Wednesday, October 31, 2012

Mysterious Fire Was The Spark That Helped Send An Alabama Woman To Jail In a Divorce Case

Bonnie Cahalane (Knox) Wyatt

An Alabama woman has been in jail for more than three months from the fallout of a divorce case, but sources tell Legal Schnauzer that her financial woes date to a fire that destroyed her home about six years ago. That means Bonnie Cahalane (Knox) Wyatt's problems might stem from an earlier divorce case, not the one for which she currently is jailed.

From 2002 to 2005, Ms. Wyatt went through a protracted divorce from Bobby Knox, the president of Shelby Concrete Inc. The company's corporate office is in Montgomery, with locations at Clanton, Alabaster, and several other sites around the state. A document from that action shows that Bobby Knox threatened to burn the marital home to the ground if his wife tried to get it in the divorce.

That document was filed in December 2002, and roughly four years later, the former Mrs. Bobby Knox did, in fact, see her house burn to the ground. She was in the process of recovering from that when she married Harold Wyatt in late 2008. The couple separated roughly 10 months later, and Harold Wyatt claims by then he had spent a substantial sum of money in an effort to get the house back into shape.

A hand-written settlement agreement, which does not appear to be final or official and was written by opposing counsel, shows that Ms. Wyatt was to pay Mr. Wyatt $165,000 for his equity share in the home. When she failed to pay that amount, Chilton County District Judge Sibley Reynolds ordered her arrest for contempt of court. She has been in the Chilton County Jail since July 26, and it appears her incarceration might last longer than did her marriage to Harold Wyatt.

Bonnie Wyatt's incarceration, at best, is highly questionable. At worst, it is bogus, utterly without basis in fact or law. One of several lawyers to represent Ms. Wyatt stated the following in a Motion to Amend the final order of divorce:

Lastly, there was no meeting of the minds as evidenced by any document adopted and incorporated into the Decree by the Court. There is also no evidence of testimony provided by either party.

Based on our review of the case file, both of those statements are true. The Final Order of Divorce stands on its own; it does not include a settlement agreement. And we see no sign that the decree was based on testimony of any kind.

So why is Bonnie Wyatt in jail? On the surface, Harold Wyatt looks like the responsible party. But we suspect Ms. Wyatt's previous husband, Bobby Knox, deserves serious scrutiny.

A host of court documents from multiple cases, in both state and federal court, suggest Bobby Knox is a wealthy guy with a habit of thuggish behavior toward his employees in general and women in particular. We will look at a number of cases in upcoming posts, but for now, let's focus on a divorce case styled Bonnie S. Knox v. Bobby L. Knox.

Did Bobby Knox act with good faith in this matter? Well, consider this: Ms. Knox filed for divorce in December 2002, and the case was jointly dismissed in September 2003, with husband and wife apparently deciding to reconcile.

What happened next? Roughly two months later, Bobby Knox sued Bonnie Knox for divorce. Did he plan this all along, once he got her to agree to dismiss her case? It sure looks that way.

We should note that Ms. Knox's lawyer in the case was William E. Swatek, of Pelham. That's the same Bill Swatek who has caused so many legal headaches for Mrs. Schnauzer and me--the same Bill Swatek who has a 30-year history of disciplinary issues with the Alabama State Bar, including a suspension of his license for acts of "fraud, dishonesty, misrepresentation, and deceit." Swatek also has a habit of screwing over his female clients in divorce cases.

Did Bill Swatek fail to take action that would have protected his client from having the tables turned on her? Our guess is that the answer probably is yes.

What kind of a guy is Bobby Knox? Consider this from a Verified Petition for Ex Parte Order that Bonnie Knox filed on December 4, 2002:

The Defendant (Mr. Knox) has further threatened the Plaintiff (Ms. Knox) stating that if she got the home of the parties, asked for the home of the parties, or was awarded the home of the parties on a temporary basis or permanently, that he would just burn the house to the ground. This comment was made in front of the parties' seven year old child, Bobby Jr., and it upset him so much that he pointed out to his father that if he burned the house down, that he (Bobby Jr.) would burn up in the house too.

Roughly four years later, after the divorce had been finalized, Ms. Knox's house did, in fact, burn down. Is that a coincidence--or did someone make it happen? And what role did the fire play in causing Bonnie Cahalane (Knox) Wyatt to become a prisoner in the Chilton County Jail?

