[NJ] 4 voices rising for slain sgt.'s wife, Barbara Vanaman. Counseling records ordered.

Witnesses said Barbara Vanaman told them of an assault by her police Sgt. husband during which she said he grabbed her by the throat & threw her into a wall.

Previous entries:

• [NJ] Barbara Vanaman shot & killed by police officer husband
• [NJ] Millville Police Sgt. Vanaman charged with murdering wife, Barbara
• [NJ] Police Sgt. Vanaman 's NEW excuse for killing wife Barbara? [Oct. 2007] - The I-shot-my-wife-in-self-defense was forseeably crumbling for Millville Police Officer Robert Vanaman as the prosecutor insisted that he can show that Vanaman's wounds (surface scratches) were self inflicted. Now it looks like his attorney is exploring blaming the gun for accidentally firing instead - the same gun that Vanaman said he deliberately shot at Barbara, - TWICE - to protect himself...
• [NJ] Stopping wife-killer Officer Vanaman from claiming self-defense
• [NJ] Slow-mo shuffle towards the murder-of- Barbara trial
• [NJ] Wife-murder trial of (free as a bird) Sgt Vanaman could get delayed
• [NJ] Millville Police Sgt. Vanaman denied venue change for his murder-of- Barbara trial
• [NJ] Any excuse to think of slain Sgt's wife Barbara Vanaman is a good one
• [NJ] Wife-killer Sgt. Vanaman pre-trial hearing postponed
• [NJ] Sgt. Vanaman's murder-of-Barbara trial date tentatively set for March
• [NJ] Almost 3 years after killing his wife Barbara, Sgt. Vanaman presents the "nut & slut" defense
  

THIS MONTH SO FAR:

WITNESSES: VANAMAN ABUSED WIFE
Vineland Daily Journal
By TIM ZATZARINY Jr.
March 6, 2009
[Excerpts] ...Karen Klaus, assistant director of the [Creative Achievement Academy of Vineland] school, recalled a Monday morning in April 2006 when the normally composed Barbara Vanaman came into the office looking haggard and very upset. Barbara Vanaman said her husband [Millville Police Sgt. Robert Vanaman] grabbed her by the throat and slammed her into a wall after she arrived home from a class trip to the Penn Relays, a track and field event in Philadelphia the previous Friday... [Full article here]

VANAMAN TRIAL HEARING CONTINUES
The Bridgeton News - NJ.com
By JASON LADAY
jladay@sjnewsco.com
Tuesday, March 10, 2009
[Excerpts] A hearing on whether the marriage counseling records of the late Barbara Vanaman should be made public in the murder trial of Millville Police Sgt. Robert Vanaman is set to resume today... Vanaman's attorneys stated Nina Kardos, a marriage counselor who resides in Maple Shade, held two sessions with the husband and wife. However, the counselor has said it will take a court order for her to release the records of those sessions. The defense has argued the wife and mother had a history of abusive behavior toward her spouse and others, and had moved out of the family home to be with a "lover" three days before her death. It has been reported that two of Barbara Vanaman's coworkers on Thursday testified that she had stated she had been abused by her husband on at least two occasions... In addition, Barbara Vanaman's then boyfriend, identified as Joel Dugan, reportedly testified Vanaman had left their motel to go home days before her death for fear of losing her children... In addition, the upcoming trial is expected to attract some national attention, as producers from the CBS documentary and news television show "48 Hours" had last year requested interviews with both Vanaman and his attorney Joseph O'Neill... [Full article here]

VANAMAN TRIAL: JUDGE ORDERS RELEASE OF VICTIM'S COUNSELING RECORDS
Vineland Daily Journal
By TIM ZATZARINY Jr.
March 10, 2009
[Excerpts] A Superior Court judge this morning ordered a Maple Shade therapist to provide counseling records for the upcoming murder trial of Robert Vanaman, a Millville police sergeant who killed his wife in 2006... Vanaman’s attorneys said the records will help prove Barbara Vanaman was mentally unstable... [Full article here]

JUDGE: RELEASE VANAMAN COUNSELING RECORDS
Vineland Daily Journal
By TIM ZATZARINY Jr.
March 11, 2009
[Excerpts] ...[Judge Martin] Herman on Tuesday also denied a defense request to exclude from the upcoming trial testimony by four prosecution witnesses who took the stand during a pretrial hearing last week.. A fourth witness, Vineland-based attorney Rick Tonetta, said he met with the Vanamans one day before the fatal incident to discuss their plans to divorce and, when he spoke to Barbara Vanaman privately, she recounted a separate incident in which she said her husband "put his hands on her" and pushed her... [Full article here]
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