Later Found Not Guilty Of Battery, Other Charges Dropped. Family Court Battles Continue.
BOCA RATON, FL (Boca Post) — A West Boca Raton man who was arrested multiple times in 2021 for allegedly attacking his pregnant wife and violating a protection order was found not guilty of battery and also had other charges against him dropped.
1st Arrest
On December 18th, 20201, Palm Beach County Sheriff’s Office was dispatched to the Lumsden household on Swordfish Dr. in the Boca Winds neighborhood of West Boca regarding a domestic disturbance call. According to the arrest report, responding deputies found a frantic wife, Melanie Lumsden, 37, in front of the house waving them down and crying.
Melanie reported to responding deputies that her husband, Matthew Lumsden, 38, came home drunk from a Christmas party and repeatedly told her “I wish I could buy you a fat piece of shit”. Melanie said that when she asked him to leave he then grabbed her by her neck and started to strangle her and bring her to the bedroom. Melanie reported that he then threw her onto the bed and began to bite her left ring finger. Deputies confirmed that the visible injuries on Melanie were consistent with her story.
Deputies then spoke with Matthew Lumsden who said that when he got home from the party his wife was just yelling at him but he doesn’t remember anything after that. Matthew acknowledged to deputies that he knew his wife was pregnant and that they have been arguing for a while. When Matthew was in the back of the patrol car he told deputies that his wife grabbed the back of his neck first. When the deputy asked why there were no red marks he then responded by saying he didn’t want to talk anymore.
Matthew Lumsden was ultimately arrested for “784.045(1B) BATTERY KNEW SHE WAS PREGNANT DOMESTIC” and booked into the Palm Beach County Jail on 12/19 at about 12am. He spent the day in jail and was released on 12/20 at about 7:30 pm on $5,000 bond.
It should be noted that Lumsden was ultimately found not guilty of the battery charge.
Court Actions
According to court records, On 12/22/21, Melanie Lumsden and her lawyers started court proceedings to dissolve the marriage. The court paperwork suggests that Melanie has been the victim of abuse by Matthew Lumsden for an extended period of time. Melanie is seeking sole custody,
This isn’t the first time the marriage was subject to divorce proceedings. Just 6 months earlier, on 6/10/21, Matthew Lumsden was the petitioner of a similar court filing. In July, Matthew Lumsden and his lawyers requested a motion to abate the dissolution stating they needed a few months to reconcile the marriage. That was finalized in October. The marriage was ‘reconciled’.
Just prior to the petition filed by Matthew for ‘irreconcilable differences’, wife Melanie filed for a protective order against her husband in May of 2021. In paperwork submitted to the court, Melanie documents that the divorce is pending. The latest act of violence documented in the report is that Matthew slapped Melanie in the face with an open hand in front of their two daughters after he come home in his mother’s car after staying out all night.
Included in the protective order Melanie reports that she found videos on the husband’s phone of him allegedly having sex with her while she is sleeping. Melanie alleges that there is 1 video that she gave him permission to make earlier in the day; however, she claims he later made 3 unauthorized recordings of him having ‘graphic sexual intercourse with her while she was sleeping. “The 3 Videos he recorded without my consent as I was passed out! Sleeping. He Raped Me”, she adds.
2nd Arrest
On Friday, December 24th, 2021, at approximately 12:30 PM, deputies were dispatched to the Swordfish Drive home once again. The same deputy who arrested Matthew Lumsden less than a week before responded and saw Matthew with his parents in the backyard of the home that he was ordered to stay away from.
According to the arrest affidavit submitted by the Palm Beach County Sheriff’s Office, Matthew Lumsden said he believed that because his wife, Melanie Lumsden was out of the state, he was able to go to the residence. He also stated that he advised his attorney of his plans to go to the residence, and the attorney did not advise he could not go to the residence. The deputy reports that he showed Matthew Lumsden a copy of the No Contact Order, which Lumsden claims never to have seen.
Lumsden was removed from the residence and later arrested for violating a no-contact order even though the victim was out of state. The deputy notes that the court order states that “The Defendant is prohibited from being within 500 feet of the victim’s or other named person’s personal residence, even if the Defendant and the victim or other named person share the residence.”
It should be noted that the assistant state attorney down filed the felony charge to a misdemeanor and later dropped that charge altogether.
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