EXCLUSIVE: 'Delta Karen' charged with assaulting 80-year-old man on flight 'threatened to kill her mother and stepfather' and was 'put on a psychiatric hold', according to restraining order documents

  • Delta passenger Patty Cornwall was arrested after getting into an physical altercation with an older man for removing his mask to eat and drink
  • DailyMail.com can reveal the woman's stepfather Robert Spoeri filed a restraining order against her last year claiming she 'threatened to kill' him and her mother
  • In his filing, Spoeri, 71, alleged Cornwall, 51, 'claims she is the mother' of his two 14-year-old kids and 'might kidnap them when she has a delusional episode' 
  • He also claimed Cornwall 'punched me, threatened to kill me, jumped on me, pulled my hair very hard, pounded my head into the floor' 
  • On Monday DailyMail.com revealed Cornwall is a high-flying realtor and former Playboy model and NFL cheerleader based in LA 
  • Cornwall, who worked for Coldwell Banker and Berkshire Hathaway, currently lives in a $2.8M house in the upscale neighborhood The Highlands
  • She has been seeking to relocate to a $1,200-month apartment in the Florida panhandle - a far cry from her current ritzy Los Angeles home   
  • One former neighbor backed the ex-Baywatch actress telling DailyMail.com: 'All we can say is she's a very nice lady and she must have been severely provoked' 

The former Baywatch actress dubbed 'Delta Karen' for punching an 80-year-old man in the face on a Tampa-to-Atlanta flight, threatened to kill her mother and stepfather and kidnap their children, court documents claim.

Patty Cornwall's stepfather filed a restraining order against her in July 2020 claiming she made the threats while living at their house.

Robert Spoeri's restraining order application, filed in a Los Angeles County court, says Cornwall, 51, claimed she was the real mother of his two children and he feared she 'might kidnap them when she has a delusional episode'.

Spoeri claimed his stepdaughter, who has now been released on bail following Thursday's air rage incident, had already been detained two or three times before by the authorities for mental health reasons.

'Patricia Cornwall is the daughter of my wife Yolanda Spoeri,' he wrote.

'Patricia Cornwall has threatened to kill Yolanda Spoeri and Robert Spoeri. She has physically attacked and beaten Robert & Yolanda Spoeri.  

Patricia Cornwall pictured in a November mugshot for a DUI
Cornwall, who was charged with assaulting an older passenger on a Delta flight last week, was previously accused of threatening her mother Yolanda (left) and stepfather Robert Spoeri

Patricia Cornwall (pictured left in a November mugshot for a DUI) who was charged with assaulting an older passenger on a Delta flight last week, was previously accused of threatening her mother Yolanda (right) and stepfather Robert Spoeri

Robert Spoeri, 71, a California judge, filed a restraining order against his stepdaughter last July claiming she 'threatened to kill' him and her mother and kidnap his two teenage kids (pictured) while she lived at their house

Robert Spoeri, 71, a California judge, filed a restraining order against his stepdaughter last July claiming she 'threatened to kill' him and her mother and kidnap his two teenage kids (pictured) while she lived at their house

Spoeri, 71, a California workers' compensation judge based in the affluent Los Angeles neighborhood of Pacific Palisades, detailed a vicious attack in his restraining order application.

'Patricia kicked me, punched me, threatened to kill me, jumped on me, pulled my hair very hard, pounded my head into the floor, and more, because I would not divulge where her mother was hiding. 

'Her real goal was to do far greater injury to her mother,' he wrote.

'She threatened my wife a few weeks ago and my wife had to hide in the garage and flee and spend the night at a friend's house.'

Spoeri said it was the '2nd time or 3rd time' Cornwall had been 'put on 5150 hold,' where a person can be held involuntarily in a psychiatric unit for up to 72 hours. 

He claimed he sustained 'minor cuts and abrasions, headaches, emotional trauma' from her alleged attack.

Spoeri asked in the court application for his stepdaughter to be ordered to stay 100 yards from him, his home, workplace, his two 14-year-old kids' school, his vehicle, and his church, Corpus Christi Pacific Palisades.

'Patricia is going to get her own place to live,' he wrote. 'I am afraid to have Patricia come back to our house for even one night.'   

The judge who reviewed the application, Susan Lopez-Giss, granted a temporary restraining order on July 31, 2020, telling Cornwall not to 'harass, intimidate, molest, attack, strike, stalk, threaten, assault, hit, abuse, destroy personal property of, or disturb the peace of the person.'

However, she initially denied a 'stay-away' order, saying it was unclear whether Cornwall was ill or if Spoeri's house was also her home.

'Allegations are too vague to order a stay away without a hearing,' Lopez-Giss wrote.

