In re S.M. CA2/5

FACTS AND PROCEDURAL BACKGROUND

I. Facts

Mother and father married in 2008, and have two children together, son (born 2013) and daughter (born 2018). At all relevant times, son and daughter lived in the home of maternal grandparents. Mother and father have a history of domestic violence. For example, in 2008, father and mother got into a fight in which mother’s leg was broken, requiring surgery. Father “punches, slaps,” “chokes,” and bites mother, and then threatens to report her and her family to immigration authorities if she reports his abuse. Son has autism and receives counseling for anxiety he has that stems from father’s violence against mother. On July 29, 2019, father choked mother so badly that she could not eat for a day because her throat was in so much pain. On August 3, 2019, father got ahold of mother’s cell phone and saw subject matter concerning mother and another man that made father angry. Father choked mother, threw her on the bed, and punched her back 10-20 times in front of their then 19-

All statutory references are to the Welfare and Institutions Code.

2 month-old daughter and 6-year-old son. Father’s violence left mother with bruises on her…