‘The court system did this’: Kassenoff assisted suicide note
- Catherine Kassenoff said she went to Switzerland to die by assisted suicide
- She blamed her decision on the courts and alleged her ex-husband abused her
- 'The children are safe and healthy': Ex-husband's attorney
ovp test
Male shot by female at Shreveport apartment
Class to create biodiverse backyard
Rules for outbursts at Caddo School Board Meeting
(NewsNation) — Catherine Kassenoff, a former New York prosecutor and mother of three, shared a letter on Facebook saying she traveled to Switzerland to die by assisted suicide.
In her suicide note, reportedly shared May 27, she alleged her ex-husband Allan abused her and said “the court system did this to me.”
“It is with a profound heartbreak … that I am writing my last post ever. Today, I will be ending my own life … In the last four years of my life I have woken up every day to a nightmare like no other,” The New York Post reported she said in the note.
Catherine blamed her decision on a corrupt court system.
“I cannot survive this torment and the grief that comes from such a prolonged separation from my children,” she said in the note. “It (the court system) is a predatory system that functions in darkness — through ‘gag orders’ like the one in my case, through a publicly-inaccessible docket, through a closed courtroom, and through ex parte ‘temporary’ orders that are in place for years.”
Catherine and Allan married in 2006, and he filed for divorce in 2019. A Westchester family court reportedly cut Catherine off from contacting her three daughters.
“We tried to get these stories out … She kept saying, ‘Nobody will care until somebody dies.’ It is an indescribable, bottomless pit of pain to have your children taken,” Elizabeth Weinstein, one of Catherine’s friends, told NewsNation’s Alex Caprariello.
Caprariello attempted to speak with Allan for his side of the story, but he refused. However, Allan’s attorney shared the following statement with NewsNation.
“Ms. Kassenoff has repeatedly taken steps to publicize the details of this custody dispute, generating a large following of individuals who believe her side of the story and advocate on her behalf without fully understanding all of the facts of this case. … While it is always difficult limiting a parent’s access to their children, given the circumstances of this case, it was found to be in the best interest of the children to take these steps urgently. The children have been in our client’s care for 3.5 years and they are safe and healthy,”
Social media influencer Robbie Harvey told “Banfield” it’s his mission to shine a light on these stories and that “hopefully, this case will open up the eyes of people who need to make the decisions to change this system.”
