In re J.P. CA2/5

I. BACKGROUND

A. Domestic Violence Between Father and Mother Early one morning in October 2019, Father woke Mother up, accused her of being unfaithful, and demanded to look at her cell phone. After Mother refused to surrender her phone and attempted to leave the home, Father grabbed Mother by the hair and pulled her back inside the apartment, tearing hair from her scalp in the process. When Mother retreated to the bathroom, Father forced his way inside and beat Mother with the wooden handle of a plunger, fracturing one of Mother’s thumbs and leaving multiple bruises on her body. Mother was taken to a hospital where she was treated for her injuries; while being treated, Mother told the hospital staff she was a victim of domestic violence. The following day, Father was arrested. Mother gave a different account of her injuries to a social worker from the Los Angeles County Department of Children and

1 Father is not a party to this appeal.

3 Family Services (the Department). Mother conceded she and Father argued, but Mother denied the argument became physically violent. She said she sustained her injuries in a fight that occurred at a nightclub while she was out with her…