Family Court Records Outline Dekraai Legal Wranglings

Buried in a labyrinth of court documents stretching back four years is a litany of he-said, she-said accusations that might have helped trigger in a Seal Beach salon.

As the paperwork mounted, so did the accusations between accused killer Scott Evans Dekraai and his second ex-wife, Michelle Fournier.

• He claimed she drank too much—sometimes while caring for their son
• She said he was physically abusive during their marriage
• He said she harassed him with multiple phone calls
• She claimed he was using a disability settlement to file more court papers and run up her legal bills

These and other details from the former couple's legal battle emerged the day after the mass shooting shocked Seal Beach.

Court records show that Fournier and Dekraai, who divorced in 2008 after just a few years of marriage, clashed repeatedly over custody of their 8-year-old son, money and other issues.

At one point, even Dekraai's stepfather joined the legal fray, claiming Dekraai attacked him in front of Dekraai's son, age 4 at the time.

According to the Los Angeles Times, Dekraai had to move out of his stepfather's home, was barred by the court from owning firearms and was ordered to complete a 52-week batterer intervention program.

But most of Dekraai's legal skirmishes revolved around the divorce and custody of his son, Dominic.

Most recently, Dekraai sought to change the couple's 50-50 custody arrangement to give him more time with the boy, according to Mary Cate of the the Santa Ana law firm that represented Michelle.

Dekraai based his request on Fournier's alleged lack of parenting skills.

He also sought to have Dominic's school location changed.

Other legal documents outline a veritable war between Fournier, a hairdresser, and Dekraai, a tugboat employee who stopped working after a .

Money was a major battleground.

Dekraai paid $1,500 a month in child support. Fournier wanted more. In April, she asked Dekraai to pay her legal bills, claiming he had recently come into money from a disability settlement.

She also claimed he was using that settlement to finance various legal actions designed to drive up her legal bills. She said the high cost of fighting Dekraai in court had drained her checking account, forcing her to borrow from friends and run up credit card debt.

In 2007, Dekraai filed court documents saying his ex-wife called him multiple times a day and left "nasty messages" and that his psychiatrist suggested he limit their phone time.

The psychiatrist requested they communicate only by email.

In 2008, a court order limited phone conversations between Dekraai and Fournier to once a week for 10 minutes. The order said the topic of conversation had to be their child, with an exception for emergencies.

The order also forbade Fournier from drinking alcohol while she had custody of the boy or on the day before she picked him up, according to court records.

The skirmishes continued into 2011, with no fewer than five court hearings scheduled, including one on the docket for December of this year.

During this year's legal back-and-forth, a court-appointed psychologist was assigned to determine the best interests of their son. The expert returned a sealed report on Monday of this week.

A hearing on the report was set for Tuesday but the parties agreed the matter could not fully be resolved that day. A new court date was set for Dec. 20.

"They were going to have a hearing ... but he didn't give us a chance to do that," Cate said.

Watch: Thousands Turn Out For Vigil

Cal State Fullerton Slayings Set the Bar on Terror

The Mind of a Mass Murderer

A Tragedy In Their Golden Years

--City News Service contributed to this report.