On Wednesday, the Florida State Attorney’s Office charged Below Deck’s Kate Chastain with domestic battery by strangulation and domestic violence (battery) against her former live-in girlfriend, Ro Hernandez, due to an attack in their Melbourne Beach home in June.
I am told that Ro did not want to press charges but that the State’s attorney found the attack to be very serious and decided that charges should be filed and the case should be tried. Everyone locally that I have spoken to refers to the incident as “very serious.”
According to FLORIDA TODAY who obtained the police report, “On June 11, Chastain returned home from a bar, “went into a fit of rage” and physically attacked her girlfriend, a Melbourne Beach police report shows. Chastain bit her girlfriend on the forearm, inner bicep and leg; held her down and “strangled” her; put her knee on her head and pulled her hair; and covered her mouth and pinched her nose so she couldn’t breathe, according to the report.”
That does indeed sound “very serious.”
There really shouldn’t be anything humorous about this situation. But with Kate, you know her hubris will always be a factor. Apparently in July, Kate reached out to FLORIDA TODAY and let them know she was not interested in any interviews with them. It is unclear if she is telling them that because they ran the story of her arrest that she will not sit for an interview regarding Season Four of Below Deck (on which Ro will briefly appear) or what provoked her to contact them to say she was not interested in contact from them. Kate said, “Looking ahead to the future please know that I am not and will never be interested in any kind of interview with FLORIDA TODAY. Just wanted to give you a heads up that any press request would be a waste of time, and on my end, an annoyance.”
Her court date has been set for Sept. 13 at the Moore Justice Center in Viera. I nominate JoJo to be our TamaraTattles spy for the hearing. Also, someone pass Sequoia a tissue.
Holy hickory sticks Kate looks like shit! We k ew she was a count but who knew she would be such a violent one as well. I do hope she isn’t a bitch to the stews this season, I would want to throat punch her.
Whoa, what a psycho!
Meth
I know in New York, if there is any strangulation involved, whether or not the victim wants charges pressed is irrelevant. A good friend of mine unfortunately just went through this, and of course, as is so often the case, she didn’t want to press charges but was told that that was out of her hands for that reason. I personally was very happy about that.
No wonder Ben hasn’t said a word about their time together.
Andy the Devil is somewhere smiling.
If the assault allegations are true or if their not, I hope justice is served.
Will Bravp continue to show the season considering it would seem to be airing durinh the trial?
I saw her last October walking up the street with Ben and she clearly lives on a diet of cigarettes and Chardonnay.
She’s probably 5’7 and very skinny. I’d be surprised if she weighed 120 then.
JoJo, the released mug shots and charges from the police pictured above states she is 67 inches (5’7″) and 123 pounds. You were right about how thin she was and have a great eye. Her girlfriend Ro appears to be taller and stronger than she is, so I have to go with @Kelly above who said “meth.” Kate looks beyond disheveled in the mugshots. She looks out of it and extremely sleep-deprived.
I read the Florida statutes on the government page and her charges under the statute 84.041.2a, also noted in the picture Tamara posted state it’s a third degree felony. When she was stopped back in 2010 on a DUI, she was also booked for possession of Xanax without a prescription. I believe that would be a felony as well. If she is a repeat offender and has had any probation violations, she has the potential of a five year jail sentence. On the other hand, we saw ‘Tot’ mom found not guilty along with George Zimmerman. I guess a lot has to do with the Judge and the county where one is arrested.
Wow! That was a close guess on the weight.
She’s a heavy smoker.
Yes!!! You pegged her height and guessed her weight within 3 pounds. I am impressed. She appears shorter to me on the show. High five on your guesstimate!!!!
Those sound like very serious charges. Do you really think she’ll be back for the next season? If she’s found guilty, at the very least she’ll probably have to attend anger management classes and will be placed on probation. She’ll have many different terms and conditions as part of the probation, of which one of the main ones will probably be to consume no alcohol, plus, she may be very limited as to whether or not she can leave the county which has jurisdiction over her probation. Worst case scenario, and definitely a possible outcome, she could have jail time. Doesn’t sound like she’s a guaranteed cast member to me. Hope it works out OK for her, but also hope she gets the psychological/impulse control treatment she seems to need. I enjoyed her on the show, and I think the cast will suffer without her.
They have already filmed the season.
Stupid of me. That’s what I get for leaving comments when I’m half asleep. Thanks.
If she was working anywhere besides Bravo, I doubt she would be back, but Teresa is a convicted Felon along with her husband and it hasn’t stopped them from keeping the cameras filming.
If Chasten is found guilty, she will be a convicted felon and will lose the right to vote or serve as a juror. In some cases, you can lose your professional license. I don’t know if one has to have a license to serve on a yacht. If she is found guilty and is charged with another third degree felony, she’ll be considered a repeat violent offender. She won’t be able to get a lease or a job.
When I rewatched Season One of Below Deck they mentioned getting licensed to be stewards, hence one of the reasons Kat told the captain of the guests cocaine usage. She said the license was hard to get & she didn’t want to lose it.
@ Babs0909/ Wow, good call. I remember those guys that were on board. I think they turned around the next day and sent them back home. I remember there was a quandary as to whether to notify the captain, but I didn’t realize it was tied to keeping and/or losing their license. Thanks for reminding me and explaining that to me. I wonder if she is lucky enough to get a plea deal, will it still go down on the records as a felony. It would seem so if you look at Teresa and Joe Guidice. I think whatever the outcome (except complete dismissal of the case which seems unlikely), Kate has damaged her yachting career as I doubt Captain Lee would be willing to allow her back on his boat, even if Bravo did.
Um you realize these seasons are taped in advance, right?
I trust the lovely Kate will be entertaining, beautiful, wise and funny on the new season of Below Deck. I can hardly contain my excitment.
