Angry ex-wife dumps cheating husband's possessions outside home

A public display of anger over love gone wrong — or a celebration over a marriage ended — caused traffic delays on North 21st Street in Superior, Wisconsin, on Wednesday. Large signs reading “X-HUSBAND SALE” and “FREE” by a pile of discarded belongings in the front yard of 202 N. 21st St. caused passersby to slow down and check out what was there. But it was the once-green GMC Yukon SUV with flat tires and “cheater” and obscenities spray-painted all over it that slowed traffic to a halt and got the cameras clicking.

Police arrived at the house in mid-afternoon and talked to a woman inside. The vandalized vehicle was towed from the driveway in front of the house a short time later to keep traffic flowing. Superior Police Sgt. William Lear said there’s no law against spray painting a vehicle in one’s own yard. “If it’s a running vehicle and someone wants to paint their own car, they can do it,” he said.



What about questionable language painted on it? “Depends on the language, there’s a fine line there,” Lear said. “If it’s creating a disturbance, if there’s threats, if it’s blocking traffic, we can tow it.” According to court records, a woman who lived at that address filed for divorce against her husband in Douglas County Circuit Court last July. The couple got their marriage licence in 1997, records show.

A neighbour, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said the incident began on Tuesday after the divorce became final. She said the vehicle was spray-painted by several people and the items put in the front yard between 4 and 8 p.m. That’s when people started stopping for a closer look. “It looked like they had a painting party,” the neighbour said. “She cleaned out her husband’s stuff.” It was a getting-rid-of-the-husband type of thing, she said. “I guess it was her kind of relief, her way to get rid of her anger,” the woman said.