By Helen Hall
Kitchener Citizen
A month after she was married, Shannon Moroney lost everything - her husband, her job, her home, her health and her happiness.
Moroney was away at a conference when police officers came to her hotel room to tell her that her husband of four weeks had turned himself in for kidnapping and sexually assaulting two women.
And in a split second, everything was gone.
In addition to the pain and victimization she felt by her husband’s betrayal, she was about to go through a journey where she would be judged by the public, legal professionals, her employer and even some friends.
Moroney has detailed her story in the book Through the Glass that was published by Random House of Canada in September.
“This is the book I needed to read when this happened to me, but I couldn’t find it anywhere,” she says.
Moroney married Jason Staples in October 2005 and they lived in Peterborough. She was a teacher and he worked at a health food store.
Moroney knew that Staples had spent 10 years in jail for second degree murder. After they met, he told her that he had a difficult childhood and was abandoned by his mother. He had beaten a woman to death after an argument when he was 18.
As their relationship developed, Moroney met with Staples’ parole officer and psychiatrist who deemed him completely rehabilitated and said he posed no threat to re-offend. After a couple years of dating, Staples and Moroney were married.
Despite knowing about Staples’ past, Moroney was shocked when the police came to her door. She saw no evidence of violence in him while they were together.
Police told her that Staples had kidnapped two women from the health food store, bound and sexually assaulted them. He then took them to their home where he was overcome with guilt. He considered suicide, but his victims talked him out of it. He eventually turned himself into police.
She returned home to her parent’s house because her home was a crime scene. When she was ready to return to work, she was told by her principal that she “represented something terrible” and she was going to be transferred away from the school where she worked and had colleagues and friends. She gave up teaching.
Even some friends accused her of exposing them to a dangerous man.
Moroney ended up suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder, one of the “ripple effects” of those victimized by crime.
Moroney continued to maintain a relationship with her husband through the trial. “I had a whole lot of questions and I needed to hold him accountable,” she said. She said he was “apologetic and remorseful” when they met to discuss the crimes.
“I also had to ask him in person ‘Why didn’t you ask for help?’” she said.
She said she did not forgive him for his crimes against the two women, but she gave him support and compassion that helped him to plead guilty as a dangerous offender who will not be released from jail. Moroney and Staples were separated in 2005 and divorced in 2009.
After the trial, Moroney realized “if I was going to rebuild my life, I was going to have to do it myself.”
She went back to school and got a masters degree and studied restorative justice for youth. She has returned to teaching part-time and volunteers as a restorative justice facilitator. Restorative justice is a method of dealing with convicted criminals in which they are urged to accept responsibility for their offences through meeting and communicationg with victims, and making amends to the victims and the community.
Moroney says there are some crimes, such as her ex-husband’s sexual assault on two women, “where you can’t make amends” to the victims, but the offenders need to communicate with the victims so that they can “understand their loss.”
* * *
Shannon Moroney will speak at the Victoria Park Pavilion on November 16th at 7pm. Her address is called Her Own Words: Justice, Compassion & Healing.
This event is a partnership with Community Justice Initiatives and Kitchener Public Library.
Copies of Shannon’s book will be available for purchase courtesy Words Worth Books.
Kitchener Citizen
A month after she was married, Shannon Moroney lost everything - her husband, her job, her home, her health and her happiness.
Moroney was away at a conference when police officers came to her hotel room to tell her that her husband of four weeks had turned himself in for kidnapping and sexually assaulting two women.
And in a split second, everything was gone.
In addition to the pain and victimization she felt by her husband’s betrayal, she was about to go through a journey where she would be judged by the public, legal professionals, her employer and even some friends.
Moroney has detailed her story in the book Through the Glass that was published by Random House of Canada in September.
“This is the book I needed to read when this happened to me, but I couldn’t find it anywhere,” she says.
Moroney married Jason Staples in October 2005 and they lived in Peterborough. She was a teacher and he worked at a health food store.
Moroney knew that Staples had spent 10 years in jail for second degree murder. After they met, he told her that he had a difficult childhood and was abandoned by his mother. He had beaten a woman to death after an argument when he was 18.
As their relationship developed, Moroney met with Staples’ parole officer and psychiatrist who deemed him completely rehabilitated and said he posed no threat to re-offend. After a couple years of dating, Staples and Moroney were married.
Despite knowing about Staples’ past, Moroney was shocked when the police came to her door. She saw no evidence of violence in him while they were together.
Police told her that Staples had kidnapped two women from the health food store, bound and sexually assaulted them. He then took them to their home where he was overcome with guilt. He considered suicide, but his victims talked him out of it. He eventually turned himself into police.
She returned home to her parent’s house because her home was a crime scene. When she was ready to return to work, she was told by her principal that she “represented something terrible” and she was going to be transferred away from the school where she worked and had colleagues and friends. She gave up teaching.
Even some friends accused her of exposing them to a dangerous man.
Moroney ended up suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder, one of the “ripple effects” of those victimized by crime.
Moroney continued to maintain a relationship with her husband through the trial. “I had a whole lot of questions and I needed to hold him accountable,” she said. She said he was “apologetic and remorseful” when they met to discuss the crimes.
“I also had to ask him in person ‘Why didn’t you ask for help?’” she said.
She said she did not forgive him for his crimes against the two women, but she gave him support and compassion that helped him to plead guilty as a dangerous offender who will not be released from jail. Moroney and Staples were separated in 2005 and divorced in 2009.
After the trial, Moroney realized “if I was going to rebuild my life, I was going to have to do it myself.”
She went back to school and got a masters degree and studied restorative justice for youth. She has returned to teaching part-time and volunteers as a restorative justice facilitator. Restorative justice is a method of dealing with convicted criminals in which they are urged to accept responsibility for their offences through meeting and communicationg with victims, and making amends to the victims and the community.
Moroney says there are some crimes, such as her ex-husband’s sexual assault on two women, “where you can’t make amends” to the victims, but the offenders need to communicate with the victims so that they can “understand their loss.”
* * *
Shannon Moroney will speak at the Victoria Park Pavilion on November 16th at 7pm. Her address is called Her Own Words: Justice, Compassion & Healing.
This event is a partnership with Community Justice Initiatives and Kitchener Public Library.
Copies of Shannon’s book will be available for purchase courtesy Words Worth Books.
MORONEY IN KITCHENER NOVEMBER 16
Author details her journey from betrayal to healing
Author details her journey from betrayal to healing
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