Gina Kirschenheiter was in court with her former husband, Matt last Tuesday. Matt plead guilty to one felony count of domestic battery with corporal injury of a spouse, and to one felony count of false imprisonment by menace, violence, fraud, or deceit. Astoundingly, it appears he will do no jail time. It looks like he will be on an ankle monitor fo 178 days and must complete a 52 week batters program. Then he will have three months of formal probation.
Gina tearfully read her statement to the judge. “I thought I was going to die. I still get chills thinking about how I begged you to, ‘Stop. Think about the kids.’ And you responded by saying, ‘Your mom is going to die tonight.’ It echoes in my brain, and it sinks deep in my heart. That night, it literally felt like I was in a house with a stranger whom I’d never met before. Your eyes were completely black, and you were not Matt. It was so hard for me to believe that it was even you, but it was.
It’s taken me a lot of time, self-care, and therapy to work through what happened that night, but I have managed to forgive you for most of it. I accept that I will always have this painful memory from that night. I’ve come to terms with that.”
So do you think the punishment fit the crime? Or not.
I think Gina is happy for the kids to not to have to hear their Dad went to jail. I never felt Gina was out for vengence. She just didn’t want her kids to think she allowed a man to abuse her in this way. The more I get to know Gina, the more I like her. Emily, Braunwyn and Elizabeth…Not so much! I should have said…Not at all.
Yep, I also have a growing soft spot for Gina. I’m even OK with Emily getting another chance on RHOC, though I’m having a harder time getting over that boneheaded shit she did here in Vegas last year. Maybe this is a far less popular opinion, but I can even go for another season with Shannon, as she was far from the worst actor on that show last season IMHO.
Braunwyn, Elizabeth, and Kelly just need to GTFO ASAP.
I agree with you. I was on the fence about Gina in the beginning, but I like her now. I like Emily, but did not agree with her reckless behavior regarding Covid. I like Shannon, just find her a bit annoying at times. Braunwyn…FUCK NO, FAKE, GOTTA GO. Kelly has run her mouth long enough, and Elizabeth is a no.
And, please no return EVER for Vicki & Tamra.
I agree with you 100% atdleft. I’ve always liked Gina & Emily. I was shocked at how little concern about Covid Emily seemed to have when she was here in Vegas. I gave her credit for being smarter than that. I was OK with Shannon this past season but I’d be perfectly happy if I never see Kelly, Braunwyn or Elizabeth ever again.
Gina is incredibly brave for stepping forward and sharing the truth.
Matt got quite the “sweetheart deal”, but I’m not all that surprised, as the DA’s office probably just wanted to negotiate a plea deal so they wouldn’t have to go to trial.
I get why she didn’t want him to do jail time due to the kids. If I ever remember right after his arrest he lost his job as well
Matt sounds like a monster with some disturbing rage issues. I do not believe this is his first rage explosion.
Whatever his punishment is has nothing to to with who he victimized he’s fully responsible for this. Gina sharing her story is healing for her and I hope she can continue to heal
Was he doing coke? Maybe he just wents nuts being in LA compared to New Jersey.
yes 100 he was on coke. no question. my opinion
Your opinion? I’m glad you’re not the judge
I 100 you about the coke. I dated a guy once who only smoked weed when we were together, but a few years later (after we weren’t together) had gotten heavy into coke, ended up bludgeoning his wife and her mother to death with an iron pot. It was all over the news, and for years, I searched my mind and heart for something/anything that would have indicated anything violent when we were together. There was nada, zip, zilch, zero. Also, my brother-in-law’s brother was a super nice guy, got heavy into coke, and is now in jail for murder. And I have excellent radar usually. More than occasional coke use can definitely change brain chemistry. It can be some incredibly scary shit. I’d only ever done it a few times (and loved it),but somehow instinctively I knew it was bad news.
I think Kelly or Emily said he was pulling her hair and dragging her in the front yard and the neighbors called the police. She moved after that? I can’t imagine any neighbors wanting him in their neighborhood.
This was a tough one. I guess that as long as Gina is okay with the punishment? But to me, it does seem very lenient considering what happened. He lost his job and any chance of reconciliation with Gina which is steep…but I guess I prefer to see men have to serve some jail time for battering and terrorizing women. I think Gina was torn. She wanted him to face his actions but didn’t want the consequences to be too high? I remember her seeming very surprised when her attorney told her that she could make an impact statement and that she should absolutely tell the court how this made her feel. It seemed like she was going to stuff down her feelings and sweep this under the rug in order to spare / protect him. I like Gina and hope she truly is okay after all of this.
Taking the batterers course is going to benefit him much more than going to jail. The classes will help him learn coping mechanisms and understand himself better.
