A judge in Dakota County upheld the Harassment Restraining Order (HRO) granted against Dede Evavold by Michael Brodkorb and Sarah Brodkorb for Evavold’s involvement in distributing a photograph of Michael Brodkorb’s wife and minor children.
After a lengthy court hearing during which Evavold was continually unruly, Judge M. Michael Baxter ruled that the HRO will temporarily remain in place and he would issue an order finalizing the HRO against Evavold in the next few weeks.
The photograph of Ms. Brodkorb with her minor children was distributed multiple times with false allegations on a social media account connected to Sandra Grazzini-Rucki and her supporters. The same social media account had been investigated by law enforcement for publishing threatening, harassing, and defamatory statements targeting judges, law enforcement, court staff, and journalists.
The HROs were filed by Michael Brodkorb and Sarah Brodkorb in August in Dakota County against Diane Ristau of Medford, Carrie Beaudette of St. Joseph, and Dede Evavold of St. Cloud.
Last month, a judge upheld the HRO filed against Ristau after she requested a hearing to contest the HRO. Judge Baxter said Ristau was involved in a “conspiracy to commit harassment” when she took a picture of Ms. Brodkorb and her minor children while shopping and later distributed the picture to people connected to Sandra Grazzini-Rucki and Dede Evavold.
Evavold belligerent and unruly during the court hearing
Evavold, who is not an attorney, represented herself at the hearing which was held at the Dakota County Western Service Center in Apple Valley, Minnesota. Evavold was argumentative and unprofessional during the entire hearing. She showed no respect for the judge or anyone in the courtroom. During her cross-examination of witnesses, Evavold was belligerent and unruly. Judge Baxter repeatedly instructed Evavold to limit her questions to the focus of the hearing.
As in her criminal trial, Evavold offered no witnesses, nor did she testify regarding the allegations of harassment contained in the petition for the HRO.
Carrie Beaudette was subpoenaed to testify, but Beaudette asserted her constitutional right against self-incrimination and refused to answer any questions about her involvement in distributing a photograph of Michael Brodkorb’s wife and minor children.
At a hearing last month, Beaudette testified that she shared the pictures taken of Ms. Brodkorb and her minor children with both Evavold and Angela Young after she received them from Ristau. Young is a friend and neighbor of Evavold and since 2013, Young has taken a very active role in defending both Evavold and Grazzini-Rucki and promoting their outlandish allegations about David Rucki and his family.
Evavold’s role in the disappearance of missing children examined in a new book
Evavold involvement in the disappearance of missing children is examined in the new book, The Girls Are Gone. The book also includes new information about the disappearance of Samantha and Gianna Rucki and the adults who conspired to keep the missing sisters and the truth hidden.
Since the announcement of the book, Evavold has been furiously working to file “criminal complaints” and making bizarre demands for investigations into her criminal trial. Evavold isn’t making the claim that she and her co-defendants are innocent but wants the new trials for the purpose of negatively impacting sales of the book.
The Girls Are Gone is published by Wise Ink Creative Publishing and was released last week.
Allison Mann contributed to this story.
