Lawyer says Faulk abused girlfriend 7 times

[Gunzlingr]

St. Louis Rams running back Marshall Faulk physically assaulted his former girlfriend seven times over four years, but she stayed with him for love and their three children, her lawyer said Monday in St. Louis County Circuit Court.

A lawyer for Faulk said the NFL star never had struck the woman and accused her of angling for money and matrimony.

Testimony began Monday afternoon in the civil suit by Helen Dunne against Faulk. She is seeking "substantial" money damages.

Faulk is seeking a symbolic $1 in damages through his countersuit, which accuses Dunne of abusing the court system for personal gain.

Faulk and Dunne met at a party in St. Louis in 1996, when she was a student at St. Louis University and he played for the Indianapolis Colts. Their first child was born in May 1997. He was traded to the Rams in 1999. He bought her a house in Creve Coeur, but the couple never married.

On Monday, they sat across from each other at the single table in the courtroom of Presiding Judge Barbara Wallace. They rarely, if ever, looked at each other and never exchanged words.


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[Cntrygal]

Article updated (same link as above)

Also testifying this morning was Creve Coeur police officer John Romas, who interviewed Dunne in the emergency room at Barnes-Jewish West County Hospital on Oct. 29, 1999. Romas said she suffered injuries to her left hand, neck and face and that he wrote a report and presented it to the St. Louis County prosecutor's warrant office.

But under questioning by Scott Rosenblum, one of Faulk's attorneys, Romas said that Dunne said she had broken her ring finger pushing Faulk during their dispute.

[Gunzlingr]

Woman says Faulk subjected her to abuse, fear

By Tim O'Neil Post-Dispatch
updated: 05/07/2003 06:30 AM


During a long day on the witness stand, a former girlfriend of Rams running back Marshall Faulk described in detail Tuesday a stormy, on-and-off relationship of beatings, apologies and attempts to make a family.

"Some days I was his queen, other days I was just some woman he had babies by," Helen Dunne, 27, testified in St. Louis County Circuit Court. "I loved him and wanted the boys to have their daddy around."

But a lawyer for Faulk aggressively sought to undermine Dunne's story of physical abuse and fear, getting her to admit that she once dated basketball superstar Shaquille O'Neal to make Faulk jealous, and went on spending sprees "so he'd pay more attention to me."

She also confirmed that she had sex with Faulk last May, almost one year after she sued him.

Dunne testified for nearly five hours Tuesday in the trial of her civil suit, which accuses Faulk, 30, of physically assaulting her eight times in a four-year relationship that began in spring 1996 and produced three sons. They now range in age from 19 months old to 5.

Faulk has countersued, denying he ever struck Dunne and accusing her of trying to manipulate the courts to get money from him.

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[Gunzlingr]

Before judging Faulk, let him have his day in court

One of the best parts of my job is the opportunity to read so much reader feedback. I had no idea how many thoughtful folks were out there that cared so deeply about me and how I do my job. I get letters every day from all sorts of obliging readers who "wish" and "hope" they could help me do a better job of writing my column.

But unfortunately, because crayon smears so much, sometimes it's difficult to tell what some of these deep-thinking pen pals were really trying to write.

"Dear Bryan: I cant beleev the (bleep) u rite," one recent correspondent wrote. "I wish u wood die!"

"Hay Burwell!! I hope you no I kud write a better kolum in my sleep," another accommodating fellow wrote, apparently with head resting comfortably on his pillow.

I do enjoy the helpful hints. I really do. I just wish that some of the suggestions did not involve me experiencing so much pain and suffering. Thankfully, some of my pen pals do not write in crayon. Some folks have found a way to express themselves without so many vowels, or without so many ill intentions
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[Gunzlingr]

Expert in Faulk case says punch triggered disorder

By WILLIAM C. LHOTKA Post-Dispatch
updated: 05/08/2003 06:26 AM


A punch to the stomach left Helen Dunne with post-traumatic stress syndrome, a psychologist testified Wednesday in a suit that names Rams running back Marshall Faulk as the ex-boyfriend who hit her.

But during cross-examination, a lawyer for Faulk tried to make jurors wonder whether blame should be put on abuse by other men that Dunne had described to the psychologist, Terrence Rohen.

The public battle completed its third day in St. Louis County Presiding Judge Barbara Wallace's court.

Dunne wants Faulk, father of three of her children, to pay "substantial" but unspecified damages for physical abuse during their on-and-off relationship from 1996-2000. Faulk counter-claims that Dunne is lying to try to cash in for big money; he demands to be awarded a symbolic $1.

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[PA Season Ticket Holder]

Rams' Faulk testifies in civil suit

ST. LOUIS -- St. Louis Rams running back Marshall Faulk told a jury Friday he did not physically abuse former girlfriend Helen Dunne, contrary to the claims in her civil suit against him.


Faulk testified he asked Dunne to marry him in the fall of 2000, but called the engagement off when she stopped seeing a counselor, the St. Louis Post-Dispatch reported on its Web site.


Faulk said he had made the marriage conditional on their getting a psychologist's help to resolve their problems.


"We argued about money. We told lies to each other. I felt we needed it,'' Faulk said in St. Louis County Circuit Court. "We had issues.''


Faulk said he later tried to get Dunne to spend less than $15,000 a month for herself and four children -- down from $20,000 to $25,000 a month. When that failed, Faulk went to court to get a judge to set a budget.


Dunne countered first by threatening to embarrass him publicly and then by filing the civil suit seeking damages for alleged battering, Faulk said.


Dunne is seeking "substantial'' monetary damages, claiming she was battered by Faulk on several occasions. He claims she is manipulating the court system to get money from him.


Dunne, 27, grew up in St. Louis and met Faulk, 30, in 1996, when she was a student at Saint Louis University and he was playing for the Indianapolis Colts. They began a relationship and the first of their three boys was born the following May.


He was traded to the Rams in 1999. He bought her a house in suburban St. Louis, but the couple never married.


Dunne now lives in Houston with the couple's children. No criminal charges have been filed in the case.


Neither Faulk nor Dunne would comment after court Friday. Testimony resumes Monday.

http://espn.go.com/nfl/news/2003/0510/1551847.html

[The_Philster]

Jury finds in favor of Faulk

Jurors deliberated for less than two hours today before finding in favor of Rams' running back Marshall Faulk and against his former girlfriend, Helen Dunne.

The jury rejected all six of the allegations of domestic violence that Dunne, 27, claimed that Faulk had inflicted on her. The jury then found in favor of Faulk on his claim of abuse of process, which means it felt that she had misused the judicial system by filing suit against him.

The jury awarded Faulk $125; he had sought only $1 in symbolic damages.

Faulk's family and his supporters burst into applause as the verdict was read in the St. Louis County courtroom of Presiding Judge Barbara Wallace shortly before 2 p.m....
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