Killers Keep Secrets by Huddle James

Author:Huddle, James
Language: eng
Format: epub
Published: 2020-06-29T00:00:00+00:00

Chapter 13

The Breakup

Joe and Sharon gradually drifted apart after they had children, separating in 1991.

They evidently slept in separate beds, I learned from media reports following his arrest. If this is true, I would guess it probably started so she could study half the night for law school and the bar exam without being disturbed by Joe. She didn’t want to be distracted, and she was sensitive to noise.

In the late 1980s and early 90s, as their marriage fell apart, Sharon made national headlines for her work with the National Coalition Against Surrogacy, which worked to outlaw the practice of married couples paying other women to have their babies.

The organization sprang into action following the infamous “Baby M” case in which a New Jersey woman, Mary Beth Whitehead, was forced to give up her baby after giving birth. Sharon’s efforts contributed to the enactment of laws banning paid surrogacy in Oregon, Washington, and maybe a dozen other states.

She’d worked with the coalition since before she and Joe split up. She worked fiercely to advocate for and protect her clients.

Despite the split, Sharon and Joe didn’t file divorce paperwork.

Joe seemed to like their arrangement. He continued to tell people he was married to a lawyer. I think he liked the status that came with being associated with someone in a field like that. It was a big deal back then for a woman to break into the legal profession. In the 1970s, when Sharon began to pursue her dream career, women were still largely unwelcome in courtrooms. By the 1990s, the bias had started to lessen, but it was still a prestigious, unusual thing for women to have their own practices. I know my whole family was proud of Sharon and her work and achievements.

Sharon went with it. She wanted to do everything she could for the benefit of her children, including maintaining a relationship with their father. But she suspected he intentionally did things to annoy her. She suspected he used the children as pawns to keep an eye on her.

As their relationship deteriorated, I asked her what had happened between them. She didn’t give me any specifics, but I recall that she said he was manipulative.

Sharon finally filed for divorce in 2018. Many media outlets and internet sleuths have speculated it’s because Sharon knew something about Joe’s crimes, but it’s a lot simpler than that. Joe had very good health insurance and Sharon needed to keep her insurance. By not filing the paperwork, Sharon got to keep her health insurance for free, and Joe still got to say he was married to a lawyer.

The pending divorce could have significant ramifications in Joe’s upcoming trial. With the divorce filing, the DA’s office can subpoena her and compel her to testify, attorney Mark Reichel told KTXL. She won’t be able to talk about specific conversations or communication she had with Joe, but she’ll be able to testify on her observations, such as what clothes he was wearing or if she noticed anything suspicious.

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