The disappearance of Nicholas Francisco four months ago was fleetingly a WSB story for two reasons: (a) West Seattle was searched because he was a former Mars Hill-West Seattle church member and (b) for a while, people from all over the country who wanted to discuss their theories about his disappearance used this WSB thread (354 comments) to do it. Tonight, the P-I reports his wife has filed for divorce.
this whole thing has felt weird since the get go. it’s all sad no matter what happened, but if she believes he left her knowingly, i feel bad for all the people who gave time and money in the search.
I agree, k…and if what she alleges is true, perhaps she should have filed for divorce a long time ago. It’s hard with kids, I know…but…you sometimes have to do what you have to do. I wish her the best…this can’t be easy for her.
I do feel, though, that some honesty might be needed right now…and apologies to all who helped search, if she has any inkling what happened to him.
JMHO, of course…
i think i still see his picture up somewhere like in queen anne. i agree with JanS a little explanation and apology to the searchers and community.
I’m glad to see updates.
People are still trying to find Nicholas.
In the beginning, according to Christine, Nicholas was a loving father and husband. She sited examples of him bringing her coffee in bed etc. Now she says he’s a thread? Very odd indeed.
wasn’t she on tv going on about how their family was so happy and perfect? rather strange……
come on people….who knows what happens. If there was domestic violence happening then you really can’t say what she needs to or should have done. It is easy to be on the outside saying things of the “apology owing” & “she should have left/divorced before” genre– but domestic violence usually sets up dynamics that place the victim in a place of protecting the abuser at any cost. The comments in the Seattle Times are horrible. I agree, that if she was misleading purposefully, then an apology is in order. However, if there was domestic violence happening, some compassion would be nice. I say, give people the benefit of the doubt. It is hard not to be cynical with the state of the things in the world, but let us try to meet others struggles with trust and compassion. Sorry to get all “can’t we all just get along” on you all. :)
C’mon, what is it? Nice, caring, family man? Or mean, abusive monster? No matter what happened, you can’t plead with the public and media for help and then not expect public scrutiny. She claims to have an enormous support system. If this is the case, and she truly was abused, shame on her for getting pregnant again and putting her kids through a miserable family life. You are responsible for the decisions you make, and unfortunately, the ones you make for your children as well. Ultimately, I hope he is found, (or feels he can come back), and I wish her and the kids well.
AReader, you have to make reasonable efforts to serve them and if missing or you cannot physicaly serve them for whatever reason, printed notice in the local newspapers is sufficient. I forget the exact details, but you’ll find legal notices in the Times or PI regularly.
i just saw a “missing persons” blurb on AMERICAS MOST WANTED this weekend… strange
meg….I didn’t mean to come across as hard and judgemental…yes, abused women can feel trapped, and put up a good front to those in the outside world. If she has a good support system, all the better…this can’t be easy for her. Whether he just ran, or something drastic happened to him, it’s tragic no matter how you look at it.
Hey guys, lets not all start pointing fingers and remember the littlest victims in this situation. That being said, you never truly know what happens behind closed doors. She as well may have had to file because of red tape and many times there is standard terminology. As there are no clues to lead one way or the other that may have been her only option and I am sure she has sought the advice of a legal expert. By all accounts (including his coworkers that I know) he was a happy man who loved his job and family. That is not to say that he did or didn’t leave on his own or that something else has happened. I would hate to speculate, just hope that some day his children and family have some answers.
I wonder how much money she got from all those funds set up for her only, what was it? 2 days since he went missing?
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I think it’s despicable that she took money from people. She basically lied straight to their faces about it. And to the public. All that about what a great dad he was…how they were the perfect family… 4 months later and we’re at divorce and abuse. I’m sure that last phone call wasn’t about coming home to make cookies with the kids.
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Has anyone gone on to that craft forum to let those people know they were taken advantage of?
