TERRI SCHIAVO'S HUSBAND
FITS PROFILE OF WIFE ABUSER, PER PSYCHIATRIST

(Los Angeles, California) "As Terri Schiavo starves to death, it is time to alert more lawmakers to the truth: the wrong person is being ‘punished' for Terri Schiavo's current state," says Carole Lieberman, M.D. a Board Certified Psychiatrist on the Clinical Faculty of UCLA. Having interviewed Terri's father on her radio show ("Dr. Carole's Couch" on voiceamerica.com), Dr. Lieberman uncovered the fact that Terri's husband, Michael Schiavo, fits the profile of a wife-abuser – the same profile that fit O.J. Simpson and Scott Peterson. At Terri's father's request, Dr. Lieberman put her opinion in writing (see below) so that the family could provide it to their attorneys, Governor Jeb Bush and Florida DCFS – who subsequently have begun investigating the possibility (supported by medical records and witnesses) that Michael Schiavo may well be the one responsible for the collapse that Terri suffered 15 years ago. Even offers of $1 million were not enough for Michael to take the risk of Terri being around ‘to talk'. "Since writing my preliminary opinion, further information has come to light that continues to support this position. Unless this travesty of justice is stopped, the answer will truly lie where the bones are buried," warns Dr. Lieberman.


July 12, 2004
PRELIMINARY THOUGHTS ON HOW TERRI SCHIAVO'S HUSBAND, MICHAEL, FITS THE PROFILE OF A WIFE ABUSER

Based upon my interviews of Terri's father, Robert Schindler, and my research into media accounts of her case, I can provide the following preliminary opinions at this time: As the author of the book, Bad Boys: Why We Love Them, How to Live with Them and When to Leave Them, I have studied men who exhibit pathology in their relationships with women. Profiles of the twelve different types of bad boys are explained. Michael Schiavo fits the profile, described in the book as the Prince of Darkness (see chapter 13). O.J. Simpson was cited as a classic example of this type, and there are indeed similarities between the two men. It is especially significant to note that O.J. flew into a homicidal rage when he realized that Nicole was totally abandoning him, as is characteristic of these impulsive men who most dread being abandoned by their woman. Similarly, Michael Schiavo was likely to have known that Terri had begun making plans to divorce him, since she had told a coworker and family member. Stalking is characteristic of this type of man, as well. And a girlfriend of Michael's, Cindy, accused him of stalking her in 2001.
  • Terri's personality fits that of a woman who would have been attracted (and attractive) to such a man. She was a loner as a child. In high school she was overweight and not popular with boys. She had low self-esteem. She was extremely compassionate, nurturing and subservient. They met when Terri was 20 years old, and married by the time she was 21. Such whirlwind courtships are typical of these men, who are able to spot a vulnerable woman they can dominate, and eager to seal her commitment to him.
  • Terri was frightened to object to Michael's pathologically controlling behavior. For example, he would monitor her odometer to control where she went. He tried to isolate her from her friends and family. She had to account for every penny, though they often lived on her income, since he would be fired, sometimes only after two weeks. He would splurge on $400 suits for himself, while she had to economize. He called her at work 3-4 times a day, often complaining of hating his job because no one appreciated him. He was often observed scolding her.
  • Terri's family observed black and blue marks on her before the incident that plunged her into her current state. Medical records and/or experts have revealed that her neck injury was consistent with strangulation. A bone scan revealed multiple fractures occurring within 1-2 months before or after the incident, which has been described as equivalent to her being "hit by a mach truck". Michael has given three different explanations of how he found Terri after the incident.
  • Michael has had Terri's jewelry re-set into a ring for himself. Terri had two beloved cats that she adopted from an animal shelter, where they'd landed after being mistreated. When he moved in with his girlfriend, Cindy, he had Terri's cats euthanized. Psychologically, this is symbolic of what he is trying to do now to Terri.
  • Michael has been under psychiatric care, including being prescribed several psychotropic medications. One of his treating therapists, Dr. Peter Kaplan, told Terri's father that he should have called the police after Michael argued with Terri's sister, Susanne, and Michael tried to attack her. This occurred right after Terri's collapse, when they were all in a house together. Terri's father told Susanne to lock her door and keep a hammer nearby.
  • As a psychiatric expert witness, I have had experience performing psychiatric examinations of men like Michael Schiavo, and testifying in court about similar cases. The above is simply meant to illustrate some of the indications that Michael fits the profile of an abusive husband. He should most definitely be investigated as the perpetrator of the ‘incident' that caused Terri's collapse and her current condition. If Terri were to be allowed to die, as Michael has been desperately struggling to achieve for years, it could help him escape detection. This would be a grave miscarriage of justice.



