l}allasilews.tom - Dr. Richard Warshak

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l}allasilews.tom
fbr4ala* $nn:rusStbrs
Houstonboy killed his father,but why?
Farnily was torn long before lO-year-oldfired fatal shot in August
01t38 AM CST on Mondsy, Novcmbe. 1, 2004
BI BRUCE NICHOLS / Th€ Dnllff
Morning Ns s
boy,a childofbitterly
HOUSTON- Theproblemsof a lO-year-old
divorcedparents,didn't get much notice until he shothis father.Now, he'sin
custodyfacinga murderchargeand,ifconvictedasajuvenile,couldspend
mostofhis life in prison.
what.ir'ent wrong andwhat might havebeendoneto preventthe tragedy
mayneverbefully knownpublicly.A judgehasimposeda gagordet
limitingpublicdiscussion
of the caseby thosewho knowthemostaboutit.
Documents
aresealed.
PALTLS.
HOWELL/Special
Contributor
Dr. RussellMiller, a
colleague
ofthe boy's
father,is convinced
that
D€borahGeislertumed
If found "delinqu€nt"- the techniaalte.m in juvenile court - t}le boy could her sonsagainstRiok
facilitiesand,later,prison.
spend40 yearsin TexasYouthCommission
Lohstroh.
Eventually,ajudgeorjury mayhaveto decidevhethertheboy is
responsiblefor what he did. Or whetherhe wasusedby his motheragainst
his dad or somehowactedin self{efense. After the fathels death,the
moth€rrenewedchargesthat the fatherwas a child molester- those
hadbeeninvestigated
andrejected.
accusations
Somelawyerssaythe modemfamily cout systemmay figure in the tragedy,pushingdivorcing parents
to sharechild.en ratherthan having oneparentclearly in chargeandthe olher largely out ofthe child's
consequences
is limited,
life Thecourts'abilityto loreseeandpreventdisastrous
of sucharrangements
lawyerssay.
who teaches
at theUniversityofvermont. "We
Onethingis clear,saidDavidFassler,a psychiatrisl
needto getbetteral recog izing kidswho areshowingsignsandsymptomsof prcblems...andwe need
helptheyneed."
to makesuretheygetthekind ofcomprehensive
Ifs too late for the father,Rick Lohstroh,ao emergencyroom physicianat the University of Texas
MedicalBranchin Galveston.
He was4l whenhe died.
Pickng up his sons
On Aug. 27,he wentto the homeof his ex-wife,DeborahGeisler,45,in theHoustonsubutbofKaty to
gethis solrs,8 and l0
With his brother andmotherstill in the house,the olderboy climbed in the back seatof his dad'sToyota
the lo-year-oldtook out a pistolandfired five
4-Runn€r.After Dr. Lohstrohsettledintothe ddver'ssea1,
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shotsthroughthe lront seat,investigatorssay.
Thegunbelongedto Ms. Ceisler,a nurseat theUniversiryof TexasM D AndersonHospital Shetold
inveitigators shedidn't kno\t how lie boy got it becauseit had beenlockedaway unloaded
It \,r'asthe last confrontationin a relationshipthat souredshordy after the couplemarriedin Galvestooin
1989,publishedreportssay.
Whentheymetin SanAntonio,Dr. Lohstloh,a naliveofthe PacificNorthwes!wasa labtechnic;a']r
skills...weremarginal,"inthe wordsof a friend.Ms Geislerwasolder'They
whose"femal€-attraoting
afterhe wentto TexasTechmedicalschoolandshejoinedM D. Anderson
kepiin touchlong-distance
in Houston.
The coupleseparatedin January2002 andwere finally divoroedin May 2003. Sherernanieda month
andinvestigalorssaidconstables
later,bui theyiontinued fighting over cuslodyarrangements,
pick
kjds
to
up
the
he
would
come
put
when
on alert
frequentlywere
Ms. Geislerhasnot beencharged,but sheriffs deputiessayshe'sstill underinvestigation "The.e are
som€qucstionsto be answeredstill, and stufwhere the DA's going to makea decision,"said Sheriffs
Sgt.BruceWilliams, referringto the Harris County district attomey'soffice
for theirproblems,
teiling
Beforebeingsilencedby thegagorder,Ms. Geislerbiamedher ex-husband
progoant
leave
her
when
she
beoame
threatened
to
theHoustonChroniclethat he neverwantedchildren,
of angerandviolence
andhadoutbursts
Shesaidher sonwas "very angry" with Dr. Lohstrohbut that shehad no .easonto expecthe'dtake a gun
ard shoothim. "My sot is not a homicidalmaniac,"shesaid
Meanwhile,ajudge hastakencustodyofthe boys temporadlyfrom the motherandput them in the
handsoftheir paternalgnndparents,JoanneaodRichardCrreene,ofColumbia, S C They havesetup
Friendswood
in theirlateson'shomein suburban
housekeeping
Lawsuit
havefiled a lawsuitblaming
thegrandparents
While holdingtheex-wifeat leastpartiallyresponsible,
shooting,
andnamingthe manufacturer,
time
ofthe
was
taking
at
the
the
boy
Prozac,the antidepressant
lawsuit
on
the
Lilly declinedto comment
Eli Lilly & Co.,asa defcndant.
The action wasfiled asnew concemssurfacedaboul increasedsuicidalthoughtsamongsomechildren
approvedfor treatmentof kids. The FDA recentlyaddedwamingsto
orl Prczac,the ordy antidepressant
but still believes
saidthecompanywelcomesmoreresearch
docto^ abouttheissue.A Lilly spokesman
Prozac'sbenefitsfar outweighits isks.
Most mentalhealthprofessionalsdiscountProzacasa factor in the shootingofDr. Lohstroh.
