Frank Parlato
A 2016 email written by Elizabeth “Lizzie” Harding Weinstein—who died in July after years of accusing her husband of pedophilia—shows that she once recognized her bipolar disorder and the damage it caused her family.
In July 2025, she was found dead in a Danbury, Connecticut, hotel room. She was 53. The cause remains unknown.
For years, her story was one of baffling contradiction: a devoted mother who made monstrous accusations; a rational nurse who waged war against a conspiracy. The legal filings portrayed her as volatile; her online posts screamed of a victimized whistleblower.
A missing piece surfaced in an unlikely place—a 2020 Facebook video she posted herself.
During an argument with her husband at a Sheraton hotel, Lizzie filmed his phone. As she scrolled, her camera captured an old email she had written to her doctors in 2016—an email about her bipolar diagnosis, her anger, and her decision to stop taking Lamictal.
The most telling part of her email, in her own words, was this:
“I need to confront the issue of having a bipolar disorder once and for all so as not to destroy the life and family that I have. My episodes of depression or even just decreased functioning are difficult for me but the anger and irritability associated with the hypomania is what scars and traumatizes my children and Brian.”
Inside the Letter
Harding’s email is dated October 6, 2016 and is addressed to Dr Michels and Dr. Dyke.
Dr. Michels requested I put the following letter into writing what I had discussed.
In April I discontinued my medication for lamictal as I was still not convinced that I had a bipolar disorder. While I agreed that I lived my life in a hypomanic state, I disagreed that I had a life long history of depression that coincided with a decreased ability to function, and therefore I defined myself as a hypomanic person who had a bipolar episode due to severe life events and a medication. I truly believed that my problems or recent history of depression (2013) or depressive episodes were the result of outside life forces (termination of pregnancy, kids suffering from school change, marital stress, outside social interactions) and that I could help prevent these in the future not with medication, but with a greater self awareness and proper practice of exercise, diet, sleep and a positive mental attitude.
I told myself I would go off the medication in a responsible way: I would inform Brian, I would exercise every day, I would monitor my behavior and check myself for any signs of extreme interactions, I would be responsible and regularly check in with someone. I didn’t do these things, not out of lack of want, but because of location and time and not making it a priority to find someone I could work with during the summer. These are not acceptable reasons and I am still accountable for not being responsible for my health. I did constantly think I was fairly assessing my interactions myself, but this clearly is not the case as my level of anger was palpable and directed towards Brian and the kids, specifically Max, in a way that is not healthy or acceptable and extremely traumatizing to them. When left to my own devices I was not responsible in managing my health or assessing my level of appropriateness.
If I were to question my diagnosis again, the point I should return to is that while one could still make a case for the stress level associated with my current feelings (I am currently extremely stressed over our living situation and the building of our new home), one can not explain away the level of anger I felt this summer, or in other summers, especially my intense interactions with Max. I must recognize that there is a pattern of intense interactions in the summer and a depression, or even just feelings of sadness in the Fall. I can not deny that my anger, irritability, the quick change in my attitude, and the dissipation of my anger seems out of proportion to real life events. I need to confront the issue of having a bipolar disorder once and for all so as not to destroy the life and family that I have. My episodes of depression or even just decreased functioning are difficult for me but the anger and irritability associated with the hypomania is what scars and traumatizes my children and Brian. I acknowledged this previously, but I choose to justify my anger during the episode.
I need a proper combination of medication, exercise, diet, a positive mental attitude and sleep to be responsible for preventing any bipolar episodes from occurring. I need and want to be responsible for my mental health.
The Turn
The woman who once feared her own anger would soon turn that same intensity outward. In her new reality, she was a whistleblower. She texted her husband: “We have all acknowledged that you have been indoctrinated into the practice of pedophilia.” On Facebook, she declared: “SHAME FALLS SQUARELY ON PEDOPHILE BRIAN STRYKER WEINSTEIN,” accusing him and a wide circle of enablers. She vowed, “I WILL NOT STOP SPEAKING THE TRUTH.”
The Unraveling
Days after her initial accusation, Brian Weinstein, a senior litigation partner, filed a 150-page emergency custody petition, arguing she was suffering from an “untreated mental disorder.” On June 5, 2020, in an ex parte hearing from which she was excluded, a judge issued a Temporary Restraining Order. Police removed her from the home, and the court handed full custody of her three teenagers to Brian, without giving her a chance to plead her case.
Lizzie took her story to Facebook, accusing Weinstein of “sexual abuse, domestic violence, and coercive control.” She named not only him but his parents, judges, and therapists, alleging a vast conspiracy of “grooming” and “mind control.” Her posts were relentless—and threatened to destroy her husband’s career.
She gathered a group of followers—mostly women who felt wronged by family courts and saw her as a truth-teller.
In January 2021, she went to the Briarcliff Manor Clerk’s Office, filming herself as she filed a complaint against a judge. After she was permitted to submit her paperwork, the police chief shut the door on her, knocked her phone from her hand, physically restrained her against the wall, and placed her under arrest. She was jailed, strip-searched, and held under suicide watch.
In March 2021, she was involuntarily admitted to St. Vincent’s Hospital for psychiatric evaluation. She refused medication, forcing a hearing where a judge ordered compliance as a release condition, leading to forcible medication for the illness she now denied.
In August 2021, a judge appointed attorney Kenneth L. Bunting as her guardian. He immediately terminated all of her pending lawsuits, took control of her finances, and barred her from filing any new legal actions. The guardian permitted Brian to divorce her by default, granting him control of all of the marital assets and full custody.
Lizzie was now homeless. The woman who had vowed “I WILL NOT STOP SPEAKING THE TRUTH” had been legally silenced.
The Aftermath
For five years, her existence was a rootless, relentless campaign against the conspiracy she believed had stolen her children—a fight that ended alone in a Danbury hotel room.