What a farce. No, you can’t mention anything about poor wittle Christine on the craft board without being persecuted and shamed into an eating disorder. Any mention of Nicholas or the slightest idea Christine has taken everyone for a ride down a road of broken glass and thorns and you get deleted and/or banned. No wonder Nicholas won’t come home. I wouldn’t either…then again I’d have never had anything to do with that witch to begin with.
Hmmmm the last woman who pleaded for help is goin to prison for having her husband killed. She too used the media to “find” her husband, and all along she was a part of his murder, although she wants all to beleive that he was an abusive husband….hmmmmmm……is this where Christine got the idea to claim abuse? Just a thought.
I never fully believed in the facts of this sad tale….I feel most sorry for the 2 kids and the one on the way.
ANY CHANCE THE BLOG CAN GET HER EXPLANATION OF WHY SHE FILED FOR THE DIVORCE? I WOULDN’T OF THOUGHT TWICE IF SHE HAD FILED DUE TO ABANDONMENT BUT I AM BAFFLED AS TO WHY SHE THREW THE ABUSE ISSUES IN THE MIX.DOES SHE KNOW WHAT HAS BECOME OF HIM ?SOOOOOO MANY QUESTIONS ?????????
The paperwork is not available online; we looked at that first thing this morning.
I am the person who first began a plea to help Christine financially. I live on the other side of the country from her and have never met her. She did not ask me to begin any fund raising on “that craft site”. I did it on my own in an effort to help a family I knew was in need. (Or empathized was in need)
I’ve communicated directly with her family and her over the course of time. She’s in terrible shape emotionally.
I am a former victim of spousal abuse and can speak first hand about battered women’s syndrome. We don’t leave because we believe we’re at fault somehow. I’m not a stupid person. I hold a straight A average in school for my Master’s degree. Since I’ve earned that degree, I have straight A’s and could have a doctorate but I didn’t want to since there would be no advantage to me in my career (teacher). I had no desire to be admin.
Do not fault Christine for what she did or didn’t do while in the throes of BWS. It’s a crippling state. Do not fault her for the fund raising.
I have no regrets for anything I did or money I gave. We all gave willingly and freely and most of those with whom I’ve spoken directly would do so again. We prefer to err on the side of kindness and empathy than being judgmental and hateful.
Boy, what a brutal group. All from the little bit of info read from the media. Yeah, that tells the full story.
this is all to weird! through media reports when someone is being abused, isnt it unusual for the abuser to run away? isnt it about control over the other person? if he was doing this to her then wouldnt she be happy he left in the first place and wouldnt want him to come back? if anything for the sake of her kids shouldnt she be thrilled he is gone? not be in a “crippling state”. i think she is most definetly behind his disapearence.
How sad, for all involved, especially the little ones as they will forever miss there father if he is gone for good. I know what it is like to have someone you love gone from your life suddenly as one of my best friends disappeared over 13 years ago and was murdered – it was 8 years before we could lay her to rest. She too had some abuse issues in her marriage and her murder remains an unsolved King County mystery. Her 2 children have had to grow up without there mother and miss her terribly. My prayers for the family as they continue to deal with the absence of Nicholas.
I’m being a realist, not being hateful. She lied. Many times over. If you’re ok that you gave her money after it’s come out that she lied about something so big – wanting him back soooo bad, what a great father he was (and I think I heard on the news that she also mentioned he tried kidnapping the kids?) then a few months later accusing him of abuse and such – well then, whatever floats your boat.
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As for me, I prefer to give my money to places where there’s at least some accountability.
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And because abuse has been thrown around, I’m not going to drop everything that is strange and fishy about this. Crappy things happen to people every day. That doesn’t give them a free pass. She lied. So many things don’t make sense. And people gave her money under the illusion that she wanted him home and that he was the best husband and greatest father ever.
Could it be that she is filing for divorce and making the “abuse” claim to smoke him out — to make him so mad that he comes forward to defend himself? Maybe she wants him to show himself so she can move on? It is a terrible situation no matter what. People who gave money, come on — it is a “gift” or it isn’t — so when you “give” money, especially to strangers, you can’t really complain about it.
