From Niesha Lofing and Andy Furillo:
The father of the Sacramento man who fatally shot two people Sunday in a New Jersey church received a restraining order in May against his son, claiming his son was abusive of family members, according to family court records.
However, Mathai J. Pallipurath asked that the order be dropped against his son, Joseph "Sanish" Pallipurath, in June, records show. A judge granted his request.
Joseph Pallipurath is accused of shooting three people, including his estranged wife, at the St. Thomas Syrian Orthodox Knanaya Church in Clifton, N.J., on Sunday.
His estranged wife, 24-year-old Reshma James, died that afternoon, and Daniel John Malloosseril, 23, died that night. Parishioner Silvy Perincheril, 47, who also is James' cousin, is in critical condition, according to Clifton police Capt. Robert Rowan.
The elder Pallipurath filed the domestic violence restraining order request May 23 on behalf of himself; his wife, Thresia; and their son, Lukose, now 21, court records show. The order barred Joseph Pallipurath from coming within 100 yards of those people, their south Sacramento home, and Mathai Pallipurath's workplace and vehicle.
The order also required Joseph Pallipurath to move out from his father's home.
In his request for the restraining order, Mathai Pallipurath wrote that the most recent date of abuse had been May 21, when Joseph reportedly threatened his father's "life and property" in front of Thresia Pallipurath.
Just a day earlier, Mathai Pallipurath wrote, Joseph had "threaten(ed) and abused his wife, ... my daughter-in-law" in front of Thresia and two other sons, according to the records. He also hit his father on the arms and pushed him to the floor, Mathai Pallipurath wrote.
That restraining order, however, was dropped at Mathai Pallipurath request on June 17, records indicate.
Court records reveal a volatile family environment: Also on May 23, Mathai Pallipurath filed a request for and received a restraining order against another of his sons, Kuriyakose Pallipurath, but dropped that order on July 17 as well.
Click here for the full updated Bee story.
Here are two accounts of the shooting from New Jersey newspapers, the Star-Ledger in Newark, and the Record in Hackensack.
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