Judge DENIES James Heerdegen's request for a restraining order against wife Christina Ricci after he claimed the actress mixed pills and alcohol daily and would 'black out' in a drunken rage
A judge has denied James Heerdegen's request for a restraining order against his wife Christina Ricci, after he claimed she is a drunk, pops pills and is a danger to their six-year-old son.
Court documents obtained by DailyMail.com show a Superior Court of California judge turned down Heerdegen's request for a temporary restraining order, a change in custody of their son and a change in visitation rights Friday.
The ruling said there was 'no basis for emergency orders before a hearing' and that the allegations made will be 'considered fully' at a hearing already scheduled for February 11 in Los Angeles.
Heerdegen had filed a temporary retraining order against the actress Friday making blistering claims that Ricci would get into drunken rages in front of him and their son Freddie, black out and then forget everything she did when she finally came to.
Heerdegen also claimed he had to check their son's bottles of breast milk for fear of it being contaminated with alcohol she drank the night before.
His filing came just days after Ricci accused her estranged husband of physically abusing her.
She said she had to hide knives in the house because she feared Heerdegen could kill her after he allegedly said he would only feel sorry for her if she was 'dismembered into small pieces'.
A judge granted Ricci a domestic violence restraining order against Heerdegen on Wednesday, six months after she filed for divorce.
A judge has denied James Heerdegen's request for a restraining order against his wife Christina Ricci, after he claimed she is a drunk, pops pills and is a danger to their six-year-old son. The couple pictured in January 2019
Court documents obtained by DailyMail.com show a Superior Court of California judge turned down Heerdegen's request for a temporary restraining order
Ricci's attorney did not immediately respond to DailyMail.com's request for comment on Friday's court decision.
Heerdegen's attorney Larry Bakman told DailyMail.com in a statement that, though the judge denied the request for a temporary restraining order, he believes the court is 'more concerned' by the allegations made by his client than those made by Ricci.
'Despite the Court’s denial of Mr. Heerdegen’s request for temporary orders, trial has been set on a far more abbreviated schedule than that provided to Ms. Ricci,' he said.
'Trial on Mr. Heerdegen’s request is set for February 11, 2021 wherein Ms. Ricci’s is not set until March 10th.
'A reasonable inference is that the Court is far more concerned with Mr. Heerdegen’s allegations particularly with respect to the best interest and safety of the couples’ child.'
In Heerdegen's request filed Friday, he claims he feared his child was being fed with 'alcohol polluted breast milk'.
'On those occasions in which I found ''contaminated'' bottles, I would have to throw them out to ensure that our infant was not being fed with alcohol polluted breast milk,' he says in the filing.
He also includes embarrassing photos of Ricci 'in a state of severe intoxication wherein she was ''blacked out'' and passed around by numerous third parties who seem to find humor in the situation.'
He says the photos 'severely adversely affected my emotional calm and peace of mind.
The documents include messages between Ricci and Heerdegen where she apologizes for her alleged drunken outbursts.
'I get it this time,' Ricci writes. 'This morning was a huge alert'.
In other messages Ricci he labels herself a 'monster' and says she's 'detoxing.'
Heerdegen claims at one point she was so drunk she fell over while holding their baby in her arms and says she would drive their son in a car while under the influence.
He goes on to claim that Ricci once terminated a pregnancy without his knowledge.
'I was particularly devastated upon learning of this,' he said. 'It resulted in a brief separation as I left the family house in order to contemplate whether I wanted to continue on in the marriage. Ultimately I decided to reconcile with Petitioner and moved back into the family.'
Heerdegen had filed a temporary retraining order against the actress Friday making blistering claims that Ricci would get into drunken rages in front of him and their son Freddie, black out and then forget everything she did when she finally came to. Ricci and Heerdegen seen at Adelaide Airport with their son Freddie in 2018
He also included photos of Ricci 'in a state of severe intoxication wherein she has 'blacked out' and is being passed around by numerous third parties who seem to find humor in the situation'
He said the photos of a drunken Ricci 'severely adversely affected my emotional calm and peace of mind'
Heerdegen also tells of a time in August 2015 when they traveled to Savannah, Georgia, while Ricci was filming a show for Amazon.
He says they threw a small party for their son who had just turned one. Heerdegen says he left the party and returned to find Ricci drunk which 'resulted in her launching into a drunken tirade in front of my son, informing me that she had slept with a producer on her show, and calling me the most vile of names and making bizarre threats.
'The following day claimed to have no memory of what she had said or done. When I inquired about her statement that she had slept with a producer on the show, she stated to me that she most likely said that in order to ''hurt me''.
'Prior to our separation in June of 2020, would drink to excess on an almost daily basis causing her to engage in emotionally abusive and offensive conduct directed towards me wherein Petitioner during her rants and raves would typically call me a 'fu**ing cu*t,' he writes in the filing.
