Judge: Man Loses Assets Due to Abuse
By Samuel Maull, Associated Press Writer
Originally published in The Associated Press, July 26, 2001
NEW YORK (AP) — A man who beat his wife nearly to death when she decided to seek a divorce will lose most of his share of their multimillion-dollar assets because of his violent act, a judge has ruled.
Justice Jacqueline Silbermann's ruling means Theresa Havell, an investment firm owner, gets about $17 million and the husband, Aftab Islam, an unemployed banker, gets about $400,000. The husband's attorney said the decision, made public Wednesday, is apparently unprecedented in New York.
For most long-term marriages, assets are divided equally upon divorce and marital fault is not considered. The important factor is usually the economic impact on a spouse.
But extreme violence, "so egregious and uncivilized as to bespeak a blatant disregard of the marital relationship—misconduct that shocks the conscience of the court," compels justice between the parties, the judge said.
Islam attacked his wife of 20 years with a 10-pound barbell in April 1999 in their Manhattan home. He said he was angry that she asked for a divorce.
Islam, now 61, pleaded guilty last August to first-degree assault and was sentenced to eight years and four months in prison.
"The husband violently attacked his wife with a barbell, causing her teeth and portions of her jaw to fly across the room and bloodying her until her features were unrecognizable," Silbermann wrote in her 32-page decision.
"He continued his murderous assault in front of three of his young children, despite their cries and pleas for him to stop," the judge continued.
Islam said in court that he was "truly sorry for the pain and suffering I have caused my wife and children." Without looking around, he begged Havell, 55, and their six children, now ages 11 to 22, to forgive him.
Havell's lawyer, Ellen Gesmer, said her client suffers pain, nerve disorders and emotional difficulties because of the attack.
Islam's lawyer, Louis I. Newman, said he has not yet spoken to Islam because he is in prison. Newman said he will advise Islam to appeal the decision, which he called "an abuse of discretion." Most of Islam's $400,000 has gone for legal fees.
Havell's lawyer, Ellen Gesmer, said Silbermann found that "egregious" physical abuse warranted a wife's receipt of an increased marital property.
"It's hard to imagine a more egregious case than this," Gesmer said.
