Kurt Busch’s jilted ex says she is not a ‘trained assassin’ (Update)
01/15/15
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| Patricia Driscoll, jilted ex-lover of Kurt Busch, practicing on the shooting range. Busch claims she is a trained assassin. There is video where she brags about her lifestyle and profession involving guns |
Patricia Driscoll reiterated Wednesday that she is not a "trained assassin," an allegation made by former boyfriend Kurt Busch during a Delaware Family Court hearing Tuesday.
Driscoll is seeking a protective order against Busch, whom she accuses of assault for allegedly smashing her head against his motorhome wall Sept. 26 at Dover International Speedway. Four days of testimony concluded Tuesday, and a decision from the family court commissioner handling the case won’t come for at least another two weeks.
Busch's claim during testimony Tuesday that Driscoll, who owns a defense contracting company, is a "trained assassin" made national headlines and has been a hot topic on social media in the past two days. Driscoll responded to the comment and Busch's testimony in a statement sent to reporters Wednesday.
"Over the past 7 years I have worked on a movie script with producers about a female CIA operative and her work on classified missions for the U.S.," Driscoll said in a statement. "The script was bought by a couple different production companies.
"Over the years, many people have heard the many variations the script has taken each time it was purchased by another studio. Mr. Busch has seen and given commentary to me on the latest script because some of the stories he told on the stand are straight from the script."
If the commissioner rules that Driscoll has reason to fear the 2004 Cup champion, it can issue a no-contact order. Driscoll also has asked that the Stewart-Haas Racing driver undergo a psychiatric evaluation.
Driscoll is CEO of a defense contractor, which sells surveillance, tactical gear and non-lethal weapons. She also is CEO of the Armed Forces Foundation.
"Mr. Busch's statements in court serve to confirm my belief that he needs professional counseling to deal with his alcoholism and issues of depression," she said in her statement. "Since day one I have stood by my statements that my motive was not greed but in fact concern for the man I loved.
"I have previously shared my concerns for Mr. Busch's mental state since the onset of this case only to be dismissed by his legal team. Perhaps now his family and those around him recognize his fragile state and will provide him the mental health care and support he needs. He clearly believes fiction is reality and that's all the more reason he needs help."
As far as the assassin allegation, Busch testified : "Everybody on the outside can tell me I'm crazy, but I lived on the inside and saw it firsthand."
He told reporters after the hearing Tuesday: "I'm just glad that the truth got told and that we'll wait on the commissioner's decision."
Driscoll claimed in the hearing that Busch put his hands on her neck and smashed her head against his motorhome wall after Busch was despondent over a poor qualifying effort at Dover. Busch claims she came into his motorhome uninvited , demanded that she tell her 9-year-old son that their relationship is over and he cupped her face trying to diffuse a situation where he had repeatedly asked her to leave.
The family court hearing is separate from the criminal investigation that is in the hands of the Delaware attorney general's office. But prosecutors can use the testimony in the civil case to help determine whether to charge him with domestic abuse. Busch had already been interviewed by police after Driscoll filed a complaint Nov. 5. The attorney general's office said Wednesday there is no timetable for a decision on whether to file charges. If prosecutors want to charge Busch with a felony, they would have to go to a grand jury.
According to AP, both Busch and Driscoll testified that they argued after the race in New Hampshire, that he damaged the rental car and she left him stranded at the Boston airport.
Busch returned to the stand Monday afternoon, and, according to The News Journal , again denied the allegations while also claiming that Driscoll has said she is a trained assassin and that a character in the move "Zero Dark Thirty" played by Jessica Chastain was based on her and others. Both the newspaper and the AP reported that chaplain Nick Terry, who saw Driscoll after the alleged assault, did not notice any marks on Driscoll's neck and face.
In the final day of testimony Tuesday, Busch continued his assertion that he believed Driscoll is a trained assassin, saying he saw her in a bloody gown one night.
"It's time he starts taking responsibility for his actions and gets the help he so desperately needs," Driscoll said in an additional statement Wednesday night. "It's my hope that people aren’t distracted by the outlandish claims made by a desperate man and stick the facts of the case." Sporting News