Laurie Snell, the estranged wife of Pennsylvania U.S. Senate candidate Sean Parnell, testified under oath Monday that Parnell hit her, choked her, called her a "whore" and "piece of s--t" while pinning her down, and slapped one of their children so hard he left fingerprint-shaped welts under the child's shirt, among other abuse. Monday was the first of three days of custody hearings in family court. Snell is seeking primary custody of their three children, ages 8 to 12.
On one occasion, Parnell "tried to choke me out on a couch and I literally had to bite him" to get free, Snell testified. "He was strangling me." He would also scream at her on car trips for reasons she didn't understand, Snell said, including a Thanksgiving trip in 2008 where Parnell pulled over on the highway, briefly forced her out of the car, and yelled at her to "go get an abortion." She said Parnell, a decorated Army veteran, suffers from with post-traumatic stress disorder diagnosed after combat tours in Afghanistan in 2006 and 2007.
In a statement released by his campaign, Parnell accused his estranged wife of lying about unspecified details. "Let me emphatically state: I have never raised a hand in anger towards my wife or any of our three children," the statement said. "What happened today in court was not justice, nor did it have any basis in fact or truth." Parnell was in the courtroom Monday, but "his expression was not visible to reporters in the room," The Philadelphia Inquirer reports.
The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
"The sworn, public testimony — which took place after Parnell had tried and failed to win a court order silencing his wife — seemed certain to significantly damage his ambitions, after he had emerged as the likely frontrunner in a critical U.S. Senate race, one of a handful that could decide control of the chamber," the Inquirer reports. Former President Donald Trump has endorsed Parnell for the seat being vacated by Sen. Pat Toomey (R) and campaigned with him this fall.
"For Trump, the flurry of charges from Snell meant that he has now endorsed two Republican candidates shadowed by domestic abuse allegations," along with Georgia GOP Senate candidate Herschel Walker, the Inquirer notes. "Walker's ex-wife has testified that he was physically abusive and threatening toward her."
-
Political cartoons for November 2Cartoons Sunday's political cartoons include the 22nd amendment, homeless camps, and more
-
The dazzling coral gardens of Raja AmpatThe Week Recommends Region of Indonesia is home to perhaps the planet’s most photogenic archipelago.
-
‘Never more precarious’: the UN turns 80The Explainer It’s an unhappy birthday for the United Nations, which enters its ninth decade in crisis
-
Trump’s White House ballroom: a threat to the republic?Talking Point Trump be far from the first US president to leave his mark on the Executive Mansion, but to critics his remodel is yet more overreach
-
‘Not every social scourge is an act of war’Instant Opinion Opinion, comment and editorials of the day
-
Pentagon unable to name boat strike casualtiesSpeed Read The Pentagon has so far acknowledged 14 strikes
-
41 political cartoons for October 2025Cartoons Editorial cartoonists take on Donald Trump, ICE, Stephen Miller, the government shutdown, a peace plan in the Middle East, Jeffrey Epstein, and more.
-
Trump limits refugees mostly to white South AfricansSpeed Read The administration is capping the number of refugees at 7,500
-
Judge rules US attorney ‘unlawfully serving’Speed Read Bill Essayli had been serving in the role without Senate confirmation
-
Trump ends Asia trip with Xi meeting, nuke threatSpeed Read Trump had spent the last six days in Asia
-
What does history say about Trump’s moves in Latin America?Today's Big Question ‘Bitter memories’ surface as the US targets Venezuela