The private email she wrote in 2016 tells the true, more tragic story: that of a patient who knew the enemy was her own illness, but ultimately lost the fight against it.
Frank Parlato is an investigative journalist, media strategist, publisher, and legal consultant.
Please leave a comment: Your opinion is important to us!
https://insideinvestigator.org/foic-rules-partly-for-tashun-bowden-lewis/
https://www.stamfordadvocate.com/capitalregion/article/ct-public-defender-tashun-bowden-lewis-replacement-21194476.php
“… TESTIMONY OF CHRISTINE RAPILLO …
CHILD PROTECTION DIVISION
OF
PUBLIC DEFENDER SERVICES
COMMITTEE ON THE JUDICIARY
MARCH 4, 2013
RAISED BILL 6387, AN ACT CONCERNING COURT OPERATIONS
The Office of Chief Public Defender has concerns about how Section 4 of Raised Bill 6387, An Act Concerning Court Operations will impact the rights of parents in child custody cases and the budget of the Division of Public Defender Services.
…The Division of Public Defender Services is responsible for administering counsel for indigent children in family court and for all children and indigent parents in child welfare court. …”
https://portal.ct.gov/-/media/ocpd/bills/bills2013/6387courtopspdf.pdf
… Business Name
SOLOMON & BOZZUTO LLC
Business status
ACTIVE
Citizenship/place of formation
Domestic/Connecticut
Business address
415 Winding Brook Farm Rd, Watertown, CT, 06795-1747, United States
Requires Annual Filing?
Yes
Annual report due
3/31/2026
Public substatus
Current
NAICS code
All Other Legal Services (541199)
Business ALEI
3325288
Date formed
11/17/2025
Business type
LLC …
https://service.ct.gov/business/s/onlinebusinesssearch?language=en_US
Lizzie’s unfortunate plight is a magnet for activists who tie their efforts and numerous irrelevant posts to her story. Without looking into the details of her confusing case or considering the other side of the story. Certainly she sought out individuals who received similar treatment from the legal system, for support and legitimacy. However, the unrelated topics can derail understanding of why a parent who uses social media to publicly and indiscriminately attack their spouse is not a safe parent.
Are you sure her case is just a case of an “unfortunate plight”?
Do you know a Mr. Solomon and a Ms. Bozzuto recently started a business together in Connecticut? Both are judges who controlled Connecticut court cases in various ways. Mr. Solomon has recently been involved the removal of the director of the office of public defender services — an office tasked with coordinating mandatory family court training. When Mr Solomon and Ms. Bozzuto controlled other court offices, CT AFCC Inc. state employees and vendors pushed various occult theories and practices with their racketeering.
CT AFCC, Inc. was a profitable “nonprofit” and many say Lizzie was in Connecticut to help investigate the arrest of a concerned citizen who’s investigated racketeering in the state.
If you know about Lizzie’s case, would you mind telling us what she was investigating before she mysteriously passed away in the hotel room? Do you know if her notes were found with her? Has anyone asked for police “body cam” footage of the investigation? Those videos are held for years if the officers’ body cams were on so should be available in redacted form.
Apart from what might have been simply her perceived threats to her children in America’s increasingly amoral culture, her videos online do seem to say she was very bright and very able to investigate corruption in various court systems.
I hope you at least agree that it’s unacceptable that so many good investigators have been jailed and killed and it’s unacceptable that we don’t know more about what happened to Lizzie.
Why did Lizzie rent a hotel room in Danbury, and what was she investigating? Did you obtain body cam footage? Which investigators have been killed? Please share.
“… we get to also see whistleblower complaints and loss reports that’s kind of interesting to me. Seeing, you know, some of the waste and some of the neglect that takes place in state government. You know, you hear about these things but you never really understand it until you get a first-hand look …”
Richard Luthmann:
“…Boyne also wants depositions of key players, including the judge-victims, State Trooper Samantha McCord, and former Connecticut Supreme Court Justice Joette Katz. Boyne accuses Katz of orchestrating his prosecution to silence his criticism of family court corruption.
An email [April 19, 2022] uncovered in discovery includes the handwritten note: “KATZ SPEAK TO ONLY.” Boyne says that proves Katz directed the investigation behind the scenes ..”
Auditors of Public Accounts:
October 30, 2024
INTRODUCTION
We are pleased to submit this audit of the Division of Public Defender Services (PDS) for the fiscal years ended June 30, 2022 and 2023 …
… Criteria
Section 301 of the Public Defender Services Administrative Policy and Procedures Manual provides that proposed new or revised job descriptions must be prepared by the human resources unit and submitted to the Public Defender Services Commission for approval.
Condition
Our review disclosed that PDS changed a job description in June 2022 without obtaining the commission’s approval. The employee promoted to the position was not qualified based on the previous job description. PDS incorrectly entered this promotion in Core-CT as a pay rate adjustment rather than a promotion.
Context
During fiscal years 2022 and 2023, PDS hired 71 employees and promoted 29 employees. We judgmentally selected 20 employees; ten hires and ten promotions.
Effect
There is less assurance that PDS promoted the most qualified candidates.
Cause
The condition resulted from a lack of management oversight.
Prior Audit Finding
This finding has not been previously reported.
Recommendation
The Division of Public Defender Services should strengthen internal controls over promotions and obtain proper approval from the Public Defender Services Commission prior to changing a job description.
Agency Response
“The Division disagrees with this finding. The employee’s movement to Acting HR Director was not a promotion, but rather was a temporary service in a higher classification.”
Auditors’ Concluding Comments
Department of Administrative Services General Letter No. 29 establishes procedures for temporary service in a higher classification. It provides that employees must qualify for the higher classification at the time of the appointment which cannot exceed one year. The employee in question was not qualified for the position at the time of appointment and has served in that capacity for over a year. In addition, during the prior chief public defender’s recent disciplinary hearing, the commission cited her for changing the job description without notifying the commission.