Whether Dr. Lieberman is making news - or analyzing it - she provides cutting-edge insights!
She is the first psychiatrist to have made formal child abuse complaints against Michael Jackson, beginning in November 2002. Below is the transcript for her second complaint, which she distributed at a press conference in February 2003, before delivering the complaint to Child Protective Services in Los Angeles.


TO: RANDALL HUDSON
SANTA BARBARA CHILD PROTECTIVE SERVICES/DCFS

CC TO: LOS ANGELES COUNTY CHILD PROTECTIVE SERVICES

Complaint re: MICHAEL JACKSON


February 11, 2003

Dear Mr. Hudson,

It is a travesty that, as you recently informed me, my prior complaint regarding MICHAEL JACKSON (dated November 21, 2002), has been "closed". You euphemistically stated that my complaint was "assessed" and some measures of investigation had been undertaken. Yet it is obvious that Michael Jackson is being given special 'star treatment' because he is a celebrity with money and power, apparently including political power. It is unconscionable that Child Protective Services is hiding behind its claim that its investigations are "confidential," in order to give the impression that more has been done to investigate Mr. Jackson than has actually been accomplished.

How could you possibly "close" my complaint so rapidly? What is the point of mandating psychiatrists in California to report suspected cases of child abuse when their complaints are essentially ignored when it is not politically convenient to act upon them? You claimed that there were no first-person witnesses to give accounts of Mr. Jackson's alleged child abuse. But indeed, the whole world has witnessed him dangling his baby from a balcony and has now witnessed, in a two-hour documentary, what should be sufficient evidence of child abuse to motivate Child Protective Services to remove his three children immediately!

When Mr. Jackson is allowed to flaunt his abusive and negligent behavior towards his children on international television, what message does that send to parents everywhere? It tells them that it's okay to treat their children like that, as well. And pedophiles were undoubtedly thrilled, to be reassured that their impulses to share their bed and their "love" with little children was a good thing, after all. As an agency that is supposed to be protecting children, doesn't this give you cause for concern? Your inaction is not only hurting Prince Michael I, Paris and Prince Michael II, but children all over the globe.

