Chapter 10 - The Trial Against Spencer
I testified for one day.
Not about marriage broadly.
Not every cruel sentence.
Only relevant.
The prosecutor asked:
“Did Spencer know Gertrude’s coffee was hot?”
“Yes. She had just poured it.”
“Did he know she was angry at Paisley’s grabbing?”
“Yes.”
“Had he discussed provoking you?”
“I learned he had.”
Objection.
Sustained partly.
Documents spoke.
Then recording.
The jury heard:
Gertrude:
“One day I’m going to make her remember.”
Spencer:
“Do it. The kid needs to learn a lesson.”
Then:
Gertrude:
“I’d never hurt a child. I’m going to scare her hand away.”
Spencer:
“Fine.”
Then later:
“Mom, don’t actually hurt her.”
Defense emphasized.
Then coffee.
Then:
“You threw it.”
Then accident story.
The prosecutor did not claim Spencer intended second-degree burns.
She argued he knowingly encouraged punitive confrontation between controlling adult holding fresh hot coffee and two-year-old, wanting reaction for custody documentation, then protected assailant instead of child.
Defense:
Words ambiguous.
Gertrude independently committed intentional act beyond anything Spencer agreed.
His failure afterward was cowardly but not proof prior criminal intent.
He called 911.
He brought Emma’s belongings.
He participated in supervised visitation appropriately.
He loved Paisley.
All true.
The jury verdict was mixed.
They acquitted Spencer of the highest complicity/solicitation count tied directly to intentional scalding.
I felt sick for five seconds.
Then remembered:
Beyond reasonable doubt.
They did not find proven that he intended Gertrude to throw scalding coffee.
They convicted on:
Child endangerment/reckless facilitation-related count supported by knowingly encouraging unsafe punitive conduct around hot liquid and child.
Obstruction of justice.
Attempted evidence suppression/witness coordination count merged/structured.
Exact legal labels jurisdiction-specific.
He was not convicted of assaulting Paisley personally.
That accuracy mattered.
At sentencing, prosecutor asked substantial incarceration.
Defense asked probation/short custody.
Victim statement.
I said:
“Spencer did call 911.”
Then:
“He also watched his mother lie to the paramedics.”
Then:
“He knew she threw coffee and helped build an accident story.”
Then:
“He had been collecting my reactions because he thought emotional distress would make me look like a worse mother.”
Then:
“My daughter needed him to be her father before being a litigant.”
That was core.
Spencer spoke.
For first time, no lawyer language.
“I wanted my mother to correct Paisley.”
Then:
“I wanted Emma to react because I thought it would help me if we divorced.”
Silence.
“I did not want coffee thrown.”
Then:
“When it happened, I panicked.”
Then:
“I chose Mom.”
There.
“And then I chose myself.”
He looked at me.
“I am sorry.”
Sentence:
Three years eight months effective incarceration after merger/concurrent structure.
Two years supervised release/probation afterward.
No contact with Gertrude about testimony? Not needed after cases.
Family-court orders govern Paisley.
He would serve roughly three years with credits.
Not destroyed forever.
Enough to disrupt life.
Then divorce.
Criminal conviction did not automatically terminate parental rights.
Family court considered.
Temporary supervised visitation could continue through secure remote visits during incarceration? Usually prison visitation not necessarily required. Paisley too young. Evaluator recommended pause direct in-person incarceration visits, allow therapist-approved cards/video calls as age-appropriate.
I agreed to one recorded video message every few weeks, screened.
Spencer:
“Hi, Paisley. Daddy loves you. I’m sorry I didn’t keep you safe.”
No mention Grandma.
No blame.
Paisley sometimes watched.
Sometimes walked away.
No obligation.
Then house.
We sold marital home because neither could practically carry mortgage alone while Spencer incarcerated and divorce pending.
Sale price:
$548,000.
Mortgage/payoff/costs left net equity around $167,000.
Prenuptial? None.
Court/divorce settlement divided marital equity roughly equally with adjustments for temporary expenses and legal obligations, not as punishment.
I received around $86,000 net.
Spencer around $81,000 before his own legal fees/obligations.
Joint savings divided after authorized medical/family expenses.
Retirement marital portions equalized.
No alimony due short-ish? We were married 6 years maybe. Let's define 6 years. Could have limited, but both employed. None.
Child support set based on incomes and custody, modified while incarcerated according law and later reinstated after release.
No magical forfeiture.
Divorce finalized fourteen months after coffee incident.
I walked out courthouse.
Dad waited.
“Done?”
“Yes.”
“How feel?”
“Like paperwork.”
He smiled.
“That’s often what freedom looks like.”
Then phone buzzed.
Burn clinic.
Paisley’s final scar evaluation.
The doctor said the area on her cheek had healed with minimal textural change and residual discoloration expected to continue fading.
No surgery.
No permanent facial impairment.
I cried harder at that than divorce.
Because court could not undo skin.
Healing had.
Mostly.
Then Paisley, now three, asked:
“Daddy home?”
“No.”
“Daddy bad?”
I paused.
“Daddy made bad choices.”
“Grandma bad?”
“Grandma hurt you.”
She touched cheek.
Then:
“Coffee?”
“Yes.”
She looked at my cup.
Tea.
“Cold?”
“Warm.”
She backed away.
We did not push.
Time.
The criminal cases were over.
But family consequences were just beginning.
Because Brenda had not spoken to Gertrude since sentencing.
Howard had moved out.
Douglas blamed himself for staying quiet.
May you like
And Toby, now four, had begun asking why Grandma disappeared.
The adults who had once agreed on one story now had to decide what truth to tell the next child.
