Judge Vacates Divorce, Giving Wife in Murder Case Military Benefits
An Oklahoma judge has vacated a divorce last month of a military couple, so that the wife can get government benefits following her then ex-husband’s murder of their two children.
“Her attorneys said after the hearing the ruling was the only way the longtime stay-at-home mom could get any money or health care from the military to make a new life,” explains the Associated Press. The final divorce papers in the case had not been filed, the news agency notes, although state District Judge Don Deason approved the divorce on Feb. 14.
Eleven days later, airman Dustin Thorson arrived at Michelle Thorson’s home and murdered their two children before himself committing suicide, as an Oklahoman article last month details.
Lawyers for Michelle Thorson said the divorce should be vacated because Dustin Thorson had fraudulently agreed to it, never intending to comply with the divorce terms. Lawyers for Dustin Thorson’s estate, however, challenged Deason’s ruling yesterday in Michelle Thorson’s favor, saying that it could reduce death benefits for his 13-year-old daughter from a previous marriage, and may appeal.