What follows is a psychological analysis of the documentary, "Living with Michael Jackson" (produced by Britain's Granada Television, and aired on ABC on February 6, 2003), in order to document and clarify this evidence of child abuse. Here are 18 reasons why Michael Jackson's children should be removed from his care until he gets psychiatric treatment and takes parenting lessons:
  1. "I am Peter Pan," Mr. Jackson stated emphatically. Only after journalist Martin Bashir's reaction gave him heads up that his statement could be taken as an indication of his being out of touch with reality, did he add, "… in my heart." Indeed, just like Peter Pan, he is an impulsive, self-absorbed man-child who refuses to grow up. Mr. Jackson is free to imagine he is whomever he wants, and to support that possible delusion with creating a Neverland to hide out in. But is he free to create a following of "Lost Boys (and girls)" -- his own children and those who are loaned to him by irresponsible families?
  2. Bubbles the Chimp is reportedly now living in an animal sanctuary. One would wonder how and why that came about. If Mr. Jackson is unable to take good enough care of his pet chimpanzee, shouldn't you be concerned about his children?
  3. Mr. Jackson describes horrendous physical and emotional abuse at the hands of his father when he was growing up. His father would beat him with a belt and ironing cords. This left lasting emotional scars on Michael, who became tearful at the memory of his father's abuse. He was "terrified" of his father as a child, and still hates him. Michael would "regurgitate" and "faint" in his father's presence. His mother used to say, "Joe, you're gonna kill 'em." Though it is not my contention that Michael Jackson physically abuses his children, it is the case that his own history of being abused contributes to his psychological instability and unfitness to be a parent himself.
  4. Mr. Jackson's psychosexual development has been stunted at the level of a pre-adolescent boy. This is largely due to his having repeatedly watched family members have sex with women they would bring back to the hotel room they shared, while they were on tour as a band. Michael was told to pretend he was asleep. But his having been in the same room, when he was quite young, while such sexual activity repeatedly took place, made him fearful and confused about sex. Young children who witness the sex act at such close range do not understand what is happening, but rather see sex as violent and hurtful. Indeed, when Mr. Jackson described his first experience where a woman approached him sexually, he said he was "scared to death" and did not engage in sexual relations. His sexual problems continue to haunt him and would impair his ability to function effectively as a father on several levels. At best, he would not be a good teacher of the 'birds and the bees' to his children. worst, he could well (inadvertently or on purpose) treat them inappropriately sexually -- just as he does his young houseguests who sleep in his bed. Though he functions on a stunted level of psychosexual development, and may envision his sexual activity to be benign sex play of pre-adolescent boys, the 1993 declaration of J. Chandler depicts him as a classic predator.
  5. Michael's father teased him mercilessly about his appearance, when he was growing up, including his pimples and his nose. Michael said, "You want to die…. I would've been happier wearing a mask." Consequently, Michael has had at least two plastic surgeries on his nose, and has been seen wearing a surgical mask. He forces his children to wear masks and/or cover their face in public. Though Michael would have us believe that it's to protect the children from paparazzi and kidnappers, it seems at least as likely to be motivated by unconscious scars from his father's hurtful criticism of his face. What's most important is the impact that this is having on his children. Surely, they don't believe Michael's explanation of it being to protect them -- since they experience his lack of protection of them when they are out in public. For example, when he took them to the Berlin zoo he was oblivious of their fears of being crushed by the crowd. Michael's children experience having to wear the mask as an indication of his believing that they are too ugly and monstrous for him to want the public to see. They would believe that Michael is ashamed of them and wants to hide their face. Add to that the rejection that they must feel from their mother's abandonment, and they would be more convinced that she rejected them because they are ugly lepers.
  6. Mr. Jackson recounted the story of Paris' birth, in which she came out the "wrong way" and was choked by the umbilical cord. Nonetheless, he "snatched her" -- along with her "placenta" -- and took her home, because he was scared they were going to give him bad news. Isn't this another clear example of child endangerment? It fits with his consistent pattern of putting his own needs before the needs of his children and using poor judgment.
  7. In the documentary, Paris tries to cling to Mr. Jackson. He tells one of his employees, "Pull, pull, that's all she does… I have to sign autographs," and then pawns his daughter off on this employee to be taken care of. He seems oblivious to his daughter, except to be irritated by her when she wants his attention.
  8. Mr. Jackson calls his third child, Prince Michael II, "Blanket." This is a telling remark, since this child (and the others) are used by him as 'security blankets' to comfort him. They are his toys, there to satisfy and take care of him - not the other way around, the way it's supposed to be.
  9. Mr. Jackson contradicted himself in the documentary in regard to the mother of Prince Michael II. At first he said that he'd had a "relationship" with her. Later on he said "she doesn't know me." Shouldn't this be investigated?
  10. The mothers of his children have abandoned them, choosing to be paid money to give them up to him like "presents." They should be investigated and prosecuted for failure to protect these children, as should the parents of the children who are allowed to sleep over. With as much media coverage of Mr. Jackson's questionable attitude/behavior towards children, beginning with the allegations of molestation in the early 1990's, these mothers/families knew or should have known that they were putting their children in harm's way when they left them in his care.
  11. As the documentary progressed, Mr. Jackson was described as having a "manic quality," which was indeed visible, notably when he was in Berlin. It may well be, as some family members of his have asserted, that Michael is abusing drugs (prescription or street drugs). His erratic behavior was, in fact, consistent with drug abuse. Surely this should be investigated, as it would endanger his children.
  12. Particularly chilling was his behavior with Prince Michael II, when Mr. Jackson practically strangled him with the scarf that was around his head, in a feeble attempt at feeding him a bottle. Alarmingly, he seemed to implore, "Bite it… I love you… bite it." Mr. Jackson's legs were jerking frenetically (such as would be the case with drug abuse or an anxiety disorder) while his baby was on his lap -- not at all the kind of appropriate bouncing parents do to calm their baby. Michael II was wide-eyed and rigid, looking like a wooden doll, clearly terrified. This was the same child that Michael dangled over the balcony. Mr. Jackson is oblivious to the feelings of all of his children. He claimed that Prince Michael II responded to being dangled over the balcony by "singing" -- not appreciating how terrified the baby would have been.
  13. Mr. Jackson's precariously unstable mental state was also apparent at the Berlin Bambi Awards, as he began to go onstage too early. Realizing his mistake, he dropped to the ground and cowered below the stage. Instantly, he regressed to being the little boy he once was, terrified of making a mistake because his father beat him when he made mistakes. This moment was particularly poignant and pathetic, yet our sympathies for Mr. Jackson should not cloud the issue in regard to his children.

