The daughter of Christopher Christensen, the California elementary school principal who committed suicide while at Disneyland last Saturday, has revealed new information regarding the possible reason her father took his life.
RTM previously reported that Christensen, 51, committed suicide by leaping from an upper level of Disneyland’s Mickey & Friends parking garage.
The “Administrator of the Year” award winner, who had served as principal at Huntington Beach elementary school since 2000, was arrested in November on child endangerment and battery charges and scheduled to appear in court on Monday.
Christensen left behind a lengthy post explaining that an argument with his wife led to false charges being filed by his wife, and he attempted but was unable to stop legal proceedings from moving forward.
In an interview with the Daily Mail, Christensen’s daughter Brittany, one of three adult children from a previous marriage, claimed Christensen’s new wife Marlena was an “abusive partner” and was largely to blame for “tearing up the family” and her father’s death.
Brittany, 26, told the Daily Mail: “[Marlena] has been very difficult … for about the last year, and we haven’t had any contact with her.”
Brittany noted that her father was “trying to figure out how to leave [Marlena]” at the time of his suicide. “In my opinion,” she said, “it seems like [suicide], in his mind, was his way out of his relationship.”
The Post noted that following his Nov. 15 arrest, Christensen pleaded not guilty to the child endangerment and battery charges. After being released from custody on $10,000 bail, the principal was placed on administrative leave. His pretrial hearing was scheduled for Monday.
In a lengthy Facebook note, Christensen expressed doubt his life would return to normal due to the “flawed” legal system.
In his post, Christensen noted that unfortunately,” he and his wife “got into a heated argument at home in front of the girls,” noting that “tempers flared and strong words were exchanged.”
“However,” he maintained, “never in this exchange did I hit, slap, or hurt Marlena in any manner. Nor did I ever touch the girls (I never have and never will),” he stressed, noting that he loved the girls “like my own.”
Christensen continued: “Marlena’s anger got the best of her that night, and she called the police, which landed me in jail that night. Yes, me! A man who has never hit or harmed ANYONE in his life!”
Christensen claimed that his wife of 3 ½ years “truly regrets making that call because the events of that night have completely unraveled both of our lives.”
Brittany claims Marlena’s account to law enforcement was “riddled with lies.”
The Post reported that Brittany also claims Marlena caused $6,000 worth of damage to her vehicle after the November argument, following which her dad tried to split from his wife.
Brittany told the Daily Mail: [Marlena] didn’t admit to anything, but we had footage from her doorbell camera leaving the house in the middle of the night and then coming to my apartment (where my dad was staying for the night) and taking his car.”
“So when we woke up,” Brittany added, “my dad’s car was gone (parked at Marlena’s house) and my car had been keyed on every panel,” she said, adding the wife “has shown a consistent pattern of manipulation and inappropriate behavior towards my family for some time now.”
Brittany claims her father’s relationship with Marlena “has been toxic and wearing on both of them.”
The grieving daughter added: “In my opinion, it was a slow chipping away at my dad’s soul for much longer than just two weeks and I wish at this stage she could have left my family alone. She’s done a lot, personally to my family recently, to myself, to my husband. So there’s a lot going on in this that is very complicated.”
After Christensen’s death, Marlena wrote on Facebook that “none of you know the full story. I’m living in a nightmare and trying to grieve. Chris was the love of my life and I am crushed at what happened. I didn’t make him do this and it’s not my fault. I am not sick I just know in my heart what’s true,” she wrote.
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