Based on what I have before me, I'm going to deny this without prejudice," said Fourth District Court Judge Marla Snow.
Missing Saratoga Springs children found safe; AMBER Alert canceled:
Tomich’s concerns arose again during a February custody hearing and were also refuted by Richman's attorney.
“[Tomich] again mentions things of concerns of fathers’ domestic violence, anger problems without any evidence cited, and her concern that [Richman] will take the children away from her, which is rather ironic, given that [the] mother is the one who relocated with the minor children without [the} father's knowledge or consent," said attorney Leslie Corbly in court.
On Tuesday, the judge in the custody case ordered that the children were to be returned to Tomich and scheduled another hearing for Thursday.