I doubt that this was his first rage incident and I doubt it will be his last unless he’s receiving some intense therapy. If he crosses the line while under these restrictions he’ll go to jail.
The worst part is that he was the one having the affair. I never could understand that she had ‘no clue’ that he was leading a double life. Who lives in LA and your wife and kids live in OC…
How dumb.
HOLY SHIT! That motherfucker should spend time in jail, but at least he’s been dragged through the mid, lost his job, and is being forced into therapy! that is some horrible shit. i’m shocked. didn’t realize it was as bad as it was. those poor children if they remember it when they’re older 🙁
Gina is lucky to be alive and I commend her for making her statement and making peace with how the courts have Matt the “white man privilege” sentence. She is an incredible woman. The statistics for a woman being abused or killed by someone she loves is staggering.
Everything you just said.
unless someone beat the shit out of Matt and held him prisoner, no, the punishment did not fit the crime. Remember OJ. What a piece of shit, and she has been incredibly gracious. I hope Gina’s head is in the right place, now, that must have been terribly traumatizing.
I’ve always liked Gina a lot (because I don’t think these shows have to be all rich-bitch west coast women, and, I get the east-coast, more blue-collar ethic). Gina’s a feisty and fun contrast. My admiration for her incredible strength, not just for getting through what happened to her, but for balancing that with being a mother to her children (and realizing that if her kids were going to be healthy, they need their father in their lives)- has climbed so much higher. I could be wrong, but my spidey-sense says that Matt was coked up, coke can especially effect men’s brain chemistry is a scary, scary way. I don'[t think he’d dome it before (or I feel like it would have come out). As much as I think he should have had to do jail time, I also have a mother’s heart, and can see how much less damaging it will be for the children that he doesn’t serve jail time. The kids should be the focus (as long as he doesn’t have a “history”, or God forbid, has done this since, which is unlikely).
I don’t know if it’s a trend but 3 incidents I know about the offender was given very strict guidelines, i.e. probation or whatever, but not a jail sentence and the 3 people have messed up in another way and now the victim isn’t the one who caused them to go to jail. In those 3 incidents it was DV but now the other parent can honestly tell the children that the mother/father was given a chance and messed it up. I think kids handle that easier when Mom/Dad doesn’t send the other to jail. And now Gina makes 4. Wonder if Matt will be in jail within his probation time for screwing up.
Ronnie from Jersey Shore was under these terms and is already arrested again for ANOTHER domestic violence incident with another woman.
As someone who has been on the receiving end of domestic violence, I don’t have a lot of faith in the Batters Program making any difference at all.
I think it’s a fair sentence with one addition. He must pay for any inpatient or outpatient counseling, plus medication for both Gina and the kids for life. This doesn’t go away in a few years.
To know whether “Batterers programs” are effective or not, we’d need actual data. Given that the “therapy” that someone is likely to get in jail is a joke, if a program exists that has good (maybe not perfect, but good) results, for some first offense cases, these programs might be appropriate, and a better solution for any children involved than to jail their father, which then inserts a whole new level of trauma for the children. I;m not talking about repeat offenders, but for certain cases, therapy might be a better option. Isn’t that the direction much of our society wants to go anyway with defunding the police and replacing them with social workers? There are “gray areas”, where getting help or therapy is actually a better option, if we’re looking for a true solution, rather than purely “retribution”.
It’s astounding to me that a man can viciously attack someone and threaten to kill them and traumatize them for life while telling their children their “mom is going to die tonight” just needs counseling because the victim was his wife.
THIS DOES NOT HAPPEN IF THE VICTIM IS A STRANGER. WHY IS IT OKAY FOR WIVES AND GIRLFRIENDS?
It’s like a free pass to be abusive. Do you remember how many times Nicole Brown Simpson called the cops saying OJ was trying to kill her? And basically they did nothing until she was dead.
So no, counseling is not a fitting sentence. IT’S JUST NOT.
This is continuing to make her responsible for his actions. Not wanting her kids to see dad go to jail!? The eff type of justification is that? Her kids are learning that daddy can beat mommy and attempt to kill her, traumatize them, and be seen as a victim because he lost his job. The eff?! Terrible. Those offender programs don’t work. Look at the recidivism of pedophiles in these type of programs.
Oh and since you like STATS here are some for you.
Six women are killed every hour by men around the world, most by men in their own family or their partners.
A new report shows that in the UK a woman is killed by a man every three days.
COVID-19 is overshadowing the issue, the United Nations says.
On International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women, the UN is calling on nations to act.
Six women are killed by men every hour in a “global pandemic of femicide” that is being partly hidden by COVID-19 – and the United Nations is calling for urgent action.
More than half of women and girls killed by men are murdered by their current or previous partners, according to UN data.