… • Public Act 22-118 (Section 61), effective July 1, 2022, required the Department of Children and Families and Division of Public Defender Services to jointly develop a plan to achieve federal reimbursement of legal representation in child protection proceedings and the enhancement of such representation …
https://wp.cga.ct.gov/apa/wp-content/cgacustom/reports/FullReports/Public%20Defender%20Services,%20Division%20of%20FULL_20241030_FY2022,2023.pdf
https://portal.ct.gov/-/media/ocpd/commission_pdf/commission-2024/july-commission-minutes-special-meeting-draft-web-posting-7-9-2024.pdf
https://portal.ct.gov/dcf/spotlight/2021/february/ryan
https://www.scribd.com/document/634595860/Redacted-Complaint
“Baez remembers the appointment of Christine Rapillo, Bowden-Lewis’ predecessor, as a “celebration” among some staff. With Bowden-Lewis, she said, people were not as jovial. …” 🤔 … like the Kennedy and Johnson administrations November-December 1963?
Christine Perra Rapillo had been chief public defender since 2017. She must have known about CT AFCC Inc. racketeering in the Public Defenders offices, family courts and juvenile courts.
Since “Public Act 22-118 (Section 61), effective July 1, 2022, required the Department of Children and Families and Division of Public Defender Services to jointly develop a plan to achieve federal reimbursement of legal representation in child protection proceedings and the enhancement of such representation,” that’s a pretty good indicator that adequate legal representation for Connecticut’s children in juvenile and family courts hadn’t been achieved. It sounds like maybe TaShun Bowden-Lewis noticed.
Maybe Ms. Bowden-Lewis also noticed:
In 2013, when contacted for comment, “the Connecticut Attorney General’s Office did not respond to inquires as to whether they had opened an investigation into either corporation’s activities in the state.”
Back to about a decade later: ”McGraw, the director of diversity, equity and inclusion, said the most visible difference he observes between Bowden-Lewis and Rapillo, who declined an interview, is not their leadership styles but rather the way people respond to them.”
If Ms. Bowden-Lewis wanted a few answers to a few questions about inadequate legal representation available to Connecticut’s children and teens, combined with blatant racketeering in Connecticut’s judicial branch, Ms. Rapillo should be fair enough and good enough to reconsider the “no comment” approach.
“… After the commission resignations, Connecticut’s Office of the Attorney General facilitated a contract with an outside law firm, Shipman and Goodwin LLP, to investigate the complaints coming out of the division.” Ms. Katz & friends are at Shipman and Goodwin.
Why did Mr. Tong’s AG office hire Shipman & Goodwin? 🧐
HINT: see the April 19, 2013 Judicial Ethics Committee decision
Back to about a decade later: April 19, 2022 email with the handwritten note: “KATZ SPEAK TO ONLY” could mean Ms. Katz directed the state’s case against Paul Boyne.
It could also mean: Ms. Katz directed the state’s case against Paul Boyne in the context of a decades-long cover-up of CT AFCC, Inc. racketeering in the offices of the Division of Public Defender Services.
If TaShaun Bowden-Lewis noticed the obvious racketeering … and was then targeted for not “going along to get along” (Edmund Mahoney’s Hartford Courant articles point in that direction) Ms. Bowden-Lewis and Mr. Boyne should talk. 🥳
http://www.thelizlibrary.org/mothers/130520-wash-times.pdf
CT’s chief public defender speaks out about turmoil in her agency
COURTS & JUSTICECIVIL RIGHTS
Jul 26, 2023 | 9:12 am ET
By Jaden Edison
”… Bowden-Lewis doesn’t consider herself political, nor have her previous duties called on her to be. Her career as a public defense attorney spans more than two decades. In the years before her appointment, she oversaw an office of public defenders in Waterbury, where she also spent time in the courtroom representing clients. …”
https://www.newsfromthestates.com/article/cts-chief-public-defender-speaks-out-about-turmoil-her-agency
https://ctsenaterepublicans.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/08/DCFTimeline_2018.pdf
Screaming at a deputy and calling him a moron is not a good look for an activist. Will only alienate individuals who may have otherwise been helpful, such as the encouragement to file a missing person report.
Most normal people get a little concerned and agitated when lawmakers and law enforcement officers refuse to serve and protect the people they’re supposed to serve and protect.
It’s not normal to treat any employee with disrespect, or to blame them for something they had nothing to do with. Not a good choice to abuse people while trying to receive help or support. Such behavior didn’t help Lizzie either.
. ⬅️ the point
Is there evidence that 11 plaintiffs were murdered? They were apparently not named in the lawsuit.
Which government office is available to investigate?
Please post contact information.
How wonderful for Lizzie’s former spouse he was able to afford an attorney. False claims of abuse in all forms are terrible. True claims rearly come from people who have the financial means. It takes money to get justice at the family court house. If you can’t afford to pay they just force you into agreements. Wealthy father’s are not the only ones dealing with problems at the court house. Lizzy was a woman who followed a path. It’s strange how so many of these women wind up dead. Especially if there are sexual abuse alligations.
They wind up dead because they commit suicide due to severe mental illness. How wonderful for Lizzie’s children that the court system could protect them from her delusional abuse.
Because he was well connected and had money. It kinda funny how the rates of men’s suicide are used for family court. Blamed on women, yet when women commit suicide it’s mental illness. Elizabeth Weinesten lost custody and is dead. Why continue? I think Mr. Weinstein would want to move on.
Any suicide is due to severe mental illness. Lizzie’s mental illness was documented for years by countless physicians and medical professionals. People are posting here to correct the erroneous information being shared. Perhaps people who are not aware of what really went on could stop posting false claims. Lizzie’s public accusations defamed many innocent individuals. Her death is a shocking loss for all who cared about her and tried to help her while dealing with her difficult, confusing behavior.
Unfortunately, she’s no longer able to respond to those insulting comments.