"I think ifs ridiculousthatthey'refocusingon Prozaq"saidVictor Oderinde,a clinicalassistanl
prcfessorofpsychiatry at the University ofTexas Houstol SchoolofMedicine
While Prozaccanfaoilitate impulsive b€haviorin depressedchildten, ifs unlikely to trigger the kind of
planningrequiredfor a l0-yea.-oldto gethis mothelsgun,loadit andshoothis father'Dr. Oderinde
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said.
"It doesn'tworkthatway,"Dr. Oderindesaid
More importantthanProzac,someanalystssay,maybe thechild'sunderlyingdepression,
exposu.eto
violenceandthe circumstancesswroundingthe shootidg.
The boy clearly witnessedplenty oftrouble, beforeand after his parentsdivorcedin May 2003after 13
yeaasofmarriage.Friendsandneighbors
recallednumerous,
oftenviolentfights.Ms. Geisler'snew
husbandis awailingtrial on assaultchargesarisingfrom a fight with her six weeksbeforeDr. Lohstroh
wasshot
Ms. Geislerrepeatedly
accused
Dr Lohstrohofmolestingthechildren.He repeatedly
wasclearedby
investigators
andpassed
lie{etectortests.He accused
Ms. Geisler,a diabaic,ofthreatening
to kill him
with an injectionofinsulinwhile he slept.Shesaidit v/asajok€.
Ir a remarkable
tum. Ms. Geisler'smothertestifiedagainsther daughter
in thedivorce,andthejudgein
the case- who awardedtho parentsj oint custody- admonishedMs. Geislerfor makingfalse charges
againstDr. Lohstroh.
"I neversawanything" suggestinghe molestedhit children,saidRussellMiller, a UTMB emergency
room physicianwith whom Dr. Lohstrohliv€d for four moothsduring his estrang€ment
from his wife.
Dr. Lohstrohhad failings. "He was an exceptionallygood doctor,"but he "had someangermanagement
issuesliom tim€to time. ...He wouldget a little testy,"Dr. Miller said.But almostanyonewould,given
with his wife andrhefinancialp.essu.es
theconstantdisputes
ofthe divorce,Dr Miller said."He was
counseled... He hadmovedto self-co.rect."
The casetook anothe.twist after Dr. Lohstrohdied. A woman,who saidshewashis commonlaw wife,
filed a claimon his estatein probatecourt."He ca.lledherhis girlfriendor a friend.He nevercalledher
his wife." Dr. Miller said.
The womandroppedhe. claim to the estateafter he. lawyer uncoveredevidencethat she'dreceivedfood
stampswhile living in Dr. Lohshoh'shouse.Shewasforcedout ofthe homewhenajudgeorderedit
tumedover to the g.andparentsasthey took temporarycustodyofthe children.
Dr. Mille/s th€oryofthe shootingis simplg andit parallelsclaimsmadein courtby Dr. Lohstroh's
motherandstepfather:
Ms. Geislertumedtheboysagainsthim. "I'm convinced
that'swhatwasgoing
on. ... Shewouldcoachthosekidsinto hatingdaddy."
Somepsychiatistsandlawyerscall thephenomenon
"parentalalienation,"andit's gainedincreasing
in courts,althoughits validityasa diagnosis
is hody disputedin mentalhealthcircles.Some
acceptance
particularly
exp€rtssayit's ov€rused,
by fatherscountedngtlteir ex-spouse's
chargesofmolestation
If Ms. Geisler'schildabusecharges
werefalse,"thiscouldbe an exampleof... wherethe chiid'slovefor
his fatherwas poisonedto sucha degreethat he somehowconcludedhe ought to kill his father," saidDr.
RichardWarshak,a Dallaspsychiatristwho specializesin the problem.
If so, could the motherbe chargedasan accessorybeforethe fact in th€shooting?
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Unlikely, saidveteranqiminal lawyer Rusty llardin. "You hadto havespecificirtent," he said.Mere
negligenceby badmouthingth€fatherwould be insufficient.
Bul the mother'srcle could becomean issuewhenauthoritiesdecidehow responsiblethe child was for
what he did, saidUniversity of Houstonlaw professorEllen Manus. Whetherthe child rras sexually
abusedandactedin self{efensecouldalsocomeup io a trial, shesaid.
Thetragedymaybe an unintended
r€sultofwhat manyconsidflprogress.
Fifty yean ago,the impact of divorce on childrenwas lessof an issue,veteen divorcelawyer Donn
Fullenweidersaid.Courtscommonlyavr'ardedchildrento oneparent,andthe otherlargely disappeared
from their lives, he said.Whateverelsehappened,conllict wasreduced.
"Psychologicalresearchhasindicatedthat childrendo bette. ifparents areworking together,so we've
hadtlis movementtowardjoint parenting,"
Mr. Fullenweider
said."lt worksin mostof thecases.
"
Whenthereareproblems,however,the court'soptionsarelimited.
Judgescanenforcechild-sharing,ordercounselingor removechildrenfrom contactwith a misbehaving
pa.rentfor a while, saidPatLasher,a former assoaiatefamily cout judge who praaiceswith Mr.
Fullenweider.
Theyalsocanbargunsfrom th€house,shesaid.
But the court systemis designedmainly to reactto bad conductand assess.esponsibility,\rith
thempeuticoptionslimited to what divorcing spousescana$ord, which often isn't much,Mr.
Fullenweider
said.
"It's not a therapeuticsystem,andit's not a social systemto changehow peopleraisetheir children," he
said."It wasneverdesigned
to do that."
E-mail bnichois@dallauews.eom
Onlineatl
bllL/wlyw.dallaqnet siomlsharcdlollle!1ld@dr4a
t
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