Jennifer Grant

The Ashes Left by a Mother’s Rage: A True Story of Legal Betrayal and Relentless Resolve I am not prone to exaggeration. I am not an alarmist. I do not consider myself exceptional. In truth, I resent what I now feel compelled to do—lay bare my life, exposing it to scrutiny, judgment, and unwanted attention. But hard truths must be told. For some, my story will serve as a cautionary tale. Others may find it lurid. Some will be outraged. Too few will be moved to act. My only desire is to survive the events still unfolding in my fight for accountability. That accountability has not yet come—but make no mistake, it will. I am resolved. I am determined. I am a mother, a daughter, a sister—and more. In 2005, I fell in love with the law. Like a disciple, I devoted myself to the pursuit of justice for countless clients, sacrificing sleep and normalcy in service of something greater. That devotion remained unshaken—until a series of events tore my life apart. The catalyst was my near-total breakdown—spiritual and psychological—on November 14, 2023. I came dangerously close to ending my life in a moment of utter hopelessness. My mother was dying, suffering emotionally as much as physically, unable to see her grandchildren for nearly a year. Neither could I. She was denied the chance to say goodbye to her grandchildren because of the crimes committed by Misty Runyon and her husband Kristopher Runyon—former clients and employees—who effectively kidnapped my children while I was hospitalized in a coma with traumatic brain injuries. Their weapon wasn’t force—it was legal manipulation, enabled by the malpractice of attorney Michael Krocker, The Bowen Law Firm, PLLC and Judge Angela Lancelin’s inexperience. Lancelin had been on the bench less than a month when the Runyons filed for custody of my daughter without my knowledge, consent, or legal standing. The audacity of their actions is staggering. These individuals were entrusted with temporary care of my daughter while she awaited hospital admission and while I renovated her destroyed bedroom. Instead, they exploited my vulnerability and filed for custody—despite having no familial ties and no legal right. On February 5, 2023, more than two weeks after they filed, I was in an ATV accident that left me in a coma. Unaware of their legal maneuvering, my parents allowed my youngest son to join his sister at the Runyons’ home during a school break, trusting their promise to return the children on February 12. They lied. They refused to return them, claiming they had “a shit ton of rights.” I was blindsided upon my release from the hospital. The Runyons had filed for custody and convinced a brand-new judge—unfamiliar with contested family law—that they had standing. But they didn’t. To have standing, the children must have lived with them for six months, and I must have abandoned them with no intent to return. Neither condition was met. Judge Lancelin allowed their case to proceed and granted an illegal default judgment based on a prima facie false affidavit of service presented by Krocker. I notified all parties immediately upon receiving incomplete documents—something I recognized instantly after 20 years in family law. The judge either failed to verify the affidavit or chose to ignore its falsity. Neither is acceptable. Despite being presented with irrefutable evidence including the criminals’ history and motivation, cited applicable statutes and legal precedent, Judge Lancelin refused to correct her mistake. I was forced to file a petition for writ of mandamus with the Fourteenth Court of Appeals to compel her to vacate the illegal default and dismiss the case. Appeals move slowly. My mother’s cancer did not. Diagnosed in July, she passed away on December 6, 2023—never having seen her grandchildren again after that fateful week in February. She was their only living grandmother—indeed the only grandmother they have known. My mother and my children were each robbed of their goodbyes with her death and the pain of this impact can never be erased. Our peaceful goodbye one of many collateral casualties of the crimes committed by Misty and Kristopher Runyon, and those who aided and abetted them. Their violations of numerous Texas Penal Code statutes were compounded by judicial failure and legal malpractice. Watching my mother die was traumatic enough. Watching her die while my children were virtually kidnapped was unbearable. Their motive? Revenge. Misty Runyon sought retribution after I exposed her attempts to illegally obtain and supply opiates to my ex-husband during our divorce—leading to yet another CPS investigation in 2017. She had a long history of CPS involvement, including allegations of physical and sexual abuse, drug use during pregnancy, and neglect that led to the loss of custody of her own children. Even after the appellate opinion was issued, the trial court refused to schedule hearings on motions that had been pending for over