See her responses in the comments under a previous article posted on this site, to comments expressing similar sentiments questioning her trajectory.
Her responses were always vitriolic accusations that anyone questioning her behavior or evidence were aiding and abetting pedophilia.
“always vitriolic”?
Nah… to the contrary, always a refreshing day at the beach with total accountability, awareness and consideration of others.
https://www.facebook.com/share/v/1EpveaqBH1/?mibextid=wwXIfr
“… During the proceedings, photos surfaced of the judge presiding over the case officiating Abrams’ wedding. When Kassenoff called out the alleged bias, Judge Lewis Lubell recused himself from her case. …”
https://nypost.com/2023/07/28/parents-call-court-that-led-to-catherine-kassenoff-suicide-hell/
Mr. Lubell?!
Was Mr. Abrams also involved?!
If Mr. Abrams associates/associated with Mr. Liberti, that could be a clue.
https://frankreport.com/2023/03/25/the-dark-side-of-connecticut-family-court-system-afcc-members-conflict-of-interest/
There are 2 sides to every story, including the Kassenhoff debacle.
Catherine and Allan Kassenhoff – Factual Analysis:
https://facebook.com/groups/6641116752577053/
The mother in that nyc mask arrest case Lizzie mentions, who she had pick up her mail, was apparently viewed on video by the judge pushing and spitting at the school nurse during the incident. There’s always missing parts to these public custody battle stories.
The woman who Lizzie recruited to pick up her mail at the home Lizzie was removed from was accused and apparently viewed on video pushing and spitting on a school nurse. It seems Lizzie could have provided an address for her monthly checks to be mailed to her to make matters easier for all involved. She could have used a PO box or a friend’s address if she didn’t want to use her own. This situation was indicative of a lack of cooperation across the board on her part.
Talk about “no grip on reality anymore”…
Such classy, non aggressive language, as always
https://www.instagram.com/tv/CPwpzRDHrbz/?igsh=d3R2YWswcnFsZDJn
Some of Lizzie’s content remains online for consideration of her claims. The Nextdoordrunkbitch account on instagram reposted some of Lizzie’s earlier instagram posts. Which show Lizzie claiming she has never been diagnosed or taken meds for mental illness. Evidence of her pervasive dishonesty. She rented a 20k per month home while publicly claiming to be homeless, after moving from a friend’s guesthouse. There are other Instagram accounts that reposted Lizzie’s often foul-mouthed live videos and accompanying written descriptions where she claimed her children’s stated wishes to be protected from her were due to brainwashing. She did not include the possibility that they could have been validly speaking for themselves or that her behavior could have been harmful to them or to others. Freelizziehardingnow is still up on instagram with info she shared on the various psychiatric diagnoses she was given while in a psychiatric hospital. She did not consider that her accusations or belief in a grand conspiracy against her might not be factual, but that the actions taken against her might be reactions to her erratic or harmful behavior. She may appear in YouTube interviews very bright and able to investigate corruption in various court systems, but if you look into her longstanding disruptive behavior and extreme accusations and targeting of individuals, there are glaring examples of delusional thinking, unaccountability and dishonesty, perhaps unwitting but nonetheless unreliable. There are other sides as well to the similar stories of other parents or activists who have been recipients of action by law enforcement or the court system, including many individuals Lizzie aligned herself with. Her side of the story is well presented – but such conflicting info should be weighed before making rash judgments or blindly believing extreme claims. It often seems that those who speak loudest about victimization and personal issues on their social media platforms have the most to hide. It’s difficult to parse out the truth of their claims about existing societal corruption, but dishonesty and disrespectful treatment of others is a flag. May the truth be revealed.
Who makes it “… difficult to parse out the truth of their claims about existing societal corruption”?
What makes it “… difficult to parse out the truth of their claims about existing societal corruption”?
Since when has it been “… difficult to parse out the truth of their claims about existing societal corruption”?
In which states and nations has it been most “… difficult to parse out the truth of their claims about existing societal corruption”?
Seriously, why is it so “… difficult to parse out the truth of their claims about existing societal corruption”?
Whenever and wherever anyone anywhere witnesses societal corruption, here’s what should they do ASAP:
”have no fellowship with the fruitless deeds of darkness, but rather expose them”.
A couple of glaring inaccuracies…Lizzie was given a hearing on the TOP, she acted like a complete lunatic in it. I have read the transcript. The TOP was upheld. It continued to be extended because of her irrational behavior including stalking and daily social media postings falsely accusing her husband and others of all sorts of horrific things.
Also, Lizzie was never homeless except by her own choice. She initially refused to provide an address or bank account info for her generous support checks, claiming that the only way she could accept it was to pick it up at the house in violation of the order of protection. Eventually this money was given to her through an intermediary, she spent tens of thousands of it hiring and firing attorneys when she didn’t like their advice. Likewise, after the divorce settlement, she refused to cooperate with the conservator in acquiring housing, paying bills etc. This is all in legal documents lizzie herself posted. She had access to and spent more money than most people will see in a lifetime. By some accounts $75,000/month.
It is truly awful and sad that the mental illness overtook her and got the best of her. She was a privileged woman with a family who loved her and a great life. Sad for her children that she never again sought help it all ended the way it did.
You read the transcript?
Yes. Lizzie posted it along with troves of other documents. She thought it made her look good. Painfully obvious that she was unhinged, and could not even follow simple instructions from the judge or her own attorney.