Spoeri, pictured with his wife and kids outside the Louvre in Paris, claimed Cornwall had already been detained twice or three times before by the authorities for mental health reasons

Spoeri, pictured with his wife and kids outside the Louvre in Paris, claimed Cornwall had already been detained twice or three times before by the authorities for mental health reasons

Spoeri is married to Cornwall's mother formerly known as Yolanda Cummings, a legal assistant in California, according to her LinkedIn page
Robert Spoeri

Spoeri is married to Cornwall's mother formerly known as Yolanda Cummings, a legal assistant in California, according to her LinkedIn page 

Spoeri said it was the '2nd time or 3rd time' Cornwall had been 'put on 5150 hold'

Spoeri said it was the '2nd time or 3rd time' Cornwall had been 'put on 5150 hold'

Spoeri claimed 'Patricia kicked me, punched me, threatened to kill me, jumped on me' during the alleged attack

Spoeri claimed 'Patricia kicked me, punched me, threatened to kill me, jumped on me' during the alleged attack 

Neither Cornwall nor her family showed up to a court hearing the following month and the case was dismissed. 

In his restraining order application, Spoeri said Cornwall would be 'going to get her own place to live.'

However, court documents for her airplane assault charge say she has been released on bail to return to her mother and stepfather's home. She was allowed to fly back to LA — not on Delta — but then a flight ban would be imposed.

Cornwall, a former actress who appeared on episodes of Baywatch and Married...with Children under the name Patty Breton, was charged with assault in Atlanta on Monday over her scuffle with the 80-year-old man on her Delta flight last week, and posted a $20,000 bond at her arraignment. 

Cornwall's previous rap sheet includes two DUI arrests, one in California and the other in Florida within 11 months of each other.

She was arrested on December 11, 2020 in Los Angeles and charged with driving under the influence of alcohol.

She pleaded no contest in March to having a blood alcohol level of 0.08 percent or higher, court records show.

She was sentenced to 36 months of summary probation and was ordered to complete community service, and she also had to enroll in a three-month first-offender alcohol and drug education counseling program. 

Cornwall was arrested again in Walton County, Florida on November 10 this year for a 3am DUI and was bailed out for $1,000 according to Walton County Sheriff's Office records.   

Cornwall was captured hitting and scratching Russell Miller during the altercation

Cornwall was captured hitting and scratching Russell Miller during the altercation

Cornwall, 51, was captured getting into a violent altercation with Miller on a flight from Tampa to Atlanta on Thursday after telling him to pull his mask up

Cornwall, 51, was captured getting into a violent altercation with Miller on a flight from Tampa to Atlanta on Thursday after telling him to pull his mask up

Cornwall also spit on Miller as flight crew members attempted to pull her away

Cornwall also spit on Miller as flight crew members attempted to pull her away 

In December last year Cornwall's sister-in-law also filed a restraining order against her.

The filing by Monica Cummings for domestic violence protection said Cornwall has a 'history of violent outbursts and destructive and erratic behavior.'

She allegedly threatened Cummings with voice messages saying 'you are dead.'

Cummings said: 'She stated I just f***** up my whole family and I neither spoke to her prior or provoked this verbal assault. [Cornwall] said not to underestimate or doubt her and all it takes is one phone call.'

DailyMail.com earlier revealed Cornwall is a high-flying realtor and former NFL cheerleader who appeared in an episode of Playboy: Cheerleaders. 

She has recently posted on line how she has been seeking to relocate to Florida, where she had been flying from last week. 

In a recent post on housing website Roomies, Cornwall wrote that she was looking for a room to rent for $1,200 a month in Okaloosa County, in the Florida panhandle. 

'Moving from California. I am single divorced and have two grown children who are overseas in UK. I have been practicing residential real estate for 13 years in Los Angeles/Westside,' she wrote in the now-deleted listing.

'I have also lived in Florida in the past few years and I'm excited to reintroduce Florida back into my life permanently. Renting a room will be a great start settling me in. Furnished is preferred.' 

The new home would be more modest than her stepfather's $2.8million house in an upscale development called The Highlands in the ritzy LA neighborhood of Pacific Palisades.

Records show Cornwall was arrested last month for driving while intoxicated after crashing her car into a tree in Walton County, Florida

Records show Cornwall was arrested last month for driving while intoxicated after crashing her car into a tree in Walton County, Florida 

DailyMail.com can now identify passenger Russell Miller as Cornwall's alleged victim. Police report shows Miller told cops he 'was punched in the face and scratched on his face eye area' by Cornwall

DailyMail.com can now identify passenger Russell Miller as Cornwall's alleged victim. Police report shows Miller told cops he 'was punched in the face and scratched on his face eye area' by Cornwall

Set on a gated street with regular security patrols, the four-bed, 3.5-bath house measures 3,117sq ft and boasts views across the canyon nestled on the Southern California coastline, according to a posting on the real estate website Zillow.  

Property records show the house was purchased in May 2016 for $1.95million and is owned by stepfather Robert Spoeri. Zillow estimates it is now worth $2.8 million.

When contacted by DailyMail.com about his stepdaughter's arrest and history, Spoeri said: 'I'm not talking about that, goodbye,' and hung up. 

Residents of the gated community share a Homeowners Association club with a pool, tennis and basketball courts and a club lounge.  

