Crash kills advocate for men in divorce disputes

[Brent]

Crash kills advocate for men in divorce disputes
 
THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

TACOMA -- An activist for men's rights in divorce cases, including that of convicted Washington, D.C.-area sniper John Allen Muhammad, has died in an auto wreck.

Mario Young, 39, of Puyallup, died about 2 a.m. Wednesday when his Ford F-150 ran off the road and hit a utility pole, Pierce County sheriff's Detective Ed Troyer said.

Young was the only person in the truck, there were no witnesses and the cause of the crash had not been determined as of late Wednesday, Troyer said.

Young became a fathers' rights activist after losing custody of his children in a bitter divorce, said John Mills, a lawyer and ally.

After his divorce, Young obtained a paralegal degree and went to work for Mills while trying to help other men in custody disputes.

"He wanted to understand his own case better and maybe make life better for others," Mills said.

He and Young spent several weeks in the fall of 2001 in an unsuccessful effort to help Muhammad regain custody of his three children -- a battle that figured in Muhammad's recent trial and death sentence for the sniper killings that occurred in 2002.

In the death penalty phase of his trial, witnesses testified that Muhammad's mental state took a turn for the worse after he lost custody of his three children in a divorce battle in 2000.

At the time of his death, Young was making progress toward his longtime goal of regaining full visitation rights with his children, Mills said.

[wendl]

Brent
Thank you for posting this, dh and I just found out about Mario.

We know him personally and he was a great man who truely loved his children. Mario always was helpful, friendly, positive and there when you had a questions.

He has helped us out in so many ways words cannot explain.

His employer and ally J is just as great and truely cares about people and them having healthy relationships with their children.

Please pray for Marios friends and family.

Thank you,

Wendl

[StPaulieGirl]

Foul play, perhaps?  My sympathy to his family.  This is terrible for them.

Since he tried to help John Muhammad regain custody, he would have some good insight into Muhammad's mental state.  There really is no excuse for shooting people, and terrorizing several states.  I think that it could be useful to publish this info in the mainstream media, however.

Muhammad was court martialed for rolling a live grenade into a tent.  Did that have anything to do with his marital situation?  I'm just curious.