KILLEEN, Texas — A petition for protection of a child filed on May 11, 2018 laid out the details for why Jeffrey Gilseth and Maria Gilseth lost custody of their three kids.
According to the document, the Department of Family and Protective Services made a reasonable effort to prevent taking the three children, Hunter Gilseth, Dylan Gilseth and Levi Gilseth, into their custody.
However, the department acted on a request for emergency orders on May 10, 2018, and took the children into its possession.
The department received the initial report on March 24, 2018. The report detailed abuse Jeffrey Gilseth inflicted on Maria Gilseth, stating a man picked up Maria Gilseth, whose body was covered in bruises, on a McCulloch County road.
RELATED: Search continues for 3 brothers kidnapped by parents during supervised visit in Killeen, police say
The man called police and when officers arrived, Maria Gilseth told them that Jeffrey Gilseth had pulled her hair, threw her to the ground and beat her, according to the report.
The beating happened in front of the two younger children in their room, the report said.
"The children are not leaving the home, over my dead body," Jeffrey Gilseth said, according to the report. The report said Jeffrey Gilseth was unpredictable and violent. However, Maria Gilseth told police that the worst thing he'd done to the kids was curse at them, the report said.
Police filed a warrant against Jeffrey Gilseth after the incident, and a SWAT team was ready to get him, according to the report.
"Mr. Gilseth is diagnosed with PTSD and anger management issues. He also has weapons," the report said. "Mr. Gilseth has quit taking his medication to manage his PTSD and anger and he also recently lost his job as a lab tech in Brownwood."
The affidavit said CPS was called for to provide services because "clearly the relationship was dysfunctional."
Maria Gilseth said she agreed she and the kids could benefit from counseling through CPS, the report said.
According to the affidavit, during an interview with CPS, she refused to reveal if there were previous domestic violence incidents in their home.
When the kids were interviewed at school, they confirmed their dad hit their mom in front of them, the affidavit said. The children said their mom told them to not tell the CPS worker about the domestic violence incident, according to the affidavit.
"Worker was also told by one of the children that he feels safer now that his father has left the home," the affidavit said.
Maria Gilseth told a caseworker who reached out to her that she was having second thoughts about the CPS services, the report said.
A special investigator was then appointed to the case who reached out multiple times to the family for meetings and visits. The family denied his requests, according to the affidavit.
"Due to the statements received from the children about the current incident and previous domestic violence in the home, combined with the fact that there is a 3-year-old in the home, both parents admit there is dysfunction in the relationship. The mother expressed an initial need and desire for counseling for herself and the children, and there is a possibility of unmanaged PTSD/anger management issues. The department will move forward with requesting a court order for services to be provided to the family," the affidavit said.
According to the affidavit, the domestic violence was affecting one of the kids, since he was involved in a bullying incident at school.
"...through the children witnessing the violence in the home, they are beginning to exhibit the same behaviors," the document said.
During a hearing on May 10, 2018, the family had a meeting with CPS investigators and it was revealed that Jeffrey Gilseth made the following threat:
"Mr. Gilseth allegedly threatened to kill Mrs. Gilseth and the children, cut their bodies into pieces, and burn them," the affidavit said.
CPS came to the conclusion that the family wouldn't cooperate with CPS services, so the kids had to be removed from their custody, according to the affidavit.
Read the full arrest affidavits below.
Other popular stories on KCENTV.com: