The relationship between Teri Sue Jendusa-Nicolai and David Larsen was a stew of hard feelings, abuse allegations and restraining orders that prosecutors say came to a violent boil over the weekend.
After he ambushed his ex-wife with a baseball bat during a child exchange, Larsen, a 39-year-old air-traffic controller, then abducted her, sealed her in a garbage can with duct tape and stowed her in a self-storage unit in Wheeling, authorities said. She was in serious but stable condition Monday.
“This clearly was one of the more brutal kidnapping cases, primarily because of the domestic violence situation,” Assistant U.S. Atty. Mario Gonzales said.
Police and court records from Racine County, Wis., sketch a tumultuous history between Larsen and Jendusa-Nicolai that began five months after they married in 1996.
A neighbor, who said she heard fighting, called police to the couple’s house in the town of Norway, where they found Jendusa-Nicolai with a bloody nose. She claimed a pet rabbit had scratched her, but police arrested Larsen anyway for disorderly conduct and resisting an officer. The charges were later dismissed.
Deputies were called to the house four more times for domestic disputes by the time Jendusa-Nicolai, then 38, filed for divorce in 1999. The two were granted joint custody of their two daughters, and Jendusa-Nicolai called authorities three more times to complain that Larsen didn’t return the girls on time.
Shortly after filing for divorce, Jendusa-Nicolai received a two-year restraining order against Larsen after she alleged ongoing physical and mental abuse. She later sought other restraining orders.
Authorities say the pair’s sour relationship finally exploded Saturday when Jendusa-Nicolai went to Larsen’s house to pick up their daughters, ages 4 and 6.