Court documents she posted online confirm she received 20k per month after being removed from the home. In addition she may have received a divorce settlement. She claimed in interviews she unsuccessfully spent 140k on lawyers but it could have been more. She posted a document on facebook showing she requested 75k per month with additional reimbursement for legal fees. Apparently she caused delays in receiving payments because she refused to cooperate with authorities in many ways. If her situation is seen through the lens revealing her horrific public pedophilia accusations as false and baseless, the actions taken against her make sense. The legal situation is difficult to comprehend without understanding what she was putting her family through. She chose to embark on a destructive rampage and refused to stop harassing her family and public officials. A rational person would have weighed matters and considered the potential that their accusations could be false. But for Lizzie, such attacks, abuse and aggression towards everyone close to her became the hill she eventually died on. She treated individuals she perceived as highly helpful to her much better, until they questioned her behavior, at which point she would sever from relationships she had cultivated no matter how much kindness, time or funds they had given her. The support she received on social media, in interviews and from others going through family alienation was important to her because these people didn’t question the legitimacy of her claims. Sadly and unfortunately, there was nothing anyone could do to save her from her self imposed fate. A difficult fate to piece together or accept for those who cared about her or tried to help her.
Lizzie also admitted she didn’t complete her nursing degree so never worked as a nurse.
I’m not a lawyer but it seems there’s some level of incapacity where we *do* actually as a society say that a person can no longer manage their own affairs and a guardian must do so, even over the person’s strenuous objections. I’m not sure whether Lizzie was at that level or not (I suspect she was) but the ever-expanding scope of her accusations definitely didn’t help her case. Judges, lawyers, the village manager, neighbors, family, doctors, marriage counselor and eventually her guardian were all at various points accused — often in public videos with their names and photos — of being part of the conspiracy to protect pedophilia. Add to that the multiple arrests and alleged violations of the various protective orders and it’s not hard to see why the guardian was allowed to take such drastic action.
When I read the letter in the email it was the first time I understood why Brian took the actions he did. I’d always thought that this came out of the blue in May 2020 and it was shocking that this man — who most people who know him seem to indicate is a kind and loving husband and father — would respond with such extreme legal measures. But the email shows that this had been going on for years and years and that Lizzie’s behavior and her choice to go off her medication was traumatic for the children, especially Max. So that 4am wake-up confrontation by Lizzie of Brian wasn’t out of the blue — it was just the newest and most serious manifestation of her delusions, and this time one that threatened his family, his career and possibly even his freedom.
Given all of that history, his behavior — trying to get Lizzie to get psychiatric care but cutting her out of their lives when she wouldn’t — is much more understandable. In the video from the Sheraton Brian just looks exhausted. Not like someone who was awoken at 4am, but like someone who’s been trying to manage someone else’s mental illness for a decade.
Lizzie was a loving mother who may have struggled with mental health issues. However she did not need a guardian who withdrew all of her legal filings. She has a right to redress grievances even when a mental illness is present.
Family courts often manufacture mental health diagnoses by quack psychologists and use the report to flip custody to an abuser and isolate children from the reliable, loving parent so the children are silenced.
Lizzie’s may be a rare case where actual medical doctors (not psychologists operating outside of their license) found her to have a personality disorder. She suffered mightily. Total isolation from the children she loved would serve to increase her stress and put her further over the edge.
Those suffering from mental illness need familiarity and family support; removing her from her home compounded with isolation orders from her children would exacerbate her symptoms as it would for any human being.
She loved her children. We need to provide better, more compassionate and humane interventions when those we love suffer .
The courts are ill equipped and rule with vilification and punishment.
I hope her children know how loved they were by their mom and it seems their dad will see that they do.
Lizzie had extreme, uncontrollable spending issues and was not using the huge amount of monthly funds she was receiving for food or rent, instead squandering them hiring many lawyers for her delusional attacks on her husband, and then demanding more funds. She was terrorizing her children with false claims that their father was drugging and raping them. Her children needed protection from her documented, obvious mental illness which had damaged them for years. Please understand the intricacies of this sad case.
Lizzie did not have total isolation from her children imposed as she claimed; she could have seen them all along but she refused to see them with a supervisor, which they had requested. Her unfounded accusations and social media posts about such private matters were terrifying for them. She also had abusive, damaging outbursts. In this case the court acted properly to protect the children, who loved her and knew she loved them, but wanted her to get the mental help she refused.
There’s evidence that the source of her fabrications about pedophilia and her public attacks on her husband was her own infidelity. Bipolar disorder commonly displays symptoms of extreme promiscuity, as well as uncontrollable spending of funds. She has been accused of indiscriminately sleeping around within the Briarcliff Manor community, thus the pregnancy termination she mentions above was likely the result of promiscuity. There are reports that she had a cocaine issue as well at that time, which could have exacerbated her mania. She was also known as a pathological liar and had emotionally volatile outbursts which targeted those close to her. Her behavior and sordid history absolutely explains the measures taken by the court to protect her family. Imagining the scope of what her family and friends dealt with for over ten years should garner empathy for them. Many felt empathy for her and tried to help her. Whether or not she was truly aware of it, Lizzie’s level of mental illness, which she denied amid her self centered activism and gift of gab, was extremely difficult to deal with. She knew how to draw people in, but many can attest to ultimately being used by her. Everyone wanted her to be ok but she refused to listen to concerns or caring advice or to see the effects of her destructive behavior.
She did submit to a “supervised visit” and described it as a horrible event. Who was that supervisor?
There’s a video online of this visit. She treated the supervisor horribly and refused to allow him to sit with her and her children, which was required.
Where’s the video and who was the supervisor?
Swipe left to the 4th and 5th video to see Lizzie telling the supervisor he is a psychotic, inhumane child trafficker. His name is in court documents Lizzie posted online, but no need to further identify him after being exposed to enough of her abuse! (There are several other telling videos on this justice.for.hazel.fraud instagram page.). She seemed to believe in her crusade, but she didn’t treat people well and her disrespect and abrasiveness alienated many.
https://www.instagram.com/p/CQwToL-BLnf/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link
In this video she claims she believes in children’s free will with boundaries that they dictate. Except for their wishes in regard to her volatile behavior, of course.
Removing her from her home was a last resort after years of issues and attempts to get her mental health treated. Ultimately her husband had to protect the children from her severe emotional abuse. The hope I’m sure was that it would force her into getting treatment, which backfired. But ultimately the father has a duty to protect the kids or risk losing them himself.
