Catherine Kassenoff battled hardened criminals and gang members as a federal prosecutor and beat breast cancer twice, but said New York’s family justice system would be what killed her.
In a letter published on facebook on May 27, a Westchester, NY mother of three announced she was to die by assisted suicide in Switzerland later that day.
“It is with deep sorrow…that I write my last message. Today I will end my own life…For the past four years of my life, I have woken up every day to a nightmare like no other,” she wrote in her public suicide note.
Catherine, 54 years old and a lawyer who once served as special adviser to New York Governor Kathy Hochulwrote that she had recently been diagnosed with terminal cancer – but blamed her decision to die then, and by assisted suicide, on her ex-husband’s ongoing alleged abuse and a messy custody battle.
A Westchester Family Court order had cut her off from all contact with her three daughters, aged 9, 12 and 13.
Although she had no criminal history, mental health issues or history of substance abuse, Catherine claimed, the court took her home, her dogs and her savings and continued to deny her the visits with her children.
“I cannot survive this torment and grief that comes from such a prolonged separation from my children,” she wrote. “The justice system did this to me… It’s a predatory system that operates in the dark – through ‘gag orders’ like the one in my case, through a file not accessible to the public, through a closed courtroom and through an ex parte “temporary” procedure. orders that have been in place for years.
Friends who saw Catherine’s alarming social media post say they immediately reached out.
In May 27 text messages seen by The Post, Catherine’s friend and colleague Jonathan Davidoff pleaded with her not to kill herself, to which she replied: ‘I can’t put my kids through this anymore , Jonathan. Please fight the fight I can’t.
Cobie Jane, a friend and mother who is also struggling with the family court system after being cut off from her children in 2018, described Catherine as “laser focused on supporting her daughters”.
She said she wrote to Catherine just after she received an electronic version of the suicide note and Catherine replied: ‘So happy to hear from you and so sad for both of us. Please use my story to effect change. Please don’t use it to give up too. I feel so completely connected to you.
No one The Post spoke to has heard from Catherine since.
According to Ms. Magazineattorney Wayne Baker, Catherine’s executor, said he was awaiting final confirmation of her death, which could take four to six weeks.
Like many of Catherine’s friends, he thinks she decided to die in Switzerland because she felt she had no other choice.
“Catherine once said that someone was going to have to die before they took these things (alleged abuse by family court) seriously,” said her good friend and survivor and self-proclaimed lawyer, Elizabeth Harding Wedinstein. “Catherine was a warrior. I hope they pay attention now.
Catherine and Allan Kassenoff married in 2006 and he filed for divorce in 2019.
Friends of Catherine said that the problems for the former couple began long before the divorce proceedings began.
In videos who now have over 10 million views on TikTok, influencer @therobbieharvey recounts Allan’s alleged verbal and emotional abuse to Catherine and their daughters.
In one video, Allan is heard shouting “I hate you” at Catherine. He also calls her a “fat, old loser”.
In another disturbing video, a young girl can be heard crying in the background as Allan says he refuses to take his daughter to school: “Take your daughter. I don’t take it. She’s spoiled and I don’t take her. She will be punished by not going today.
He continues about his daughter: “I no longer have to do with her. I will no longer take her to weekend activities. I will no longer do nice things for her. She will be treated like everyone else.
The Post asked Allan’s lawyer to comment on the videos.
Catherine’s last Facebook post included a now-defunct Dropbox link that contained thousands of court documents and numerous legal documents, medical records and videos, including videos used in TikToks.
She explained that the contents of these files prove that she did nothing wrong and argued that her children were taken away following “unfair decisions” “a disgraced custody evaluator”, a lawyer motivated by money for the children and the court favoring the “moneyed party”.
Prior to her presumed death, Catherine managed to prove some of her allegations regarding dysfunctional court proceedings.
She filed a misconduct complaint against Marc T. Abrams, the custody evaluator who recommended that her ex-husband have sole custody of the girls, which resulted in Abrams’ removal from the Custody Professional Certification Board. Mental Health, New York State, Appellate Division, Supreme Court, First and Second Judicial Departments as a mental health professional.
During the proceedings, photos surfaced of the judge presiding over the case officiating at Abrams’ wedding. Catherine called out this potential bias and conflict of interest, and Judge Lewis Lubell stepped down from the case.
Carol Most, the children’s lawyer, was also fired from the case after Catherine sued her for misconduct.
The court also denied Most much of the $270,000 she had billed the Kassenoffs for the services.
According to Ms, Catherine had gone from extremely limited visits with her daughters to longer unsupervised visits.
The magazine reported that Catherine was arrested in January 2022 for breaching a protective order and approaching one of her daughters.
Subsequently, she was fired from her job in the governor’s office.
All charges were later dismissed.
In March 2023, the family therapist released a report urging the court to grant Catherine more time with her daughters, according to a report in the Dropbox files.
Despite all the new information in her favor, a new forensic evaluator, as Ms. reported, “the old misleading report of disgraced rubber Abrams stating that Catherine was manipulating her daughters.”
In May, Catherine still could not see her children.
In Catherine’s farewell statement, she wrote: “Their father has spent years and millions of dollars – over $3 million – to cut me out of our daughters’ lives… He will never back down… So long that I am alive and want to see them, they will be damaged again and again with every attempt I make. What is the purpose of this? The last thing I want to do is hurt my own children.
Allan released a statement to the Post via his attorney Gus Dimopoulous. It reads, in part:
“At every stage of this four-year custody dispute, the justice system has acted responsibly and thoroughly. Following the evaluation of a neutral forensic expert, the court ordered an immediate order granting their father sole legal and physical custody. The court also issued an urgent protective order against Ms Kassenoff eliminating unsupervised interactions with the children based on what they observed when they were with their mothers… If it is still difficult to limit the access of a parent to their children, given the circumstances of this case, it has proven to be in the best interests of the children to take these steps as a matter of urgency. The children have been in the care of our client for 3.5 years and they are safe and sound.
Greenberg Traurig, the law firm where Allan works as a lawyer, released a statement saying they were conducting an internal investigation while the father took voluntary leave to focus on his family.
At a vigil for Catherine held at the Stanz Cafe in Larchmont, NY, on Monday night, friends, justice reform advocates and more than a dozen other mothers who also say they are victims of family court swore to seek justice – saying his presumed death demonstrates the need for an immediate investigation into New York’s family justice system.
Wedinstein, who organized the event, said she believed she and Catherine were sent here to help reform the courts. “Judges kidnap children from safe and protective parents,” she said. “We have to stop this!”
If you are struggling with suicidal thoughts or experiencing a mental health crisis and live in New York City, you can call 1-888-NYC-WELL for free, confidential crisis counseling. If you live outside the five boroughs, you can call the National Suicide Prevention Hotline 24/7 at 1-800-273-8255 or go to SuicidePreventionLifeline.org.
