Kelley Lynch convicted on violation of restraining order

[lizzytysh]

You're right, it is, Geoffrey.

[wakeupmartin]

I'm sure I heard Leonard in an interview saying people around him were surprised he didn't feel anger. He went on to say that the strongest emotion he experienced was boredom - sitting in lawyers' offices and spending ages dealing with the legal side of things.

[lizzytysh]

Yes, I remember this, Martin.

I also remember this: him saying that it'll put a dent in your mood... his typical wry, subtle humour.

[holydove]

I also vividly remember an interview where the Kelly Lynch saga was being discussed, & Leonard said, "I'm still very fond of her".

What a deeply compassionate heart this amazing man has. . .

[jazz4111]

He also stated in his court appearance, "it gives me no pleasure to see a former old friend manacled to a chair in this courtroom." such a kind man!

[Paula]

Well I hope she gets some help she clearly has mental health issues.

I also think in the long term she did Leonard a favour, although he obviously did not think that at the time, but in order for him to recoup the money he decided to tour again, this benefitted both Leonard and us and I think it has given him a new lease of life. If she had not shafted him he would have had no financial reason for touring again and I truly think touring has given him a new lease of life. So every cloud has a silver lining.

[MarieM]

I don't disagree with anything that has been said here, but I would point out that there are two different aspects to this situation. There is the stealing of nearly all of Leonard's savings and then there is the unrelenting harassment and threats that tortured Leonard for years. I think we can all identify with what it might be like to have our money stolen. I am not sure any of us can fully comprehend what it is like to be tortured the way Leonard has been. But to give you some idea, below is part of a letter written by defense attorney Bruce Cutler to the judge who was sentencing Kelley. Cutler wrote the letter in an effort to seek his own relief from Kelley during the course of the criminal case against her brought by the city prosecutor on Leonard's behalf. Bruce Cutler represented Phil Spector for a time in his criminal trial. Cutler is also renowned for representing mobster John Gotti. At some point years ago, Kelley got it into her head that Cutler should represent her to clear her name. Kelley then claimed that Cutler would indeed be representing her as soon as he had time. This delusion went on for years. Now mind you, this is how Kelley treats the people she wants to befriend, the people she is requesting help from. Can you imagine what she does to people she views as her enemies?





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[Paula]

Marie it is stalking and harrassment on a major level, but, a normal thinking person does not do this and nothing can be gained from jailing her and throwing away the key. She obviously has mental health issues she needs treatment in a secure enviroment. I really feel for people who have mental health issues it is not someone she chose to be and whilst I understand she has to be punished she also needs help.

[Shockvalue]

Who would ever know the true extent of the personal and business issues that existed between LC and KL(particularly evolving from those "generous times"). It takes two to tango!

[wakeupmartin]

... I really feel for people who have mental health issues it is not someone she chose to be and whilst I understand she has to be punished she also needs help.

Hmmm. I agree she needs help. But is she prepared to ask for it? Whatever is going on in KL's heart and mind, and whatever problems she's got, in the end surely it's up to her and no-one else to begin to turn away from her delusion.

[lizzytysh]

Thanks for sharing that with us, Marie. It defies the imagination what it would be like. I can't even begin to fathom it. Leonard has been exceedingly generous and kind with Kelley. That excerpt describes an unbelievably intense situation, where as Marie points out, she was wanting that man's help, not to be vindictive for a perceived wrong.

On the two-to-tango, it seems that all was fine until Leonard discovered her embezzlement and fired her. Mental illness comes from the inside and can manifest in schizophrenia, paranoid delusions, etc. without any outward precipitating factors. When some people lose their jobs and their 'status'/'standing' and then commit suicide, or return to their workplaces to mow down former bosses and co-workers, the 'two-to-tango' does not enter into the equation. They are considered as having 'lost it' and having had a mental breakdown. Her mental breakdown took a different form. Her illness and distorted perceptions [vs. greed] may have been at the heart of her embezzlement in the first place, but they certainly were in her reaction to Leonard's discovery and dismissal.

Some people don't deal with break-ups well, and to be in a position where people [women] are writing Leonard or she may have been passing on messages either direction may have wore on her for years. She had the option to quit, though, and didn't, whereas many women likely would have. Leonard had the option to fire her, which many men likely would have. One has to consider how many women would want to remain working for a man who had seriously wronged them, when the first normal instinct is to get away. Some men murder their jilting lovers; and from what Jon has said, women typically take different routes. She may have remained for purposes of revenge, but I don't know how long ago their break-up actually happened. It seems to have been rather long ago and their relationship never to have been that intense in the first place [except maybe for her and, if so, unawares to Leonard].

The real emotional complexity could have come in her having remained in a business relationship with Leonard; but it doesn't necessarily follow at all that he wronged her, in the break-up or in their business dealings. When one has been as over-the-top as she was in her reactions to him after he discovered her crime and dismissed her [embezzlement happens all the time with people who have the access, and have NO relationship beyond merely being an employee]; and when Kelley clearly must have represented herself as being trustworthy to care for Leonard's business while he was away at the monastery; it appears FAR more to be her own state-of-mind, and totally unrelated to Leonard, beyond his discovery of her embezzlement and his dismissal of her.