a year. I couldn’t press the issue—I had nowhere to bring my children home to. A squatter had taken over our house who later proved to be working with those criminals, after I moved back in with my longtime partner, Nick, whom my children barely knew because I could not bear to be alone in our home without my children. Soon I will publish as a warning to others my enormous mistake of renting to an ex-friend named Belinda Puntanen—who has now assumed the online identity name of Angel Hastings after completely destroying her real name's credibility. Belinda Puntanen squatted in our home for 338 days because I was unable to keep up with the multitude of legal matters I had been forced into because of their crimes. The squatter story is almost as shocking and just as sordid because I learned she has done this repeatedly across multiple states for at least the past 20 years—along with defrauding countless people via numerous schemes, wage thefts and thefts by fraud. Eventually, the custody case was called for trial. But while waiting in court, I witnessed another mother— but pro se—arguing with Judge Lancelin over similar issues. I spoke with her, offered support, and shared my experience. Meanwhile, my attorney, Maria Schnebly, was blindsided by an “agreed dismissal” thrust upon her at the bench. We later learned the kidnappers had filed a new petition that same afternoon and obtained another TRO against me. I represented myself in the second case, filing a comprehensive answer and legal challenges. On September 25, 2024—just over a year ago—I prevailed in a hearing where the court ruled the kidnappers had not met their burden. Yet they refused to return my children. I continued to report to police investigators almost daily. No charges were filed. No children returned. I finally evicted the squatter in December and filed a second petition for writ of habeas corpus. Judge Lancelin signed only one of four orders, requiring another reset. Finally, on February 17, 2025, my children were returned. But they were angry, resentful, and poisoned against me—a heartbreaking consequence of their time with the kidnappers. After securing custody, I filed a $10 million damages suit and began preparing a 42 U.S.C. § 1983 complaint for civil rights violations. I have meticulously documented every fact, every legal argument, and every communication to ensure no one can claim ignorance—not law enforcement, not attorneys, not the courts. I should have started law school by now. I planned to begin immediately after my ex-husband’s death. But six days later, I discovered my daughter in possession of felony-level drugs and learned she had been snorting oxycodone—I fear introduced by her father, a relapsed opiate and former heroin addict. While awaiting her hospital admission, I was in an ATV accident that left me in a coma. I awoke to this nightmare. I need help—however it can be provided. Whether through direct representation, joint counsel, or advisory support, I am open to anything. I am the pro se Plaintiff, Petitioner, and Intervenor in multiple cases. I am represented in others, but those attorneys are not appropriate for the ones I handle alone. The kidnappers destroyed my family. Their attorneys helped them. The judge enabled them. Law enforcement failed to uphold the Constitution when they refused to compel the return of my children on March 1, 2023—when I was the de facto Sole Managing Conservator and no orders were in place. Family law has been my specialty for 20 years, but my firms focused on monied divorces and SAPCR modifications. I was peripherally aware of DFPS overreach through my volunteer work, but never imagined I’d be living the consequences of systemic failure. What happened to me happens to others—daily—but most parents aren’t equipped to fight back. That realization is what galls me most. Every system meant to protect children, civil rights, and the public failed. I will not abide it continuing. When my mother died, her final gift became the seed money for Resolve for Justice Foundation. Before I even knew the amount, I pledged publicly that every cent I recovered from the damages suits I knew that I would file as soon as the family case ended would be used in this order: 1. College funds for my children, 2. Law school for me, and 3. The founding of Resolve for Justice Foundation, dedicated to effecting justice wherever we can. On January 16, 2024, Resolve was born. Our board includes attorneys Maria Schnebly and Veronica Lockett, psychiatrist Nicholas Patniyot, retired HPD Special Investigator and former candidate for Harris County Sheriff, Joe Inocencio, and myself. We are experienced, educated, and committed to helping others and improving public safety. If you are reading this, I trust you to make the right decision, to share this with the right people, and to help me bring this horror to light because it’s happening to others. What follows now are the ashes left by a mother’s rage.