This is a really important article. Lizzie was damaged by over-reaction to her abuse claims.
I wonder if you can find any early correspondence where her abuse claims originate, you might find a close parallel to the way Jerry, Dottie and Ryan were treated. It is an absolute certainty that her first emotional statements were things like “If my emotions can be damaged to this extent in my relationship with my husband, how can we know if there is a limit? How can we know my children are not suffering in silence somehow?”
And then with made-for-TV movies where every psychiatric patient is a normal person who was scarred by past abuse and who is the evil bad guy, some of her language is going to use those concepts (multiple personalities, the nonsense concept of DARVO, etc etc).
Appointing a guardian and removing custody did not help her, it was purely to protect her husband from — not HER effects — from society affects from false claims of abuse.
This is not different from cancel culture. It is the deepest manifestation of it, and she was the victim. Worrying that her kids should be safe from EVERYTHING is not actually awful, but the professionals needed to protect her husband from a sick society which would have damaged him if anyone had repected Lizzie’s first requet — can you check my kids are OK? Can you be sure they aren’t in any way being abused?
Professionals should just *always* check for child abuse. It should be the normal thing to do. Even though her kids weren’t abused, the notion that she was so confused and vulnerable she needed people to check …. that shouldn’t have led to loss of custody. She is a victim and was treated terribly by the professional psychiatrists who weren’t able to maintain even a diplomatic relationshp with her, and incorrectly removed custody. They may have deemed her delusional, but hypomania and overconcern about something that probably isn’t really a problem are not the same as delusion. Maybe a DMS IV definition of delusion includes that the consequences were damaging. They were only damaging because society does not have a neutral medical definition of abuse.
If she had said, I’m not sure if there is a lump here, can you check it isn’t cancer, no one would have taken away custody of her children for that. They would have said ‘To us it appears normal but if you really worry we can get a biopsy.’ The same answer would be for her kids. ‘To us it appears the main trauma for them is what is happening to you, but if you really worry we can put a team on it and make sure they are’t being abused.
It was not over reaction to her abuse claims whatsoever. She inappropriately accused every father of pedophilia. She also had frequent extreme angry outbursts.
John M, you are not aware of what had been going on for many years within this case. The court acted to protect the children from their destructive, mentally ill mother.
In a phone conversation with an Appellate Division Court Attorney that she posted on social media, she was specifically asked if she was recording the conversation, and as she looked into the phone camera as it was recording, she told the court attorney that she was not recording the conversation. She arranged to meet a court reporter, who transcribed one of the divorce virtual conferences, at Starbucks to pay the reporter so she could obtain the transcript, and verbally harassed the reporter, accusing her of being part of the effort to harm her, and then posted her video of the incident on social media.
This behavior is consistent with other incidents in which she has accosted and harassed other third parties and posted the interaction on social media. Numerous individuals within Briarcliff Manor and other towns have filed police reports complaining of harassment and other concerns based on interactions with her as well as her social media activity.
Because of the aforementioned functional limitations and actual self-created harm, Elizabeth has been unable to and cannot manage her personal and property needs. I believe she has suffered harm and is suffering harm because she cannot adequately understand and appreciate the nature and consequences of her inability to provide for her personal needs and property management. The appointment of a guardian of her personal and property needs will ensure the preservation, maintenance and care of her and her financial affairs. As a result of the foregoing, a guardian should be appointed immediately as her risky behaviors ae escalating.
Elizabeth does not or cannot understand and appreciate the nature of her mental issues. She believes her mental health issues were made up by her husband in cahoots with professionals. She now denies needing mental health treatment in the past and disclaims and disavows her need for treatment now. She repeatedly states in court filing that she is of sound mind. She is not. Her actions are harmful to her children. When her mental illness is in check and treated, she is a kind woman and mother who loves her children. In her delusions and rants she accuses them of being brainwashed and even goes so far as to accuse ___ of perpetuating abuse on his siblings. She has refused to continue having supervised calls or in-person visits with her children because she doesn’t trust the supervisors; she believes that they are in cahoots with her husband and the court and trying to do the children harm. Her immediate family members are not in a position to provide help because their relationships have completely broken down and she has been claiming the past year that her father is a pedophile who molested her and her sister.
The Counselor she had been seeing for four years advised, last May, that he was urgently concerned with her departure from reality and believed she needed an immediate psychiatric evaluation. Her social media posts and videos are also filled, on virtually a daily basis, with delusional and conspiratorial rants against the government, the courts (who she accuses of “trafficking children for profit”), all of the various judges involved in these proceedings and her criminal proceedings, the Briarcliff Manor police, the attorney for the children and all the other attorneys involved in all of her cases, and many others.
Based on their comments on social media, it appears that her posts and videos are being followed by people who espouse conspiracy theories, some of whom may be dangerous and whose posts have included threats of physical harm. Nevertheless, she continues to post personal information about her husband and her children, in violation of the TOP, as well as continuing to broadcast that she is a “multi-millionaire.” All of this poses a risk.
Why use the present tense in that comment?
It’s wording from a court document Lizzie shared on facebook.
The children were not being abused by Brian. The police were well acquainted with the situation. They were not small children when she made these accusations, they were in middle school and high school. Very bright, sophisticated teenaged children. They all denied any abuse. Lizzie had no evidence of any abuse.
The only “abuse” was coming from Lizzie. She lost custody of her children because falsely accusing their father of being a pedophile is abuse. Gathering them together to “confront” their father over his made up pedophilia is abuse. Refusing to get mental health treatment when your mental health issues are making your children terrified and miserable is abuse.
I disagree. Lizzie died a martyr.
It was suicide, there is so much evidence. The result of serious mental illness.
Evidence of suicide? How do you know?
Unfortunately, she created her own martyrdom.
