HARLAN, Iowa (AP) — A Kansas man has asked an Iowa judge to let him engage in a sword fight with his ex-wife and her attorney so that he can “rend their souls” from their bodies.
David Ostrom, 40, of Paola, Kansas, said in a Jan. 3 court filing that his former wife, Bridgette Ostrom, 38, of Harlan, Iowa, and her attorney, Matthew Hudson, had “destroyed (him) legally.” The Ostroms have been embroiled in disputes over custody and visitation issues and property tax payments.
The judge had the power to let the parties “resolve our disputes on the field of battle, legally," David Ostrom said, adding in his filing that trial by combat "has never been explicitly banned or restricted as a right in these United States."
He also asked the judge for 12 weeks' time so he could secure Japanese samurai swords.
His motion filed in Shelby County District Court stemmed from his frustrations with his ex-wife's attorney, Ostrom told The Des Moines Register.
"I think I've met Mr. Hudson's absurdity with my own absurdity," Ostrom said, adding that his former wife could choose Hudson to act as her champion.