    Despite the public outcry, ten years ago, when a 13 year-old boy made allegations of sexual abuse, Mr. Jackson has not changed his ways. He is still a Pied Piper, luring vulnerable children to partake in sleepovers in his bed. Gavin, a 12 year-old boy who suffered from cancer, was featured in the documentary. Gavin was leaning on Mr. Jackson, looking up at him like a lovesick puppy, and holding hands with him -- all in front of the cameras.

    Gavin acknowledged having slept in Mr. Jackson's bed and reported that Michael said, "If you love me, you'll sleep in the bed." This language is classic language that child molesters use. (And is eerily similar to the language that J. Chandler declared that Jackson used with him.)

    In fact, one would strongly suspect that Michael has been a victim of sexual abuse as a child, himself. Children who have been sexually abused, classically find themselves using the same language and behavior towards others. Unconsciously, they don't want to believe that the person who abused them didn't love them, so they defend these acts as "love." Indeed, Michael defends and flaunts his practice of sleeping with children in his bed. If he does this with strangers, would he not be doing the same with his own children? And despite his denial of there being anything sexual involved, there would no doubt be bodies rubbing up against each other in intimate contact -- if not other sexual behavior.

    And the psychological scars on the children would be inescapable. At some level, the children would eventually recognize this as sexual behavior and feel guilty and ashamed. They would also feel angry when Mr. Jackson tossed them aside for the next plaything. There was an unmistakable sense that something sexual had occurred with Gavin, as evidenced by his body language and his submissive demeanor towards Michael. Note that Mr. Jackson invites some of the most vulnerable children to Neverland - poverty-stricken, ill - those most easily manipulated by his pop-idol status. They and their parents are star-struck and hungry to fulfill their fantasies of what Michael Jackson could do for them. These parents are essentially prostituting their children for their own twisted motives.
  14. Prince Michael I told Martin Bashir that he didn't have a mother. Mr. Jackson agreed with that, and told of how Debbie Rowe had done it for him -- given him these children as a "present," because he "used to walk around holding baby dolls." Note that in my first complaint, without knowing of this, I described Mr. Jackson's behavior towards Prince Michael II, as he dangled him over the balcony, as his treating him like a doll.
  15. Mr. Jackson contradicted himself or seemed to be lying several times in the documentary. He lied in the manner of a child who sticks to his lie despite being shown that it is illogical or patently untrue. This seeming lack of knowing right from wrong would be dangerous to children in his custody.
  16. Mr. Jackson speaks of his wish to adopt a boy and a girl from every continent. He has the means to do this. Are you going to stand by as he subjects more and more children to his psychologically unhealthy environment?
Mr. Jackson does not have the necessary psychological tools to be a fit father, due to the traumatic and chaotic childhood he had, which damaged him and still has a strong emotional hold on him today. His father was a terrible role-model. Michael hates his father for having beaten his children when they made a mistake performing. His father wanted the band to succeed for his own self-aggrandizement. Ironically, Michael is blind to how he's plucked children away from their mothers to be his 'dolls' for his own self-aggrandizement -- just like his father. Michael simply does not get it that a parent's primary responsibility is to his child -- not himself. Yet we witnessed first-hand, over and over again, that Michael was consumed with himself and his own needs, and totally lacking in any sensitivity to the needs of his children.