Former neighbors told DailyMail.com Cornwall is a successful realtor in the Pacific Palisades area, and owns a second house there which she rents.

Her rental property is a three-bed, one-bath, 1,631sq ft cottage estimated by Realtor.com to be worth $3.39million. 

One former neighbor, attorney Jim Frieden, joked that Cornwall had an 'anti-mask' defense against her alleged assault, and backed her.

'Good for her,' he said. 'All we can say is she's a very nice lady and she must have been severely provoked. So more power to her.

'She was our neighbor. She was a lovely lady.'

Cornwall, who worked for Coldwell Banker and Berkshire Hathaway, gave her address in court as her stepfather's  $2.8M house in the upscale LA neighborhood of Pacific Palisades

Cornwall, who worked for Coldwell Banker and Berkshire Hathaway, gave her address in court as her stepfather's  $2.8M house in the upscale LA neighborhood of Pacific Palisades

Situated on a gated street with security patrols, the four-bed, 3.5 bath 3,117sq ft house boasts views across the canyon nestled on the SoCal coastline

Situated on a gated street with security patrols, the four-bed, 3.5 bath 3,117sq ft house boasts views across the canyon nestled on the SoCal coastline

General views of the home's interior. According to a listing on a housing website, Cornwall has been seeking to relocate to a $1,200-month apartment in the Florida panhandle

General views of the home's interior. According to a listing on a housing website, Cornwall has been seeking to relocate to a $1,200-month apartment in the Florida panhandle

Former neighbors told DailyMail.com Cornwall is a successful realtor in the tony neighborhood of Pacific Palisades, and owns a second house there which she rents

Former neighbors told DailyMail.com Cornwall is a successful realtor in the tony neighborhood of Pacific Palisades, and owns a second house there which she rents

Another former neighbor, Debbie Elliott, was also unabashed in her support.

'We'd really like to punch all of them but we can't do that,' she said.

'Patty was a very nice neighbor, very friendly. All the men on the block were extra disposed to be lovely to her because she's gorgeous.' 

On her LinkedIn page, Cornwall describes herself as: 'Luxury Property Specialist at Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices California Properties'. 

Cornwall's 69-year-old mother Yolanda Spoeri, formerly Yolanda Cummings, says on her LinkedIn page that she is a legal assistant at the Law Offices of Richard T. English in Downey, California and has done 'applicant workers compensation for over 20 years', after graduating from the Pacific Coast University of Law.

Her LinkedIn page also advertises her daughter's realty business, saying: 'Buying or selling a house? Please contact: Patty Cornwall, Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices.'

Cornwall's mother is a staunch progressive, and has heckled Donald Trump and other Republicans on Twitter.

On June 18, 2020, a month before her daughter's alleged attack and death threats on her and her husband, Yolanda tweeted at Kentucky Republican Senator Rand Paul: 'You and the other Republicans make me sick for helping cover up the atrocities this mentally ill president commits [angry face emoji].'

'You are always praising yourself - yes, narcissist - boo boo,' she tweeted at the then-president in August last year.

Cornwall was seen in now-viral video of the incident exchanging a volley of foul-mouthed insults with another passenger which ultimately descended into physical violence, with at least one crew member and another passenger injured after trying to restrain her. 

DailyMail.com can now identify the victim as Russell Miller, who told cops he 'was punched in the face and scratched on his face eye area' by Cornwall. 

The passenger who shared the video is also identified as Clarissa Chenault, who was 'burned by hot water because of the suspect's disruptive actions,' according to a police report. 

Cornwall was charged with 'assault on a federal level' and taken to a detention center before being released on a $20,000 bond.   

A criminal complaint obtained by DailyMail.com claims she had been trying to get back to her seat from the bathroom on a Delta Airlines flight from Tampa to Atlanta when a flight attendant with a beverage cart was blocking the aisle. 

Cornwall allegedly asked the flight attendant for help getting back to her seat, but the crew member told her to just take an open seat until they were done handing out drinks.

Delta's policy only allows masks to be below the chin for eating, drinking and taking oral medication but must be put on properly between bites and sips

Delta's policy only allows masks to be below the chin for eating, drinking and taking oral medication but must be put on properly between bites and sips

At that point, Cornwall allegedly asked, 'What am I, Rosa Parks?' according to the complaint - comparing her situation to the civil rights icon who refused to give up her seat at the front of a bus in Alabama in 1955.

Her comment reportedly got the attention of Miller, who told her that she 'isn't black ... This isn't Alabama and this isn't a bus,' the complaint states.

He also reportedly told her 'Sit down, Karen,' to which Cornwall replied: 'Sit down p****.' 

The encounter quickly escalated to violence with Cornwall seen punching, scratching and spitting at Miller.  

Her attack on Miller came as the Federal Aviation Authority (FAA) details a record number of air rage attacks - with 5,300 reported in 2021, compared to only several hundred in previous years, according to Morning Consult. Many of the 5,300 were related to face masks.   

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