(To be continued)

23 comments:

Anonymous said...

good grief where is the child!?

this is done to women all the time now, and children, it's a cult ideology of how to treat all the 'goy' accordingly.

AND the so called 'men' that do these vile acts, are intentionally manufactured by the same BLOB, that also manufactures weather war weapons and in the digital age, so many are more interested in ipods than women incarcerated by the vile evil when innocent.

where is the child!

Sharon said...

Wow, LS, I've been waiting for your next installment on this story, and you didn't disappoint. Never dreamed possible arson would enter the picture.

legalschnauzer said...

Anon at 8:49--

Good question about the children. I'm still researching the story, and I don't have an answer. My understanding is that no injuries resulted from the blaze, so it appears that no one was home at the time.

Anonymous said...

There is no child! She was married to the scum for only 9 months. Our courts are essentially giving lunatics free reign to do however they wish w re to women and especially children!

TLR said...

Do they have professionals to investigate mysterious fires in Chilton County, Alabama? Or do cops and such just stand around and shrug their shoulders?

legalschnauzer said...

TLR:

I'm working on that question. I've found no reports in the press about the fire. I'm not sure any reporter or investigator has taken a serious look at what caused the fire. But court records clearly show Bobby Know threatening to burn down the house in 2002, and it happens in roughly 2006-07. Still trying to determine the exact time frame on the fire.

Anonymous said...

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**the story at globalresearch gives us cause to pause before this election cycle of fraud.

Roberta Kelly

legalschnauzer said...

Anon at 9:51--

Let me clarify your comment. You are correct that Bonnie Cahalane was married to Harold Wyatt for only a short time, and that marriage produced no children. But the fire in question happened before she was married to Mr. Wyatt--and after she was divorced from Bobby Knox. She had two children with Bobby Knox and two children from a previous marriage. So at least two, and maybe four, children were living in the house at the time.

Anonymous said...

This is getting better than an episode of "Desperate Housewives."

Anonymous said...

So Harold Wyatt spent $165,000 because the house had burned down and was in the process of being rebuilt?

legalschnauzer said...

Anon at 10:04--

Yes, that's how I understand it.

Karen said...

Bobby Knox must be a real prince. God, I thought my ex was bad.

Anonymous said...

This is the damnedest thing I've ever heard of. Someone threatens to burn this woman's house down, it does burn down, and she winds up in jail?

Anonymous said...

I assume there are no signs that she burned the house down?

legalschnauzer said...

Anon at 10:32--

None that I'm aware of. The contempt of court charge that caused her to be put in jail has nothing to do with the house fire, at least on the surface. The $165,000 debt that she allegedly owed to her ex husband, however, is directly tied to her efforts to recover from the fire.

David in S. Alabama said...

How about any reports from the fire departent that put out the frire?

legalschnauzer said...

David:

I'm trying to look into that. The fire department might have put out the fire, although I'm told the house was a total loss, but the key is a fire investigation. Was one done, and what did it find? Don't have the answer yet.

Anonymous said...

Sibley was just in South Dakota with the District Attorney, Randall Houston, and some other attorneys. They were supposedly bird hunting. It is more likely that they were fixing cases.

Anonymous said...

FROM MY UNDERSTANDING THE HOUSE THAT BURNED DOWN WAS NOT THE HOUSE THAT SHE RESIDED IN WITH BOBBY KNOX. BUT FROM WHAT ALL THE RUMORS ALOT OF PEOPLE DO THINK IT WAS ARSON.

Anonymous said...

There is nothing wrong with Bobby Knox, other than being a trusting county boy--I know him personally-this girl took him for a ride and it looks like she tried it with her next husband too. Maybe she is finally getting what she has coming to her. She took advantave of Bobby's good nature big time

Anonymous said...

Fact, Bobby paid her enough money that she would never have to work another day in her life, and she blew it all.

legalschnauzer said...

Court documents, from a variety of sources and cases, indicate that Bobby Knox doesn't have such a good nature. I will be reporting on that shortly.

legalschnauzer said...

If Bobby Knox got taken for a ride, he should be willing to talk about it via the press and describe how he was victimized. I've left multiple phone messages with him, seeking an interview, and he has not responded to any of them. I also have sent him snail-mail letters, with no response so far.

You say that you know Mr. Knox personally. Why don't you ask him to respond to my requests for an interview. I would be glad to do it at a time and place that is convenient for him.