In the documentary, Mr. Jackson said, "If there were no children on this Earth, if somebody announced that all kids are dead, I would jump off the balcony immediately. I'm done." This is an unconscious warning or manifestation of his underlying suicidal impulses. (When he dangled his baby from the balcony, I stated then that, he was identifying with and using the child to symbolically demonstrate his feelings of being on the edge, himself. It was a cry for help.) Therefore, it would behoove you to be sure that Mr. Jackson is hospitalized, in a psychiatric hospital, before removing his children from his custody. For his own protection, if he does not wish to go voluntarily, he should be placed on an involuntary hold (5150) as "a danger to self."

It is clear that Mr. Jackson needs intensive and long-term psychiatric treatment (with a psychiatrist). This would consist of psychotherapy to help him cope with buried traumatic memories from his childhood, such that he could mature into a man who is capable of being a good father. It is likely that he would also need psychiatric medication. If he is abusing drugs (prescription drugs or otherwise), he may need to be detoxed and rehabilitated, as well.

Please do not "close" this complaint without a more rigorous investigation into the welfare and psychological state of his children. You indicated that you would need documented evidence of "harm, trauma or substantial risk to a child" in order to remove that child from the home. It cannot be refuted that millions of people are now eyewitnesses to exactly that. You would be doing an unconscionable disservice to his children, the children of Santa Barbara, and children everywhere, to ignore the obvious dangers that Michael Jackson, perhaps unwittingly, inflicts upon them.

Mr. Jackson seems sincere when he says that he loves his children and all children. He can identify with their pain because of his own childhood pain. He wants to save them as he wishes someone would have saved him. Peter Pan is a charming fairy tale character, but Michael Jackson needs a reality check. Now it's up to you to save the Lost Boys (and girls) who are trapped in Neverland. Please don't fail them again.


Sincerely,

Carole Lieberman, M.D., M.P.H.
Diplomate, American Board of Psychiatry and Neurology




QUOTES ON TERRORISM

Los Angeles Daily News
"Dr. Carole Lieberman, a Beverly Hills psychiatrist, said parents should offer children messages of love and kindness and control their exposure to news. 'It doesn't help that the television is showing children in the Middle East who are clapping and thrilled that lives have been lost in the United States,' said Dr. Carole Lieberman. 'I think that is the saddest and sickest of images I've seen.' Lieberman said the adults who carried out the attacks in New York and Washington, D.C., were taught as children to hate. She encourages parents to stress the importance of loving their fellow man and to remind them that 'we're all human and we're all fragile.' Adults and teens desensitized by graphic movie and TV violence initially were numb or shocked by the events and most probably took hours to begin feeling depression, she said."

New York Daily News
"Osama Bin Laden's sickly pall and fatalistic references in his latest video may be a sign he expects to die - which could make him more dangerous than ever, medical and psychological experts said. 'Here he is trying to show some bravado, portray himself as this strong charismatic leader, when his body language is betraying' him, said Dr. Carole Lieberman, a California doctor and psychiatrist who counsels terror victims. But she warned that Bin Laden's haggard looks are not necessarily cause for celebration. 'The more he feels he is withering away, the more desperate he'll become and the more he'll want his people to launch attacks on the United States,' Lieberman said."

Woman's Own
" 'Most women turn to sex not only for comfort and security, but for reassurance that they are desirable and desired,' says Dr. Carole Lieberman, a psychotherapist... who has established a help line (1-900-860-2673 (COPE)) to assist people in coping with terrorism. The recent turmoil in the United States has caused many women to reassess their lives, their loves and their core values."

Los Angeles Daily News
"Dr. Carole Lieberman, a Beverly Hills media psychiatrist, said initial disbelief was fairly common. 'We've become so desensitized to those kinds of images that some of us were numb to it at first,' she said. 'We feel betrayed that after all the fantasies we've seen, how can it be true this time when it was only a story before? We almost expected the buildings to bounce back up, like on cartoons. It's been psychologically destabilizing. We wake up thinking it was all a horrible nightmare and we'll turn on our TV and there'll be Bryant Gumbel interviewing survivors.' "
NUCLEAR DANGER COVER-UP
EXPANDING FROM
N.Y. TO CALIFORNIA!

