Boater Brian Hooker, whose wife mysteriously vanished in the Bahamas in April, was previously accused of threatening his former spouse with “an accident,” according to newly uncovered court documents.
The 59-year-old husband of missing mom Lynette Hooker was years before accused of physical abuse, harassment, violent outbursts, and disturbing porn use by his ex-wife, Elizabeth Hoseth, according to documents uncovered by the Daily Mail.
Hoseth — who died in June 2024 — had successfully obtained a personal protection order (PPO) against Hooker, claiming the Marine veteran had threatened her during their divorce in 1999.
“In our most recent phone conversation, he suggested that I not mess with him, that there could be an ‘accident,’” Hoseth wrote in court filings in October of that year, just months after she had begun divorce proceedings with the father of her young child.
“I tried to get him to elaborate… he just said, ‘Everyone knows how I am, there could be an accident,’” wrote Hoseth in her application for a PPO from a judge in Grand Rapids, Michigan.
The couple had married in February 1997 in Kentwood, Michigan, but Hoseth had filed for divorce a little more than two years later.
While her first request for a PPO was denied, her second attempt in November 1999 at Kent County Circuit Court succeeded.
“The reason that I am requesting the PPO is because my husband has a violent temper,” Hoseth wrote in a handwritten letter submitted in her application, as she painted a disturbing picture of their marriage.
“During the course of our marriage he drank, indulged in pornography and was verbally, emotionally and physically abusive to me,” she wrote.
“I have been kicked, pushed down, spat on by him. He also during his ‘rages’ would destroy things such as rocking chairs, telephones etc… My walls have plenty of ‘marks’ left by him,” Hoseth continued.
“He was also verbally and emotionally abusive to my first 2 children from my first marriage. He is also a thief. He took the equity check from my house, forged my signature, cashed it, and kept the money,” read the letter.
Under the order, Hooker was banned from entering Hoseth’s house, “attacking, beating, molesting or wounding,” her, “threatening to kill or physically injure,” her, and taking away her child, according to the documents.
“Whenever he doesn’t think things are going his way… he will threaten and harass!” she wrote.
Granting the divorce in October 2000, a judge gave Hoseth physical custody of the couple’s daughter but shared legal custody.
In a 2001 filing, it was revealed Hooker was in a new relationship with Lynette, who would later become his new wife.
Lynette, 55, vanished in the Bahamas on April 4, after her husband reported her accidentally falling overboard from the couple’s dinghy in rough waters as they returned to their yacht.
Her body has never been recovered, and Hooker has categorically denied any wrongdoing.
While he was initially detained and investigated, Hooker was subsequently released without formal charges after five days and flew back to the United States.
In early June, a close friend claimed Hooker may have fled to Mexico by boat, although federal and legal experts have subsequently said that is unlikely.
He has not been formally charged with a crime and recently hired a new high-profile defense attorney, Crystal Marie Hause, who formerly worked for the Department of Justice.
The US Coast Guard recently concluded their major forensic dive operation and seized the couple’s dinghy.
Lynette’s family has also accused Hooker of having some involvement in her disappearance.
Hauser did not respond immediately to requests for comment about her client.