Suspected Florida gay-nightclub shooter Omar Mateen abused his wife during a brief marriage seven years ago, his former father-in-law said Sunday.
Mateen met ex-wife Sitora Yusufiy online and they wed after brief romance, her dad said at his home in Edison, N.J.
“They were only together three or four months,” said her father, a Muslim immigrant from Uzbekistan who wouldn’t give his name.
“She moved down to Fort Pierce, Fla., but within three or four months she called us to get away from him.”
“She was suffering physical and mental abuse from him. The cops were called on him,” he added.
Florida records show that the couple’s marriage license was filed on April 16, 2009. He obtained a divorce judgment against her that was filed July 27, 2011.
Yusufiy’s father said he never liked Mateen and was opposed to his daughter’s relationship with him because they had met online.
He said his daughter was currently living in Boulder, Colo., and was happily engaged to another man.
She told the Washington Post that Mateen “was not a stable person” and that she feared for her safety in the wake of his attack.
“He beat me. He would just come home and start beating me up because the laundry wasn’t finished or something like that,” she said, speaking on condition of anonymity.