“The cause remains unknown.”?
If you have any info, please share.
Tragic story. I have to wonder how, if she had been under a doctors care as they knew her health status, that it still ended up this way. RIP
I think a big part of it is that we as a society have almost no way to force a person with mental illness to accept treatment or medication. The email in the article makes clear she was on medication and in 2016 decided she wasn’t bipolar and went off the medication. And there was nothing doctors or her family could do to force her back onto it.
She had many doctors, she would not acknowledge her illness.
She refused to be under a doctor’s care. Look up “anosognosia”. Up to 98% of people with schizophrenia and 40% with BPD have it…they do not recognize they are mentally ill. These people are extremely difficult to treat unfortunately and can only be confined if they are threatening harm to themselves or others. Lizzie was smart enough not to do that. She would repeat the mantra of “I am of no harm to myself or others” religiously because she knew it would keep her from getting locked up. Yet she harmed many people, just not physically. She terrorized people.
This info regarding anosognosia is crucially important and relevant. It’s a common heart wrenching struggle for families dealing with loved ones who are intelligent yet seriously mentally ill. Verbal prowess, talents, humor, executive function can mask very series issues like paranoid schizophrenia. You’d better believe them or you become the enemy…loved ones get sucked into an underlying emotional tyranny. Lizzie led many people on for years who were spending large amounts of time and money helping her, by profusely denying any history of mental illness. Thus, the friends she recruited tended to believe her outlandish stories and pleas. Obviously she was very convincing. Until she unwittingly posted the video of the email to her doctors, which finally revealed her dishonesty. Even after doubting her stories, people would continue to offer her assistance, but she would sever from anyone who caught onto her fabrications and move onto a new crop of good samaritan types. And of course she denied the legitimacy of the doctor email, claiming she was coerced to write it. The lying was off the hook even if she was caught red handed. Of course, those who spent time helping and caring about her despite her foibles are very upset about her death.
You seem to know a lot of details about the case. Are you willing to tell us how you know about those details you shared and/or cite the original sources of the details you shared?
https://web.archive.org/web/20221007145208/https://lizziesarmy.com/june-5-2020-conference/
https://www.nycourts.gov/LegacyPDFS/courts/9jd/PartRules/PR_AEKatz.pdf
1. EXTRAORDINARY WRIT OF CERT, #21-14, JULY 2, 2021:
https://www.dropbox.com/s/5gu2hb0d2ofn1nr/HARDING%20WEINSTEIN%20EXTRAORDINARY%20WRIT%20OF%20CERTIORARI%20.pdf?dl=0
2. EXTRAORDINARY WRIT OF CERT, #21-14 APPENDIX 1-40:
https://www.dropbox.com/s/9t6za91atn5ep8q/SCOTUS%20WRIT%202114%20EXHIBITS%20FINAL.pdf?dl=0
3. SUPPLEMENTAL BRIEF TO EXTRAORDINARY WRIT OF CERT #21-14, AUGUST 9, 2021:
https://www.dropbox.com/s/5uekt46lsnimkjo/SUPPLEMENTAL%20BRIEF%20TO%20WRIT%202114.pdf?dl=0
4. SUPPLEMENTAL BRIEF TO EXTRAORDINARY WRIT OF CERT #21-14 APPENDIX 1-18:
https://www.dropbox.com/s/44x2d3iv2kysdmh/SUPPLEMENT%20BRIEF%20TO%20WRIT%202114.%20%20EXHIBITS%201%20TO%2018.pdf?dl=0
5. WRIT OF INJUNCTION #21A29, AUGUST 28, 2021:
https://www.dropbox.com/s/pkq2fsik4p37lzg/SCOTUS%20WRIT%20OF%20INJUNCTION.21.08.28.pdf?dl=0
6. WRIT OF INJUNCTION #21A29, EXHIBITS WITH HYPERLINK:
https://www.dropbox.com/s/uofiqpxxmvf8n06/SCOTUS%20INJUNCTION%20EXHIBITS%20FINAL.pdf?dl=0
Currently on Facebook
Lizzie also posted Dropbox videos accessible in comments under a prior article covering her saga on this site; her side of the story is fully documented. Now the other side of the story is finally coming out. Not to disrespect her, but more to correct inaccurate info. Weighing both sides of this unfortunate story could potentially help others in the future who are dealing with similar circumstances avoid the pitfalls that caused Lizzie’s demise. Within the court documents her husband filed that she posted online, her ongoing social media posts are mentioned as a continual breach of the restraining orders because they reveal personal info about her children, such as names, photos, address, family income, etc, among her countless libelous accusations against many individuals. It’s very sad that she’s gone, but discussion of her public activism is inevitable because she affected many individuals during her 5 year rampage, causing a level of PTSD for a number of people. The truth about her behavior is finally coming out now because no one wanted to upset her or be attacked by her when she was alive. Exoneration is also in order, regarding her past claims, and especially to dispel current claims that her husband killed her, which are irresponsible and libelous.
“… her saga … her side of the story …”?
“Now the other side of the story is finally coming out.”?
”… her ongoing social media posts are mentioned as a continual breach of the restraining orders …”?
“… her countless libelous accusations against many individuals …”?
”… It’s very sad that she’s gone, but discussion of her public activism is inevitable because she affected many individuals during her 5 year rampage, causing a level of PTSD for a number of people. …”?
“The truth about her behavior is finally coming out now ..”?
”no one wanted to upset her or be attacked by her when she was alive”?
”Exoneration is also in order, regarding her past claims, and especially to dispel current claims that her husband killed her, which are irresponsible and libelous” 🤔
Details about the case are available via Lizzie’s online posts. Many people got sucked into her situation because she actively sought out support by contacting various activist groups, and she also pleaded for help from everyone she met. Countless individuals received a disturbing earful immediately upon meeting her. Her behavior and self created destruction of her privileged life exposes how mental illness can operate behind the mask of supposed activism.