Reading what I have here and previously, I have to wonder if this is not some kind of record with harassment of a communication variety. It's almost as if her head/her mind is filled with demons; and, rather than banging her head on a wall, or incessantly talking to herself [or to them], or yelling out at them into the air, her illness manifested in banging on a keyboard, or on the keypad of a phone, and using those means, instead, to 'yell' at the figure central to her paranoid delusion/ideation, Leonard. As Marie noted, the above excerpt relates to someone she wanted to help her... so multiply that to the thousandth degree... and "two to tango" gets left in the dust. Not part of the equation. She had legal avenues to use had he wronged her in the legal ways she would like to suggest.

Unless something is different in California, a person cannot be placed in a mental health institution because those were done away with long ago. Hopefully, she would get some mental health treatment while incarcerated, will be open to it, and will seriously engage. Any letters to Leonard would be intercepted [and I can't imagine anyone being willing to sneak them out for mailing]. Hopefully, too, she will not be allowed access to email. Not sure how that works these days. I've heard of prisoners emailing to the outside. If she's been forbidden contact with Leonard, though, I would think that would constitute a new crime. If she were on probation, it would violate her probation and then she'd be remanded to prison for VOP [Violation of Probation, a charge in itself].

Leonard's hearing from his son, Adam, the heart-welcome words that Leonard meant far more to them than the money, and that they would do just fine without it [this is paraphrased, not the exact quote] came at an inhumanly high price.

Kelley clearly needs mental health treatment. In Florida, she could be Baker-Acted for assessment [I believe it's for 3 days], but beyond that she couldn't be institutionalized for the mental health treatment, itself. I have no idea how this can or will play out. It doesn't feel good; and I'm glad for Leonard [and his family] that at least there's a reprieve. Being on the road must have been a relief for him, but even then I'm guessing he felt compelled to insulate himself beyond far more than his fans.

May this end well for both of them. If Kelley comes around mentally, it will de facto end well for Leonard.


~ Lizzy

[holydove]

When a person is extremely mentally ill ( as KL clearly is), it does NOT take two to tango at all; unfortunately, there are many cases where one can tango with oneself, quite adequately, without the slightest bit of help from anyone.

And not that I think prison is a great solution for anything, but 18 months seems quite minimal, compared to the many years of torment that she inflicted on Leonard & others. According to the articles, she will be assessed after 18 months. Our only hope, then, is that whoever assesses her, will be very competent & perceptive, & not let her just go free, without treatment/medication/supervision/etc., if she is still a danger to others; & given the number of years her illness has had to develop & blossom, completely unchecked (as far as we know), it's really hard to imagine that she would be just fine, after a mere 18 months.

I hope that KL will get the help she needs, & I hope that Leonard, his family, & all other KL targets, will get the protection that they need, for as long as they need it.

[cecechapou]

Quelle horreur cette histoire !!!
Elle n a que ce qu elle mérite!!!
Quel courage Mr Cohen !!!
Love you

[Patrycja]

When a person is extremely mentally ill ( as KL clearly is), it does NOT take two to tango at all; unfortunately, there are many cases where one can tango with oneself, quite adequately, without the slightest bit of help from anyone.

And not that I think prison is a great solution for anything, but 18 months seems quite minimal, compared to the many years of torment that she inflicted on Leonard & others. According to the articles, she will be assessed after 18 months. Our only hope, then, is that whoever assesses her, will be very competent & perceptive, & not let her just go free, without treatment/medication/supervision/etc., if she is still a danger to others; & given the number of years her illness has had to develop & blossom, completely unchecked (as far as we know), it's really hard to imagine that she would be just fine, after a mere 18 months.

I hope that KL will get the help she needs, & I hope that Leonard, his family, & all other KL targets, will get the protection that they need, for as long as they need it.

Well said. Regardless of what transpired between LC & KL, her response clearly shows an unsettled mind. From the little I know about situations like this, if people with certain latent mindsets are humiliated or have lost control, they lash out to try to hold on or seek vengeance on those they deem to be responsible for situations they have caused.

The key is to hold on and stay relevant no matter the cost. So if she can't be the lover, then embezzles funds and loses her job as manager, then loses the case, she'll at least stay connected as an enemy.

Eighteen months is scary in and of itself because it seems disproportionately low, but if she went to such extremes with something to lose at each stage, one can hardly imagine what she's capable of with nothing left to lose.

As to Cutler's letter, I think I read somewhere that she thought Spector was innocent? Anyway, there were some very rambling responses to net articles about the Spector case. So there has been a trail of evidence of an unraveling mind all over the place for a long while now. Hopefully the jail time has extensive treatment and the release process has some severe restrictions.

Blessings and protection to Leonard, family and all affected.

[lizzytysh]

Rom my persepctive, you are right on ALL of that, Patrycja... and I hope for the same, as well.