In court documents obtained by DailyMail.com, Heerdegen claims that Ricci would get into drunken rages in front of him and their six-year-old son Freddie. He claims he had to check baby bottles where she pumped her breastmilk for fear of being contaminated with alcohol she drank from the night before
The documents include messages between Ricci and Heerdegen where she apologizes for her alleged outbursts. 'I get it this time,' Ricci writes. 'This morning was a huge alert'. In other messages Ricci he labels herself a 'monster' and says she's 'detoxing'
Heerdegen claimed Ricci would 'typically ''black out'' after drinking to excess, and upon waking, have no memory of the events and/or abusive conduct that she had engaged in'.
While Ricci claims Heerdegen has been violent with her, he says in the filing that she once attacked him while he was on the toilet.
The 40-year-old actress accused Heerdegen of allegedly beating her, throwing her into a fire pit and mocking her with pig noises before she filed for divorce in June last year.
Ricci's allegations were included in a request for a domestic violence restraining order against Heerdegen, which a judge approved late on Wednesday.
Photos of bruises on her hands, wrists and arms were included in the court documents, which were obtained by TMZ, as proof of Heerdegen's alleged abuse.
But in Heerdegen's filing Friday, he claims any photos she has of her own bruising was caused by her hitting him.
Ricci's attorney Samantha Spector said in a statement to DailyMail.com that Heerdegen's filing is 'nothing more than a transparently abusive attempt to silence my client. It will not work. Christina will not be intimidated by Mr. Heerdegen and his barrage of misleading claims – and she remains determined to protect her family.'
Photos of bruises on her hands, wrists and arms were included in the court documents, which were obtained by TMZ , as proof of Heerdegen's alleged abuse
Painful: The actress, 40, gave proof of her injuries, which she said were a result of Heerdegen's attacks, after she 'found herself trapped in a house with a violent abuser' during lockdown
Heerdegen claims at one point Ricci was so drunk she fell over while holding their baby in her arms and says she would drive their son in a car while under the influence
A judge ordered Heerdegen to remain at least 100 yards away from Ricci and their son Freddie. He also cannot have visitations with the boy and must stay away from the family's dog.
Heerdegen's lawyer, Larry Bakman, said his client 'unequivocally denies all allegations of abuse made by Ms Ricci.'
He said Heerdegen, who works as a cinematographer, intends to file his own restraining order against Ricci that he claims will reveal 'her abusive conduct fueled by alcohol and substance abuse'.
He also claims that her restraining order is a preemptive fabricated strike against him.
In Ricci's filing, she claimed the alleged abuse at the hands of Heerdegen started in late 2019.
During a family vacation in New Zealand that year, the Addams Family star claimed she feared Heerdegen 'could kill me' because of comments he made.
'He said the only way he could feel sorry for me is if I were dismembered into small pieces,' Ricci alleged in the filing.
'That night I hid all the knives in the cabin where we were staying. I feared for my life and the life of our son. I slept in a separate bedroom with Freddie and I locked the door.'
She claims Heerdegen 'brutally attacked' her in December 2019 where he allegedly beat her, spat at her and mocked her with pig noises.
This incident was what Ricci said sparked her decision to divorce her husband of eight years.
Injuries: Ricci, who is represented by lawyer Samantha Spector, submitted court photos of bruises and other injuries she said were a result of Heerdegen's attacks on her
Ricci claims she told Heerdegen she wanted a divorce but it was hindered by the start of the COVID-19 pandemic in March when lockdown quarantines were first initiated.
She said in the filing that she found herself 'stuck in the house with a man who had physically and emotionally abused me, and knew that I wanted to end the marriage'.
Ricci alleges that Heerdegen 'focused solely on punishing and terrorizing me 24 hours a day... I was afraid to sleep at night.'
The filing details two instances in June where Heerdegen allegedly physically attacked her.
The first was June 2 when she claimed Heerdegen allegedly chased her through their house to stop her from calling 911.
'He grabbed my wrists and hands, dragged me, and slammed my body into the fire pit we have in the yard,' she said in the filing. 'I suffered cuts, bruising, and soreness of my hip, which still causes me pain today.'
The couple married in 2013 after two years of dating. Ricci filed for divorce in June 2020 citing irreconcilable differences as the reason why she wants to end the marriage. They are pictured in February 2019
The second occurred on June 25 when Ricci alleged that her estranged husband followed her through the house while 'screaming at me, spitting on me, throwing coffee at me and throwing a chair at me' in front of their son.
She called 911 in that instance was given an emergency protective order against him that prohibited any contact between the couple.
The court documents detail Ricci's fear that Heerdegen will harm their son, claiming that he has allegedly threatened to 'abduct' the boy.
In addition to the restraining order she requested, Ricci also asked the court to block Heerdegen's potential efforts to 'humiliate and embarrass' her with audio and video clips he amassed during their relationship.
The couple married in 2013 after two years of dating. They met on the set of ABC's Pan Am.
Ricci filed for divorce in June 2020 citing irreconcilable differences as the reason why she wants to end the marriage.
She is asking for sole custody of their only son.