Mary Farren suffered extensive injuries in the beating at their New Canaan Mansion after she said she refused to reconsider her demand for a divorce. He was criminally charged with attempted murder, two counts of first-degree assault and risk of injury to a child.
As we discussed earlier, John Michael Farren was a former White House attorney advising George W. Bush and the former general counsel of Xerox. In addition to serving as Deputy White House Counsel in the Office of Counsel to the President from 2007 to 2009, he served as Under Secretary of Commerce for International Trade at the United States Department of Commerce and head of the International Trade Administration. He also did a stint with the Republican National Committee.
The horrific attack left her with a broken jaw and broken nose that took place at their mansion. A video from the hospital documented a gash to the scalp, hair matted with blood, two black eyes, bruising all over the face and the right side of her throat cut in addition to cuts and bruises on the rest of her body. She sued Farren for millions and he decided to represent himself — an extremely bad decision in such a case.
Farren, 60, failed to show up for the trial. Judge Robert Genuario said that his chambers received an email from Farren stating that he was being treated at a Hartford hospital and could not make it to court. Farren has suggested that he was suffering from either a brain or mental illness at the time of the offense.
After being beaten by a flashlight and strangled, Farren said that she could not longer work due to her brain injury. She told the court that she still experiences terror from that night. She said that he was always a danger and that she had to walk on eggshells during the 15-year marriage so not to enrage him. She recounted on occasion where he kept her awake after a fight by putting flashlights in her face and yelling obscenities at intervals throughout the night.
The judge had clearly had enough of Farren and denied his motion to allowed to stay free pending appeal. Farren’s remarkable fall from grace is now complete.