Fell into spiral of despair

Re: “Police met by hail of bullets,” June 10 It was not June 8 when this story began, but rather when Norman Raddatz’s ex-wife filed a maintenance order in early 2013 for $3,016 that Raddatz couldn’t pay.

With one of his children at post-secondary age, he is required by law to pay for half the costs in addition to child support. It probably put him in poverty as he could not afford his home anymore. He probably couldn’t afford a lawyer and it’s even less likely he would have been able to find one who’d work for free.

When I got served with divorce papers, they wanted most of my income, which left me with $150 a month to live on. I was lucky enough to borrow money from my sister for a lawyer as I had no resources. I was working full time.

I suspect the spiral of despair would have got worse for him, and he would lash out at anyone who came in contact.

Randy Harris, Edmonton