In Custody Battle, Man Demands 'Trial by Combat' with Samurai Swords: 'I Will Rend Their Souls'
A Kansas man challenged his ex-wife and her attorney to a “trial by combat” with Japanese samurai swords in order to settle their child custody dispute in Iowa earlier this month.
David Ostrom, 40, claimed in court documents that his ex-wife, Bridgette, 38, and her attorney have “destroyed [him] legally.”
According to The New York Post, Ostrom got the idea from a 2015 case involving New York attorney Richard Luthmann, who challenged a lawyer and his clients to settle a legal dispute via swordfight — “Game of Thrones” style.
“To this day, trial by combat has never been explicitly banned or restricted as a right in these United States,” Ostrom stated in court filings, according to the Carroll Times Herald. He said that such a method has been used “as recently as 1818 in British Court.”
Ostrom asked the Iowa District Court in Shelby County to give him three months to either acquire or forge katana and wakizashi swords.
“I now wish to give them the chance to meet me on the field of battle, where I will REND THEIR SOULS from their … bodies,” Ostrom wrote in the court filing.
Ostrom said that he would allow his ex-wife to choose her attorney, Matthew Hudson, as her “champion,” or stand-in fighter. If they do not accept the challenge, Ostrom says he should automatically win the dispute.
“Respondent and counsel have proven themselves to be cravens by refusing to answer the call to battle, thus they should lose this motion by default,” Ostrom wrote in the court filings. But if they chose to accept, he will engage them with a “blunted practice style” of sword-fighting.
Ostrom told the The Des Moines Register on Monday that the challenge stemmed from his annoyance with Hudson.
“I think I’ve met Mr. Hudson’s absurdity with my own absurdity,” Ostrom said.
Hudson filed his opposition to Ostrom’s proposed mediation tactic on Jan. 10, arguing that since a trial by combat could end in severe injury or death, the potential consequences would be too severe for a dispute over child custody.
“Although the respondent and potential combatant do have souls to be rended, they respectfully request that the court not order this done,” Hudson wrote.
“It should be noted that just because the U.S. and Iowa constitutions do not specifically prohibit battling another person with a deadly katana sword, it does prohibit a court sitting in equity from ordering same.”
Hudson asked the court order a psychological evaluation for Ostrom and suspend his visitation rights in light of the absurd request. Ostrom argued that he had no history of mental issues.
However, Ostrom said that he made the outlandish request to make a point. He told KCTV in an interview that he hopes all the attention his case has received will open up the conversation on co-parenting.
“I’m not interested in physically causing harm to anyone,” Ostrom said. He said he believes that his county’s court system is biased against men in child custody cases.
“They’ve tried to ignore me, not address equal custody, and I think this puts a spotlight on them,” he said. “I’ve kind of run out of options and no one pays attention to what I think is hardship on myself and my children.”
The court has not yet made a decision on any of the proposed motions. Ostrom told The Des Moines Register that he does not expect that the court will approve his motion, but he still would like a reply.
Though he doesn’t have any sword fighting experience, he is serious about his challenge.
“If Mr. Hudson is willing to do it, I will meet him. I don’t think he has the guts to do it.”
The Western Journal has reached out to Matthew Hudson for further comment but did not receive a response by publication time.
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