FL: Parents Of Murder Victim, Sherry A. Brannon, Try To Sever All Ties To Her Husband...
Slimpickins
after-death divorce fight
By Tom Spalding
STAFF WRITER
Relations are so strained between the
parents of the late Sherry-Ann Brannon and
her widower that her relatives promised to do
whatever they can to sever her ties with him,
even in name only.
After a judge in Bradenton on Tuesday
denied their attempt to carry out their
daughter's divorce posthumously, Robert and
Darlene Meyer announced plans to try to
make changes in either state or federal law
to allow family members the right to pursue
divorce proceedings after a loved one in a
troubled marriage dies.
Symbolically, any new law would carry
Sherry-Ann Brannon's maiden name, Meyer.
"We will drop the Brannon," their lawyer,
Steve Loewenthal of Tampa, told a throng of
reporters on the steps of the courthouse.
Moments later, as lawyer Julian F. Broome --
who represents Sherry's widower, Dewey
Brannon -- addressed the media, a relative of
the Meyers confronted Broome at a street
corner and asked how he'd like it if he had to
visit a family member in a cemetery.
Broome continued talking to the media. He
spoke of the incident later.
"They have so much poison and venom,"
Broome said. "It's a shame it's got to turn into
this."
Sherry-Ann Brannon and her daughters,
Shelby and Cassidy, were fatally stabbed
Sept. 16, 1999, in their Panther Ridge home
in eastern Manatee.
The murders came at a particularly
disastrous time for the family. Dewey
Brannon had moved out just weeks earlier,
signaling an emotional end to the couple's
16-year marriage.
The Brannons were in the process of
divorcing when the murders occurred. In
Florida, a spouse's death usually stops a
divorce proceeding.
Dewey Brannon was questioned about the
murders and cleared by investigators.
Manatee County sheriff's detectives arrested
Larry Parks, a landscaper who did work at
the Brannons' home, on first-degree murder
charges. A hearing on the status of the trial is
set for Thursday.
Broome said he wished the family would
unite and focus on the criminal trial.
But Sherry-Ann Brannon's family has publicly
blamed Dewey Brannon for the deaths,
suggesting that if he had been home the
attack would have never taken place.
They sought a divorce petition on her behalf
-- not seeking to acquire the home or any
property -- even though the petition was of
questionable legal merit.
Circuit Judge Marc Gilner dismissed the
motion after a 40-minute hearing and opened
the door for Broome to collect legal fees that
Dewey Brannon spent trying to fight it.
Broome said he wouldn't ask for sanctions
against Loewenthal, who was admitted to the
Florida Bar last October.
Loewenthal is helping the family work with a
lobbyist to try to change laws related to
divorces filed before deaths and the wills of
spouses.
The Meyers, hoping to set a legal precedent
in family-law rights, promised to keep
fighting.
"We're not down and out by any means,"
Robert Meyer told reporters, adding later that
he believes Sherry-Ann Brannon would have
wanted her family to continue the legal fight.
"So we're going to keep it up 'til I'm dead, or
whatever," he said.
Darlene Meyer wore a heart-shaped pin with
a photo of her daughter and grandchildren in
the middle. She blamed Dewey Brannon for
having an affair outside his marriage and for
not showing enough concern for the children.
She claimed he drove a new car to work,
leaving the children and his wife to drive an
unreliable car over the Sunshine Skyway
Bridge as part of her daily commute to her
work at a St. Petersburg hospital and the
children's school.
Broome said his client wishes the media
would stop listening to the Meyer family,
calling it a "misplaced emotional attack and
an unjustified vendetta."
http://www.newscoast.com/headlinesstory2.cfm?ID=29377
Maggie
> Judge throws out family's
> after-death divorce fight
>
> By Tom Spalding
> STAFF WRITER
>
> Relations are so strained between the
> parents of the late Sherry-Ann Brannon and
> her widower that her relatives promised to do
> whatever they can to sever her ties with him,
> even in name only.
***This has got to be the goddam stupidest thing I've ever heard of. These
poor parents must have absolutely convinced themselves that their son-in-law
was guilty of murder and now instead of directing their anger toward the guy
who killed their daughter and grandchildren, they are having a hard time
letting go of their misplaced rage at the husband. I understand them being
angry, but I simply can't imagine what they think is to be gained from a
posthumous divorce. What a waste of time and energy.
Maggie
"A long dispute means that both parties are wrong." Voltaire
Happy
I think says it all.
D.
Maggie wrote in message <20000802162248...@ng-fy1.aol.com>...
>slim posted a news story:
>> Judge throws out family's
>> after-death divorce fight
>>
>> By Tom Spalding
>> STAFF WRITER
>>
>> Relations are so strained between the
>> parents of the late Sherry-Ann Brannon and
>> her widower that her relatives promised to do
>> whatever they can to sever her ties with him,
>> even in name only.
>