Warning: The following article contains mention of self-harm and detailed descriptions of domestic abuse.
A horrifying story of mental and verbal abuse has been playing out over the past four years. A woman has been gaslit, emotionally tortured, and her children have been driven to the absolute brink of anguish, being caught between their parents and witnessing first-hand the two people they love the most in a literal battle to the death. For the purposes of this story, I must say that these accusations are alleged, but you will see that the episodes of abuse and taunting were well-documented and available to view online.
A pattern of malevolence
TikToker @therobbieharvey was unable to speak without having his voice crack while recounting the story of Catherine Youssef Kassenoff. He shares the explicit video of Allan Kassenoff screaming and spewing hatred at his wife and children on multiple occasions, while Catherine is made to do her best to calm the children, remain calm herself, and attempt to talk down the unhinged Allan Kassenoff – “a trial attorney with over 20 years of experience in patent litigation matters.”
The timeline
Catherine Youssef Kassenoff, VP and Senior Counsel at Citigroup Inc., married Allan Kassenoff in Nov. 2006. The couple had 3 daughters. She was diagnosed with cancer in 2008 and 2017. Feb. 2016 was the first alleged episode of physical abuse by Allan on Catherine. She lost custody of her children 3 years ago. Recently, Catherine was diagnosed with cancer for the third time.
Every incident and court document is outlined in full on Catherine’s Facebook profile. I took screen grabs as I fear that these posts will be confiscated by Mr. Kassenoff’s legal counsel. A deep dive of the posts reveal the story of a woman trying to keep her wits about her while having her reputation and sanity systematically destroyed by her spouse, who apparently had the clout, financial resources, and connections to do so. Here is a clip from May of 2022 of Allan apologizing for his behavior, while simultaneously screaming at the 3 girls.
On Jan. 27, 2021, Catherine’s 11-year-old daughter “took a taxi from her father’s town to mine, to escape the abuse and come to live with me. Her attorney Carol Most forced her to return to the abuse. On January 28, 2021, Carol Most ran into court to demand that my poor daughter be sent away to a therapeutic boarding school and a wilderness camp for troubled children. (Her father agreed.)”
Most recently, Allan allegedly made it legally impossible for Catherine to ever see her children again. For Catherine, now facing a terminal cancer diagnosis and the prospect of losing her children to this monster, this was the final straw. She posted a lengthy and heartbreaking suicide note to her Facebook profile.
If Catherine truly did end her life as the final solution to what should have been a temporary problem, what a horribly tragic end to this harrowing story. Catherine was a caring mother, and a review of her Facebook posts reveal the tireless efforts of a woman attempting to expose the reality of women in situations of abuse without the benefit of believability in a litigious society of men of power, including posts in support of Amber Heard and Angelina Jolie. We Got This Covered will keep you informed as more information becomes available.
If you or someone you know may be considering suicide or is in danger of self-harm, please contact the 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline by dialing 988 or by using the Crisis Text Line by texting HOME to 741741. A list of international crisis resources can also be found here.
If you are experiencing domestic abuse, or if you believe someone you know is being abused, contact The National Domestic Violence Hotline. The hotline can be reached at 1-800-799-SAFE or spoken with online via the hotline’s website. Mobile phone owners can also text “START” to the number 88788.