DV-lOO: DECLARATION OF ELLA EVANS
I, ELLA EVANS, am the Petitioner in this action and have personal knowledge of the following
facts. If called to testify, I could and would declare: BACKGROUND
The Respondent, IOAN GRUFFUDD, is my father. The Respondent and I lived together since I was born until approximately two years ago, when the Respondent moved out of the family home. Approximately three weeks ago, I moved into an apartment with my mother Alice Evans and my sister Elsie Evans Griffith (DOB: 09/13/2013, 9 years old). I currently reside with my mother and my sister.
DESCRIPTION OF ABUSE
On Friday, May 26, 2023, I was at the West Hollywood Police Station which is where my parents make custody exchanges. The Respondent drove up with a psychologist friend. I got into his car and he drove to Elsie's school to pick her up. We picked up Elsie, and Elsie had to go to her dance class. Elsie had forgotten her leotard, so I suggested multiple times thatwe could go back to our apartment which was a 10-minute drive away, since the dance classwas still an hour away. The Respondent refused and drove us to The Grove. The Respondent insisted we get a new leotard. I was overwhelmed by the number of people at The Grove, so I went back into the car. I told him to please leave me in the car and he could go get Elsie a leotard. The Respondent told me that he couldn't leave me alone in the car, so I would have to stay with his psychologist fiiend in the car. I had never met this man before, and he is approximately late 70 to 80 year old. I texted my mother because I started to have a panic attack.
As background, the Respondent's friend Iris would always be present when my dad picked me up. I repeatedly told the Respondent that I did not want to have Iris present since she made me uncomfortable. But the Respondent would tell me that I'm lying, and that she's a very nice person and that she will always be there. During my panic attack at the parking lot of The Grove, I ended up calling my mother, and I started . I had a full-blown . attack. . attack . and the bawllng. panlc My pamc contlnued,
Respondent came back with Elsie. The Respondent told me to calm down, calm down. The Respondent drove us to Elsie's dance class and we dropped her off. In the parking lot, my dad told me that I could step outside of the car by myself to have a moment. While I was in the parking lot, my sister started having a panic attack in the bathroom of her dance class, and she called my mother. My mother is willing to testify at the hearing on this case. I called my mom, and my mom told me that Elsie was in the bathroom crying, so I went to go check on Elsie. I saw my sister crying. We agreed that she was too panicked to do her dance class and that we should go with the Respondent to his apartment which was the original plan. I had not been to the Respondent's apartment in 2 years, and I've been there twice. We drove to the apartment and went upstairs, including the psychologist friend. I saw that the Respondent's girlfriend was at the apartment. I had known of his girlfriend, but I had never met her before. I called my friends because I felt safer with them on the phone.
I was so mad at my dad because this was an overnight visit, and I had told him in the past that I didn't want to meet his girlfriend who was now his liven girlfiiend. Rather than listen to my wishes, my dad had the court order the overnights while his girlfriend was living with him. I was so upset that I threw milk on his bed, I poured mustard on the floor, and I threw raw oatmeal on him. The Respondent and his girlfriend were calling me "manipulative," "abusive," and "narcissistic." I decided I couldn't be in that apartment anymore. As I was trying to leave through the front door, and before I could even reach the front door, the Respondent's girlfiiend was trying block me from leaving, raising her arms to block me. I was able to make my way around her, and I opened the door. I was able to walk halfway outthe door, but while I was still in the door frame, the Respondent's girlfriend slammed the door on me, causing the door to hit me on the head as well as my arm. My arm got bruised, and I had a small bump on my head. My sister was right behind me when this happened. See Exhibit "A," photographs of my injuries. I tried to run down the stairs since we were on the second floor. The Respondent caught up with me and he was trying to stop me from leaving, and trying to grab me, and I kept dodging him. I kept screaming, "Don't touch me! Don't touch Inc!" I was able to get away, and I ran outside with my sister. We ran for a while and eventually my dad caught up to us. The Respondent told me to come back, and I told him, "Your girlfriend slammed a door on
me!" And the Respondent kept saying, "No she didn't, no she didn't, stop lying."
My sister and I ran faster until we lost him. I called my nanny Gloria Flores, and I asked her to pick me and my sister up. My nanny Gloria coordinated with Elsie's friend's dad would pick us up from our old house which was two blocks away from our current location. While
I was heading to the pickup location, I saw my dad's psychologist friend and my dad trying to catch up with us.
We ran over to the pickup location waiting for our ride, and Elsie's friend's dad arrived in his car, and right behind him in another car was the Respondent and his girlfriend. I got into the fiiend's car, and the friend's dad talked to my dad, and they came to an agreement thatElsie's friend's dad would drop me and Elsie off at my mom's apartment, and my dad would follow behind the car. That's what happened, and that's what ended the incident.
The next day, my mother saw the bruise on my arm and she called the police. The Beverly Hills police arrived and we reported the incident from the day before to the police. The Beverly Hills referred us to the West Hollywood police station since the incident occurred in West Hollywood. See Exhibit "B," police brochure regarding the incident.
Gloria Flores my nanny, and Dennis Hauk who is Elsie's fi'iend's dad have agreed to testify at the hearing for this case.
HISTORY OF ABUSE
Recently in the past 2 years since the Respondent has left me and my family, anytime I
mention my feelings or opinions to the Respondent, he calls me a liar and a gaslighter. He calls me a brat, calls me a manipulator, and a narcissist.
The Respondent has threatened to call the police on me anytime I misbehave during his visitation time in the past 2 years.
I am afraid of the Respondent for my personal safety, and respectfully ask the Court to issue a Restraining Order for five years.
I declare under penalty of perjury, under the laws of the State of California, that the foregoing is true and correct.
Executed this day
05[3l I 1023
(date), at
Santa MONCA
(city), California.
ELLA EVANS
