Recently we discussed the defamation suit that actor Johnny Depp had filed against his estranged ex-wife, Amber Heard. Now Heard has fired back with new allegations filed in court claiming that Depp, fueled by drugs and alcohol, went into domestic violence rages where he would choke, hit and head-butt her. Heard’s new allegations were detailed in a motion that seeks to dismiss the defamation lawsuit he filed against her related to an op-ed in the Washington Post.
Heard, in documents filed in court on Thursday, claimed that Depp abused by illegal and prescription medications over the course of their relationship. According to Heard, Depp would become a “totally different person, often delusional and violent” when he was drinking and/or doing drugs. In addition to the physical abuse, Depp also threatened to kill Heard, she alleges.
It is this version of Depp that Heard claims she called “The Monster.” Among the shocking details in the new filings, Heart says Depp took eight MDMA tablets during a 2015 incident in Australia. Afterward, Heard claims Depp choked her, “slamming her into a countertop.” During this incident, Heard says that Depp “accidentally cut off the tip of his fingertip” and subsequently “wrote messages on a mirror in blood using his severed finger.” In another incident the same year, Heard says that Depp “slapped me hard, grabbed me by my hair, and dragged me from a stairwell to the office to the living room to the kitchen to the bedroom and then to the guest room. In the process, he pulled large chunks of hair and scalp out of my head.”
Domestic Violence is Never Okay
While the allegations between Heard and Depp continue to play out in court, it is a good time to draw attention to the fact that domestic abuse is never okay. Like all states, domestic violence is a problem in Utah; as many as 42 percent of all adult homicides in the state are related to domestic violence, according to the Utah Domestic Violence Coalition. Some other shocking facts on domestic violence in our state:
- Approximately 80 children in Utah witness the murder or the attempted murder of their mothers each year
- 88 percent of perpetrators of domestic violence are male
- In 59 percent of all cases, a firearm is used
- 39 percent of domestic violence offenders have a history of domestic violence
- 22 percent of murderers in domestic violence incidents were at one time ordered by the court to undergo treatment
- Roughly one-third of those who kill during domestic violence incidents also kill themselves afterwards
Perhaps the most startling statistic is that there was an active protective order in just 2 percent of the domestic violence homicides committee between 2010 and 2013.
You Are Not Alone
If you are in an abusive relationship or marriage and want to request a protective order to keep yourself safe from your abuser, we want to help. Contact Emy A. Cordano and our Salt Lake City family law attorney now at (801) 901-8159 to discuss your situation and take the first step to a new life.