Isn’t abandonment abusive? Isn’t making your wife and children think you were dead or injured somewhere when you were not : isn;t that abuse at its worse? Then not calling when everyone is looking for you, leaving your pregnant wife to be corrected by the police saying “No, ma’am, we think he took off”: isn’t that abusive?
The police have convinced her that he abandoned his pregnant wife and her children. She is now filing for divorce since she cannot prove him dead, giving her legal and sole custody of her children and all assets the couple may hold which she can sell since they would be in her own name, allowing her to declare bankruptcy, allowing her to receive more state aid and medical help, getting his 401k, etc. Since his parental rights will be terminated under abandonment in a divorce, that allows her children to be adopted by any man she marries.
Now, should he come back, he can try to get these things back by saying her behavior or misconduct justified the abandonment. He could succeed. I think any man that abandons his pregnant wife and children in this day and age, IS abusive, regardless of the state of his marriage. She may STILL think he is dead still. However, her attorney may be taking steps just in case he is not and that is one good attorney.
So that you can get more details, I suggest that you see the PI’s other related story which explains a little further then the one linked above. The sheriffs office has stated that there is still no evidence either way.
There are a few things to take into consideration. It can take years to declare someone missing as legally deceased. A divorce is a more immediate solution to financially care for the children. “Seeking Financial Support” was listed in the filing and this could simply be that if he had assets in his own name, as many married couples do have separate accounts, they could be garnished. She or the children would not have access to those assets until he would be legally declared deceased, again, possibly taking years.
I just would hope that anyone on here that is passing judgment on her take a moment to step back and think about how you would feel if the circumstances are found out to be different (not involving her at all)?
http://blog.seattlepi.nwsource.com/seattle911/archives/141356.asp
There’s no excuse for the poor judgement in filing for divorce when your husband is still missing and may be dead.
It takes one cold hearted person to do something like that and on top of it all, she cites “history of acts of domestic violence or an assault or sexual assault, which causes grievous bodily harm or the fear of such harm” in the divorce papers.
I pray he’s safe and sipping margaritas on a beach.
And if the details were switched and it was a husband in Christine’s shoes, this would be discussed totally different. Of course, a man could never throw the abuse card. Only women can get away with that.
I love how midarofan is suddenly throwing the “I was abused too” card and suggesting that Christine has BWS. OMG. You are just full of it. So tell me, did this PROMOTION plan for your Etsy shop work out as well as you dreamed it would? What about the others? YOU exploited Christine and didn’t really help her much at all. Thanks to you, we all know she’s a nut!
Let me also add that it is pretty sad that some stranger “from across the country” is defending Christine who doesn’t even know her. WHERE ARE CHRISTINE’S FAMILY and FRIENDS??????!!!!!! Not once have I seen a family member or friend defend her and explain the situation from CF’s point of view. I don’t know about the rest of you, but if I had a close friend I TRUSTED and BELIEVED, I would be sticking up for them EVERYWHERE. I don’t see that at all.
Oh, but FashionGreenTbag midaro will tell us that she wasn’t allowed to have friends as a battered wife. Please.
There is a lot we don’t know. I thought it was strange that the police stopped looking for him so quickly, so there must be some indication that there was no foul play. And how went from being the “perfect husband” to an abusive one. I stopped giving money after I gave to victims of Katrina where most of it didn’t go to the victims. I won’t be duped again.
Where are Nick’s family and friends and why don’t they defend him for this abuse accusation?
If he took off, why wouldn’t he at least send a grocery store gift card for milk, food, toilet paper, diapers, OTC medicine, detergent and all that?
That would be a pity if he’s on the beach sipping margaritas while his little ones go without the basic things they need for which he is obligated to provide.
I feel like I am on an episode of “To Tell The Truth”…I have BWS too!! So does she! So does he! So do they! Wheeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee!!
I think it very strange that on her my space page she says she is a single mom with one on the way. If my husband went missing or left me there is no way I would be putting myself out there after only four months ESPECIALLY with a new baby on the way !
Sorry, comment time is over.
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