Custody Battle
In this Russian courtroom, American Bree Schuette is looking for justice.
She's divorcing her Russian husband, Mikhail Slobodkin, and fighting for custody of their 4 year-old daughter, Veronika.
But this is no typical divorce. Bree says that during her six year relationship with Mikhail, he beat her hundreds of times--often so seriously she needed medical treatment.
"He beat me 80 times on this arm and 100 times on this arm," she said.
The abuse started soon after they began dating in 1998, when they were graduate students at Boston University. The beatings got worse after they moved to Russia in 2000 after Veronika's birth.
And worst of all, she says that in 2002, Mikhail suffocated their year-old son Valery.
So why didn't Bree reach out for help?
"The longer the abuse went on, the harder it was for me to tell people--by the way, I'm being abused," she said.
Feeling trapped in the relationship, Bree stayed with Mikhail until last February-- when she finally fled back home to Minneapolis with just the clothes on her back and a few photos of the children--but without Veronika, who as a dual citizen could not travel without her father's permission.
Mikhail admits that he did beat Bree, but says he did so only once, and not badly.
"On the fourth of February, I really, really had a physical argument with her and I'm really sorry for that," he said, "and I will regret that every second of my life, that that happened on the fourth of February."
Bree's now back in Russia, fighting for custody of Veronika, who still lives with her dad.
We asked Mikhail if we could go upstairs to his apartment here and see Veronika, but he refused. And even though under Russian law Bree has every right to see their daughter, he won't let her see Veronika either.
Bree is not only trying to get custody of Veronika, but she's also trying to get Mikhail convicted in Russia for beating her. She's determined not only to win back her daughter, but to score a victory for all victims of domestic violence.
By Beth Knobel By Beth Knobel