This info is highly relevant to Lizzie’s issues, which may have been precipitated by a head injury as a teenager. This condition could also help explain her pathological lying and obviously contributed to her stubborn delusions:
Anosognosia is a neurological condition where a person is unaware of a physical or mental deficit caused by a condition like a stroke, brain injury, or a mental illness like schizophrenia or bipolar disorder. It is not a conscious choice or denial, but a symptom of the underlying neurological damage that prevents the person from accurately perceiving their own condition, leading to difficulties with treatment compliance and daily life.
The person doesn’t realize they have a problem, such as being unable to move a paralyzed limb or having cognitive impairments.
The degree of awareness can fluctuate over time, leading a person to have insight on some days and none on others. It is important to distinguish anosognosia from denial, as it is a genuine cognitive deficit and not a form of stubbornness or resistance. Can affect motor abilities, sensory perception, memory, language, and executive functions. This lack of awareness can cause significant challenges, including refusing necessary treatment and medication because the person doesn’t believe they are ill. A person with schizophrenia might not believe they have a mental illness and may refuse medication. Treating anosognosia is complex and requires a careful approach. In sum, the next time you are interacting with someone who does not seem to understand what others are so frustrated with in their behaviors and cannot seem to see the problem themselves, ask yourself, “Is it lying, denial, or anosognosia?”
It looks like anyone can request a copy of a death certificate in CT. It will show cause and manner of death.
https://www.danbury-ct.gov/DocumentCenter/View/365/Death-Certificate-Request-PDF
a police report would show more
The police report was released only to her family.
How do you know?
.
It wasn’t publicly shared.
A police report was done and kept a secret for a reason?
In the case of apparent suicide, the report is released only to family. Call Danbury police with any questions about this.
Is the Chief of Police compromised in Danbury, too?
https://oversightdemocrats.house.gov/news/press-releases/house-oversight-committee-releases-jeffrey-epstein-email-correspondence-raising
“apparent suicide”?
Wasn’t she in the middle of helping John Flynn?
John Flynn is an independent journalist investigating and reporting corruption in Connecticut courts.
If someone kills me for posting these comments, I love this life and I’m not suicidal.
There were personal issues in her life and relationships leading up to her death, as well as her emotional state and actions, that strongly point to suicide.
Flynn is not so important or threatening to warrant a grand conspiracy for murder.
“not so important or threatening”?
what does that even mean?
… important or threatening to any powers sinister enough to orchestrate a homicide?
John Flynn’s behavior has purportedly exhibited signs of mental illness as well, which should be considered. He apparently has also harassed police and authorities, according to this social media comment and court record. Obviously its important to weigh all information from both sides, and the history of questionable behavior of individuals who are placed in hospitals, who may be a danger to others, especially if potential assault, threats of violence or trespassing is involved. There are plenty of 5G and voter fraud activists who aren’t put in hospitals.
“I have head that John will harass police at the drop of the hat. Sometimes spending hours calling the police. He certainly has some mental health issues. Sadly he may be right with many of his claims, but I have no doubt he exhibited whatever he needed to to be confined to a state hospital.”
From the state’s perspective, officials argue that Flynn is dangerous because he allegedly made threatening statements that could incite violence, raising public safety concerns. They also point to his persistent refusal to comply with court orders, combined with his public accusations and disruptive behavior, as evidence of ongoing mental health issues. Under Connecticut law (CGS § 17a-503), a person can be involuntarily committed if deemed a danger to themselves or others, or “gravely disabled.” The state claims Flynn’s actions and statements meet this threshold, justifying psychiatric evaluation and continued detainment.
Connecticut officials maintain that public safety and legal standards justify John Flynn’s commitment?
News12 lied?
News12 has been completely sloppy in its reporting on Lizzie, blindly repeating Lizzie’s ridiculous claims, such as she was jailed for posting that she loves her children. Not even bothering to check out her actual social media posts, or to look into the lack of evidence backing her horrendous accusations or the validity of her claims.
Both Lizzie and John harassed government staff, then posted the abusive altercation online… undoubtedly, such personnel did not feel safe dealing with their disrespectful treatment.
DEATH INVESTIGATION UPDATE: Authorities have closed the investigation into the death of Elizabeth Weinstein, the Westchester woman whose story drew widespread attention after she was jailed during a contentious custody battle years before her death.
An investigator on the case confirmed to News 12 that Weinstein died of “sudden cardiac death or undetermined etiology.” The findings mean that no definitive cause of death could be established, and no foul play is suspected. The case is now officially closed.
Weinstein, 53, was found dead earlier this year at the Ethan Allen Hotel in Danbury, Connecticut. Her death prompted questions and concern from supporters who had followed her legal struggles, which included her 2019 incarceration tied to a family court dispute.
Friends and advocates who had pushed for answers say the conclusion brings some closure, though many remain heartbroken over her death and the years of turmoil that preceded it.
Don’t bother ordering a death certificate. As news 12 reported, the cause on the certificate of “natural” manner of death after autopsy is “Sudden Cardiac Death of Undetermined Etiology”.
Does it usually take so long to determine “sudden cardiac death”?
ketamine with alcohol could cause nausea and sudden death, and be indetectable a few hours later.
”… ketamine… alcohol … bipolar … sudden cardiac death … lying … denial … anosognosia … cocaine … mania … delusions …” your list goes on and on.
Yes, the list does go on and on. However, people who knew her are holding back from posting the more personal details. Certainly, many have questions about her shocking demise.
Many have questions because no one has the answers?
There is evidence she was experiencing a major depressive episode, but questions about what actually caused her death will probably never be answered. Hopefully she didn’t suffer.
“… There is evidence she was experiencing a major depressive episode …” ?
“… what actually caused her death will probably never be answered…”. ???
There’s a weird echo in the room.
Echoes do happen.
Sounds bouncing in empty rooms,
words going nowhere.