Munford Ex-Wife's Autobiography a Tale of Abuse and Sexual Assault
By
James Scott Trimm
It has been almost two years since I first broke the story that Tarrant County Family Court Judge James Munford's ex-wife, Denia Michelle Mendenhall had bravely come forward to tell the world about the her marriage to James Munford and her life of abuse and sexual assault.
If you have not read that blog Munford Ex-Wife Recounts his Abuse, Sexual Assault you should.
That blog has even further support now, with the recent publication of Munford's Ex-Wife, Denia Mendenhall's auto-biography: But for the Grace of God.
The new autobiography not only lends further testimony to the original blog, but contains new revelations as well.
The new book states ""But for the Grace of God is a nonfiction memoir, some names have been changed to protect the living." (page 2). One pseudonym used in the book is "Sam Douter". Without any doubt, Sam Douter is James Munford, who is now a Tarrant County Family Court judge.
In the new book, the former Mrs. Munford describes her relationship with her ex-husband as "a four year nightmare" (page 45) and "Four years of pure hell" (page 43) She refers to him as a "devil... risen from the depths of hell itself" (page 43) and "the first true monster who entered my life." (page 43)
She writes:
"Everything would be to Sam's liking with no variance. He was a control freak and turned out to be an abuser. He was troubled in many ways."
(page 45)
The new book reveals shocking details of the abuse the former Mrs. Munford says that she suffered under him. For example, she recounts one episode in which she used the wrong silverware, invoking his wrath:
"Then it got crazy. I was kicked under the dinner table for using the wrong silverware."
(p. 46)
She describes other episodes of "unnecessary enemas and belt beatings." She also recounts that "Sam" (Munford) would cram "crosses" into her vagina, and abuse their cat to make her cry:
"I endured unnecessary enemas, belt beatings, assorted vegetables and crosses crammed into my vagina whenever he had the urge. I just let him do whatever he wanted without questions, helpless, as tears poured down my cheeks. He possessed cruelty to the point of abusing our cat by beating it with a pair of black ski gloves and when I stopped crying, he'd put the three-legged cat he named Kitty Hook in a bathroom drawer as I wept. Until I stopped crying the second time, only then would he free her."
(p. 46-47)
She also reveals that "Sam" (Munford) would belittle her family's social status while pushing her:
"...he would push me around saying I was acting like my low-class family. ... But I took the abuse as I was trapped."
(p. 48)
Munford Gets into Law School on Denia's Back
In her new autobiography, Judge Munfrord's ex-wife also details how she helped him get into law school, all the while being abused by him:
"...I would become a 'teacher' for Sam's education.... this was my new life. I worked weekends while taking 18 hours of classes. At the same time, I typed Sam's papers to impress his professors so he could get into law school while simultaneously enduring his mental and physical abuse."
(page 46)
"...typing those papers came before any sleep."
(page 47)
"After beating me with his law school study books and having me walk with them on my head to correct my already perfect posture, he finally found a college in Houston to accept him. But not before I took bashes for every question he missed while I helped him with the LSAT study guide."
(page 48)
Munford: From Effeminate to Abuser
The autobiography relates how "Sam" (Munford) began, as his ex-wife described him "effeminate"
"... Sam grew up effeminate. He was a momma's boy. ... I discovered that his sister, Judy, had to fight for him against hos foes on the playground in middle school."
(pages 45-46)
But then she recounts that he overcompensated for this by becoming abusive:
"Sam began to overcompensate for his femininity and began to beat me into submission."
(page 45)
One day the former Mrs. Munford's realized she was living with an abuser:
"One night Sam and I went to a law school party. Some of the women gather around me noticing how pretty I was and shockingly wondered why I was married to a homosexual. I only saw Sam as an abuser, not a gay man. I told the ladies about the abuse and one lady gave me a book on abusive men. This opened my mind to what an abusive man is like. I realized then I was living with one."
(pages 50-51)
The book describes the end of their marriage writing:
"Sam was devastated and cried like a baby for me to come back, but it all fell on deaf ears. I was in the midst of goodness and happiness.... Zuki was free!"
(p. 56)
Years later she recounts:
"I conducted a testimony at Houston's Police Academy to 90 police cadets about the abuse by Sam Douter with two local channels filming."
(p 220)
Munford's ex-wife's autobiography is a story of survival of many obstacles she faced in life, including spousal abuse. She dedicates the book:
"...first and foremost to those women of our society who are hiding silently in their self-contained shells. Women who have painful, sad, scary stories to share. Please never give up, life can be at least ok."
(p. 3)
In this "Me Too" era, this is a huge and embarrassing "Me Too" problem for the Tarrant County Judiciary. Moreover, James Munford iss a sitting judge in the Tarrant County Family Courts, responsible for justice related to abused women, which itself is an injustice to the women of Tarrant County.
I encourage everyone to obtain a copy of But for the Grace of God by Denia "Zuki" Mendenhall.
