Explosive marriage secrets of wife who vanished from Bahamas love boat… as bombshell court papers come to light
A woman reported missing by her husband who claimed she fell overboard while they boated in the Bahamas, has been branded the ‘aggressor’ in their marriage after a newly surfaced allegation of domestic violence.
Lynette Hooker, 55, plunged into the waters off the Abaco Islands while traveling with partner Brian Hooker, 59, on Saturday.
The couple have been married for more than two decades and spent the past four years as boat-life vloggers living on their yacht Soulmate.
Their blog paints a picture of two seemingly in love people who ditched their life in suburban Michigan for a happy nomadic life at sea.
But newly unearthed court documents reveal accusations of domestic violence in the couple’s picture perfect marriage – with Brian’s lawyer now branding her an ‘aggressor’.
Police were called to the couple’s home in February 2015 after an alleged violent altercation that saw both Lynette and Brian accuse each other of assault.
When probed about the alleged abuse, Brian’s attorney Terrel Butler told the Daily Mail: ‘I have not discussed this with my client yet, but to my understanding she’s the only one that was charged in that incident.’
‘I will say this [arrest] clearly changes the image that has been portrayed of him as being violent or an aggressor.’
Lynette Hooker was arrested for domestic violence at her Kentwood, Michigan home in February 2015, court records show
Lynette went missing in the Bahamas after falling overboard during a boat ride with her husband Brian on Saturday. She is said to have fallen from a dinghy as the couple were making their way back to their sailboat
Asked specifically if Brian had a history of violence, Butler reiterated that her client has denied the allegations of abuse.
‘The facts speak for themselves,’ she continued, speaking about the investigation into the alleged incident.
‘Rest assured, if it had shown him being the aggressor there would have been some record of that.’
Brian was arrested on Wednesday in connection to Lynette’s disappearance, throwing their marriage into public scrutiny.
Lynette’s heartbroken daughter Karli Aylesworth also called for a full investigation into the tragedy after accusing Brian of having previously threatened to harm his wife.
But a deep dive into their relationship has revealed that the alleged spousal abuse is not one-sided.
Lynette was arrested in February 2015 on charges of assault and battery/simple assault after an altercation at their Kentwood, Michigan home that left Brian with a bloody nose.
He alleged that Lynette ‘struck him in the face multiple times’ while drunk, according to the police report obtained by the Daily Mail.
Lynette’s heartbroken daughter Karli Aylesworth called for a full investigation into her mother’s disappearance after accusing Brian of having previously threatened to harm his wife
Brian was arrested on Wednesday in connection to Lynette’s disappearance, throwing their marriage into public scrutiny
Brian, who was also intoxicated, was not arrested, despite Lynette having also accused him of assault during the incident.
The warrant against Lynette was ultimately denied after authorities deemed there was ‘insufficient evidence as to who started the assault.’
The alleged altercation broke out after a ‘highly intoxicated’ Lynette became upset about an intimate encounter allegedly taking place upstairs, the police report said.
Lynette believed an individual named Jacob Hooker was ‘fooling around’ with an unnamed person in a locked room in the house, according to the filing.
She tried to open the locked door and struck Brian in the face ‘four to five times’ after he tried to calm her down, he told police.
He told police he ‘had never been hit like that in a long time’ and ‘started to cry and became emotional,’ the report said.
Officers noted that Brian had a red, swollen and bloody nose. Lynette had no visible injuries.
It is unclear how Jacob, who according to public records was 23 at the time of the incident, is related to the Hookers.
Lynette did tell responding officers that her children had locked themselves in a room upstairs, the report stated. She alleged Brian choked her and punched her one time as she tried to get in the room.
Brian Hooker said he last saw his wife fell overboard in strong currents and he ‘lost sight of her’
Brian Hooker was arrested in the Bahamas on Wednesday in connection to Lynette’s disappearance. He ‘categorically and unequivocally denies any wrongdoing’
Brian was arrested in the Bahamas on Wednesday. The Royal Bahamas Police said Brian he questioned ‘on probable cause’ and was taken into custody as a suspect in connection with his wife’s disappearance.
He has not been formally charged.
Brian ‘categorically and unequivocally denies any wrongdoing’ and is cooperating with authorities, Butler said in a statement.
Officials said the couple were experienced sailors who had been traveling together for more than a decade, often documenting their life at sea on social media.
On Saturday evening, they took out an eight-foot motorboat from Hope Town in the Bahamas, but only Brian returned.
He told authorities that his wife fell overboard with the boat keys as they were returning to their yacht ‘Soulmate’, causing the engine to shut off and forcing him to paddle to the shore.
In a statement to the Daily Mail earlier this week, Brian said he is ‘heartbroken’ by his wife’s disappearance, describing the incident as a ‘boat accident in unpredictable seas and high winds.’
‘Despite desperate attempts to reach her, the winds and currents drove us further apart,’ Brian said. ‘We continue to search for her and that is my sole focus.’
Lynette and Brian had been married for more than two decades and lived in Onsted, Michigan
The couple had been living on their sailboat Soulmate for the past four years and were vlogging their voyage from Texas to Michigan on social media
But Karli Aylesworth has tried to poke holes in her stepfather’s story, claiming Brian only left her a voicemail about Lynette’s disappearance three days after she vanished.
In the voicemail shared with CBS News and NewsNation, Brian is heard saying: ‘Hello, honey, it’s Dad. I just got a call from Hope Town Search and Rescue, and they found the flotation device that I threw to mom when she fell overboard.
‘And uh, so they’re, that’s a, they haven’t found her yet, but they’re, they can now focus of all their efforts on in a smaller area, and they’re still out there searching today. So I just wanted to update you and let you know.
‘I love you. I’ll talk to you later bye, bye-bye.’
Aylesworth has claimed Lynette and Brian’s relationship was volatile and that they have a ‘history of not getting along, especially when they drink.’
In an interview with Fox News, she detailed an alleged history of domestic violence in her mother and stepfather’s relationship.
‘There is a history of him choking her out and threatening to throw her overboard. So, the fact that this is actually happening makes me believe there’s more to the story,’ she told the outlet.
‘There has also been a history of domestic violence in that relationship, so I do believe something might have happened to her.’
Lynette was an experienced sailor and her daughter claimed it is unlikely she would ‘just fall’ off the boat
Karli Aylesworth, now 28, pictured on mother’s lap in an undated photo
Aylesworth told NBC News that it is unlikely her mother would ‘just fall’ off the boat, saying she was an experienced sailor.
She also told WXYZ-TV she doubted her mother survived and was able to tread water that long, but hoped to find her to get closure.
Aylesworth has not responded to the Daily Mail’s multiple requests for comment.
Butler said, in a statement, that Brian’s denial of wrongdoing includes in particular ‘the allegations recently made by Karli Aylesworth.’