Here we go again. Felons by Bravo
I hate to read this. But no onr should ever lay their hands…knees…fingers or place teeth on anyone. Unless of course its mutual (jk ?).
I like Kate. She is hilarious and fun to watch on the show. We all make mistakes. I hope this turns out well and lessons are learned. I have reaf that it took two to tango here so hopefully all the facts will come out. As someone said she is tiny and I find it hard to believe that she could attack someone without feeling threatened herself? I mean you give it your all when cornered.
Please don’t blame the victim. If you are bigger, but you don’t hit back, anyone can gain the advantage.
Coran I was not taking the side of Kate. I was saying that I had read that they were both fighting each other and since Kate is smaller maybe she was on fire. I prefaced that with saying it is never right to put hands or anything on anyone.
I certainly am not minimizing the event. I like her on TV. But I do not condone the behavior. I have witnessed domestic violence personally and professionally and it is never OK.
It is all very unfortunate. I did not know about the 2010 charges? I will say that this may mean she has a problem with substances. MAY MEAN…. sad.
The police report does not say they were both fighting each other. It says the girlfriend came home from work, Kate came home a short time later, intoxicated and flew into a rage and verbally and physically attacked the girlfriend and tried to take her phone. The girlfriend refused to engage and went into the other room and lay down on the sofa to try to sleep and Kate attacked her again, sitting on her, pinning her head to the floor with her knee, pulling her hair, biting her, trying to strangle her and covering her mouth and pinching her nose shut. I could very easily see this happening and since the signs of abuse were on the girlfriend and not on Kate, this seems the more likely scenario. If it were a two way fight, big old Ro (since people seem hell bent on using the fact that she is some amount larger than Kate as being more meaningful than it is) would not be the one who showed signs of being beat up. I’ve seen small women pounding on larger guys before with the guys just retreating and acting like the stereotype of the intimidated little girl. Some people just aren’t inclined to fight back and since it was stated that this wasn’t the first time Kate had attacked her, Kate would already know at this point that she could engage in this behavior without her girlfriend fighting back which might have led to her being even more aggressive. Kate behaves like a bully and I have no problem seeing her behaving like this myself.
Florida is weird. You can push someone here and, even if the victim doesn’t press charges, the state can (and most likely will) pick them up. Those cases amd seatbelt violations are 2 huge money makers.
Piece of useless trivia: I’m not sure how it is in other states but in Florida if you have ever co-habitated with someone and get into a physical altercation, it’s considered domestic. It doesn’t matter if you lived together 10 years ago.
How is charging someone for domestic assault a “huge money maker” for the state? I wouldn’t think something like this is just a fineable offense. It seems like it would be costly for the state to take these cases to court.
Well, if she is found guilty of battery by strangulation, according to Florida Statutes, there is a $5,000 fine plus she will have to bear the costs of court. If this is her first offense of this nature and she has a good lawyer, he/she will most likely try to dismiss the charges. If that fails, the lawyer will try for a plea deal. Sometimes, the prosecutors will only fine you and give you probation if you agree to plead guilty to a lesser charge.
Strangulation Battery? If you try to strangle someone isn’t that attempted murder? Oh well, another felon by Bravo. I’m sure Andy is drooling over all this…..ick. They have probably signed her up for the next season already.
Amazing exclusive, Tamara! I really am shocked. I thought it would be dropped. The story in Florida Today lists her lawyer as Gary Frese of Melbourne. I looked on his site and he is listed as a real estate attorney. I don’t think she has a prayer without a good criminal attorney.
Just maybe since they were returning from the bar, Kate had some shots of Tequila or Fireball one too many! Besides the wine! Sounds like that could be the case and it just made her explode into a jealous raving maniac! Resting bitchface with a litle more anger in the mugshot! I wish her well and Florida is tough on DV cases! I didn’t know she had even been busted, I just found TT’s blog a very short time ago! I love your blogs Tamara!
We are going to have to come up with a name for the Kate apologists that don’t believe the police report or that strangling someone is wrong.
I mean, somethings more specific than assholes.
Um, Trump supporters?
Take heart. With NY ending you won’t have Bethenny to kick around anymore, so now,, with Kate gracing our screens again, you have a new target for that,,, wit of yours. xoxo
Oh, and might I suggest “minions” ? It fits.
Licking Ass Wipes? Her girlfriend didn’t even want to press charges…smh. She needed to be charged and prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law. A man would be charged.
Captain Lee.
How scary. Thank God Rocky got out unscathed. No wonder she was always jumping off the boat. Geez. She has quite the temper and nasty nasty nasty.
Will she return next season? Of course. Bravo TV awards criminals.
You would think if you were charged with felony strangulation, you might not go on the press junket for Below Deck. You would be wrong.
Also, remember when my girl, Rocky, kept saying that Kate was drinking wine out of coffee cups? Should have listened to her…
Wow that is some RBF if I ever saw one. She never seemed quick to anger more like unhappy to me. I did read a comment somewhere supposedly her cousin wrote saing” this will all come out that it was self defense”. Who knows but the bite marks if there are any will be the zinger.
Wow absolutely love what Captain Lee wrote on facebook in regard to this incident. This is a man you want by your side forever & I hope Kate appreciates him. He obviously is aware of what she did was wrong but out of respect will not abandon Kate.
Curious to know why it took so long to charge her this happened in June?
The DA needs time to decide if the case should go to trial, and what they can charge the person with, charges that the theY can prove. The burden of proof is with the state. People can kill someone in an accident and may not be formally charged for months. You have heard the expression “the wheels of justice turn slowly”? Indeed they do. I’ve watched Thousands of Murder shows on this one channel. I would not want to be Kate right now.