Boater Brian Hooker, whose wife Lynette Hooker vanished in the Bahamas in April, was accused of threatening his ex-wife with an "accident" years before his current wife's disappearance, according to newly uncovered court documents.
Elizabeth Hoseth, Hooker's ex-wife who died in June 2024, had obtained a personal protection order against him in 1999, claiming he threatened her during their divorce proceedings. "In our most recent phone conversation, he suggested that I not mess with him, that there could be an ‘accident,'" Hoseth wrote in court filings at the time. She further stated that when she asked him to elaborate, he replied, "Everyone knows how I am, there could be an accident."
Hoseth also accused Hooker of physical abuse, harassment, violent outbursts, and disturbing pornography use during their marriage, which began in February 1997. She detailed incidents of being "kicked, pushed down, spat on," and described his destructive behavior during "rages," noting that "walls have plenty of ‘marks’ left by him." Hoseth also alleged that Hooker was verbally and emotionally abusive to her two children from a previous marriage and that he forged her signature on a check to steal equity from her house.
A judge granted Hoseth a personal protection order in November 1999, which banned Hooker from attacking, beating, molesting, wounding, or threatening her, and from taking their child. The divorce was finalized in October 2000, with Hoseth receiving physical custody of their daughter.
By 2001, Hooker was in a relationship with Lynette, who would later become his wife. Lynette Hooker, 55, disappeared on April 4, after her husband reported she fell overboard from their dinghy in rough seas while returning to their yacht in the Bahamas. Her body has not been recovered.
Hooker, 59, was detained and investigated in the Bahamas but was released without formal charges after five days and returned to the United States. He has denied any wrongdoing. Lynette's family has also accused Hooker of involvement in her disappearance. Hooker has since hired a new attorney and has not been formally charged with a crime.