A week after his estranged wife alleged that he choked her and hit their young children, U.S. Senate candidate Sean Parnell on Monday repeatedly and emphatically denied — under oath in family court — that he physically abused his wife or hit their children.
Mr. Parnell took the stand in Butler to testify in a child custody hearing, describing his relationship with Laurie Snell as “tumultuous,” but never to the point that he got “physical” with her.
“We did the best we could to make it work, and it didn’t,” Mr. Parnell said of his relationship with Ms. Snell.
Mr. Parnell, asked one-by-one to confirm the accuracy of Ms. Snell’s allegations that — in separate incidents — he told her to get an abortion, left her on the side of the road, threw chairs, pinned her down by her thighs, or hit or smacked their children out of anger, said there was no truth behind the accusations.
The daylong hearing — the second of three scheduled days — revealed more details about Mr. Parnell’s relationship with his three children and his estranged wife. Those details have come under scrutiny during his bid for Senate, which is backed by former President Donald Trump, and for which he is considered a leading contender for the Republican nomination.
Monday marked the first time in court that Mr. Parnell could share his side of the story, and he took the opportunity to describe his time in Afghanistan in the U.S. Army — and the impact it had on his health — as well as his commitment to his children and his view on parenting.
The custody hearing started last week. The Philadelphia Inquirer reported on Nov. 1 that Ms. Snell testified that Mr. Parnell choked her, hit their young children, and lashed out at her with obscenities and insults. On one occasion, he called her a “whore” and a “piece of [expletive]” while pinning her down, and on another, he slapped one of their children hard enough to leave fingerprint-shaped welts through the back of the child’s shirt, according to The Inquirer’s reporting on Ms. Snell’s testimony.
Under cross-examination by Mr. Parnell’s attorney Monday, Ms. Snell testified that she and her children went on vacation with Mr. Parnell shortly after one of the incidents in February 2018 — and that despite the alleged harm of the children, Mr. Parnell’s attorney showed texts as evidence that Ms. Snell texted him, “I know you’re a good dad” in the aftermath and said it was important for the kids to see him.
“I was always trying to give it a try,” Ms. Snell testified Monday.
Monday’s hearing opened with Ms. Snell testifying that Mr. Parnell had an affair for nine months during their marriage. Ms. Snell said the woman who Mr. Parnell had an affair with — now his girlfriend of 3½ years — would routinely videotape her at her children’s hockey games and practices and when she dropped off the kids for custody days.
“They will flank the kids as I’m leaving so I can’t give them a hug goodbye,” Ms. Snell testified.
Meanwhile, Ms. Snell testified she’s been “frightened away from dating” after the couple’s separation — and was sent “harassing texts” from Mr. Parnell when she tried to pursue a new relationship.
“You’re gross. Enjoy your little [expletive] buddy. Go to hell,” read one of the text messages from Mr. Parnell, according to an exhibit submitted by Ms. Snell’s lawyer.
When Ms. Snell joined the Cranberry Fire Department as a volunteer after her separation from Mr. Parnell, “he told me that the only women who are firefighters want to hook up or are lesbians,” she also testified Monday.
Ms. Snell was asked on cross-examination about an incident in May 2018 with a closet door — in which Mr. Parnell was said to have punched it so hard that it flew into their child’s face, leaving a bruise — and why she said during a protection-from-abuse hearing that she didn’t see the incident but did hear it. Ms. Snell replied that she heard Mr. Parnell punch the door and saw the door hit their child.
Recollecting that event on the stand, Mr. Parnell said he was playing with his son and went to start changing to go to the gym. As he was pulling on his shorts, his son’s head popped around the door. His reaction startled the child, Mr. Parnell said, and his son pulled his head back and bumped it on the door. Allegations that he slammed his head as a result of an angry punch could “not be further from the truth,” Mr. Parnell testified.
Mr. Parnell described his discipline of the children as 80% verbal, adding that he’s spanked his sons once or twice.
An Army veteran, Mr. Parnell described being in Afghanistan in 2006 and being “blown up” by a rocket-propelled grenade and two separate mortars during a 6½-hour enemy attack. He was wounded, he said, and was diagnosed with post-traumatic stress disorder, cognitive disorder, anxiety and depression in the aftermath of his arrival home.
Mr. Parnell said he went through a lengthy rehab for a traumatic brain injury, that he has been open about his PTSD and that it’s gotten better. He said he frames it not as a disorder but as “post-traumatic growth.” Facing questioning from his lawyer, he said he has never taken any illegal drugs and said his PTSD never manifested in danger to his wife or children. He described his current health as “good.”
Asked about his campaign for Senate, Mr. Parnell said the schedule has been hectic but manageable, and that if he has an event on a custody day, he tries to make sure it’s in Western Pennsylvania. He brings his children to events, he said, because “it’s important for them to see this country has to be fought for.”
The hearings will continue Tuesday with Mr. Parnell fielding more questions from his lawyer, as well as expected cross-examination.
Julian Routh: jrouth@post-gazette.com; Twitter @julianrouth.
First Published: November 8, 2021, 3:48 p.m.
Updated: November 8, 2021, 4:04 p.m.