Potassium iodide pills are currently being distributed like candy from New York (Indian Point) to California (Diablo Canyon and San Onofre), the nation's most dangerous nuclear power plants. Though the 'candy-man' would have us believe that this is to protect residents, in the event of a terrorist attack on a nuclear plant... it is actually a smokescreen to distract people from the underlying life-threatening conditions that have existed there for years! High-ranking government officials may continue to try to pretend that they had no clue that terrorists were threatening to attack before 9/11, but there is no way they can pretend that they did not know about the longstanding threat to New York City and the rest of the nation, that these power plants portend!

The insidious effects of radioactive material on people's health has already begun taking its toll... yet the government allows the plants to keep on running, filling the pockets of the owners of these plants: Entergy (Indian Point), Pacific Gas & Electric (Diablo Canyon) and Southern California Edison (San Onofre). To avoid an "Erin Brokovich" scenario, after studies continue to reveal evidence of increased rates of cancer, other immune disorders and undefined illnesses, in the people living closest to nuclear plants, the government suddenly distributes a 'magic pill' to lure people into a sense of false security! The pills are meant to promote the message: take this and you'll be safe. But not only will they not be safe, in the event of nuclear attack on the plant, they are not safe now! The pills are distributed under the guise of helping citizens in their 'fight against terrorism'. But what pills can we take to help us in the fight against government corruption and greed?

Carole Lieberman, M.D., a psychiatrist on the Clinical Faculty of UCLA's Neuropsychiatric Institute and an NIMH scholar in Public Health, discovered this cover-up while doing research for her book, The Psychological Survival Guide for Coping with Terrorism. She interviewed many doctors and researchers, who admitted they were growing increasingly alarmed at the mounting cases they attribute to daily emissions of radioactive isotopes from nuclear power plants. One pediatrician said that, as far back as 10 years ago, his colleagues informed the CDC that there was a cluster of leukemia, lymphoma, and sarcoma patients in their area; but, the CDC denied that this was abnormally high. A general practitioner knows of at least 5 cases of thyroid cancer in the graduating class of a local high school, and has seen increasing cases of chronic fatigue, fibromyalgia, breast cancer, learning disabilities and younger cases of auto-immune diseases in her practice than ever before. She reports that child cancer death rates in areas up to 40 miles downwind of Indian Point are 20-35% higher than average.

Studies have shown that people living within 100 miles of a nuclear power plant are more likely to die from cancer than those in the general population. According to the Radiation and Public Health Project, "Mysterious health problems that doctors cannot explain are afflicting people working at and living near nuclear weapons plants and research facilities from California to New York." The United States is the only nation that has never conducted its own study of strontium 90 in baby teeth ­ such studies are being privately funded. Why? Undoubtedly because the government doesn't want us to know just how many of us are in danger, lest we interfere with the operation of nuclear plants in our neighborhood. And there are currently approximately 1300 such neighborhoods!

Indian Point, rated by the Nuclear Regulatory Commission as the nation's most troubled nuclear power plant, shut down for nearly a year after the February 2000 accident leaked 20,000 gallons of radioactive water into the Hudson River. There has been less publicized leakage as well. The soil is undoubtedly contaminated. The same dangers surround power plants from coast to coast, leaving us vulnerable to 'mini-Chernobyls' on a daily basis.

Potassium iodide helps to protect against thyroid cancer ­ just one of the health problems associated with radiation exposure. Though a terrorist attack on a nuclear plant is a potential danger, we know that many have already been exposed to radiation in the homes, workplaces and playgrounds, built next door to nuclear plants.

Clearly the government is hoping to 'clean up' the 'fallout' from the pre-existing nuclear exposure, by hiding behind what seems like practical wisdom after 9/11. They are hoping to distract us from the dangerousness of all nuclear plants. The Nuclear Regulatory Commission is distributing pills to any state with a nuclear reactor ­ but is it to protect against terrorist attacks or against the public's attack on government exploitation? This new evidence of further governmental cover-up is actually the most 'bitter pill' to swallow!

As a psychiatrist, Dr. Lieberman warns, "This is the worst time to lose faith in our government. We need to feel protected against terrorism by these 'parental figures', or we risk panic in the streets!" Dr. Lieberman, a regular guest commentator in the media, can discuss these and other findings, so that people can make informed decisions and not panic.

To interview Dr. Lieberman, you may email her at drcarole@drcarole.com or call 310/278-5433.