Aubrey Ireland’s parents wanted to keep their daughter close – so close
that they installed tracking software on the 21-year-old’s phone and
computer so that they could monitor every site she visited and every
person she talked to.
It was “like I was a dog with a collar on,” said Ireland, a music theater student at the University of Cincinnati.
After three years, the college senior had enough. A judge granted her a
stalking order against her parents, the Cincinnati Enquirer
reports.
David and Julie Ireland have to stay 500 feet away from their daughter
at all times and can’t get back in touch with her for a year.
At first, her parents were supportive. Even though Aubrey was offered
full scholarships to other acting schools, they agreed to pay for
tuition at their daughter’s school of choice.
Aubrey has been on the dean’s list throughout her time as a student at
Cincinnati’s College-Conservatory of Music. She often won leading roles
in the school’s musicals.
But despite her success, the Irelands’ behavior became more erratic.
The helicopter parents would often show up at their daughter’s college
unannounced, even though it was a 600 mile drive from their hometown in
Leawood, Kan. David and Julie Ireland told the musical theater
department head that their daughter had mental issues and needed to be
treated. They accused her of being promiscuous and taking illegal drugs.
“It’s just been really embarrassing and upsetting to have my parents
come to my university when I’m a grown adult and just basically slander
my name and follow me around,” Aubrey said during a court hearing.
Although Aubrey said their accusations were false, the parents had
another card up their sleeves. They admitted that they were
electronically tracking their daughter’s Internet use and monitoring her
phone calls.
@aubrey_ireland via Twitter
Despite the 600-mile drive, Aubrey Ireland used to receive unannounced
visits from her parents,who accused her of promiscuity and drug use.
She says her mother assaulted her.
Last year, the student told police that her mother had assaulted her after showing up at her apartment in Cincinnati,
according to
the Daily Mail. Her mother countered that accusation with one of her
own – she said that her daughter was the one who had assaulted her.
Aubrey eventually cut off all contact with her parents. But that didn’t
keep them away. The school hired security guards to keep the Irelands
out of their daughter’s shows. When they stopped paying her tuition, the
school offered to pay for her senior year of college.
When her parents told the University of Cincinnati that they were going
to take her away for mental evaluations, Aubrey decided to take action.
On Sept. 24, she filed a civil stalking order against her parents. At a
Dec. 10 court hearing, Julie demanded that her daughter pay back the
$66,000 her parents had spent on her three years of college. When
mediators suggested that the parents, not the daughter, were the
problem, the Irelands said that Aubrey was “a good actor and lying.”
“She's an only child who was catered to all her life by loving
parents,”' Julie said in court. “We’re not bothering her. We're not a
problem.”
Judge Jody Luebbers ruled that, as an adult, Aubrey is allowed to live
her life according to her own wishes. The stalking order remains in
effect until at least next Sept. 23.
■警方早前到DR亞太幹細胞科研中心收集樣本化驗。資料圖片
■DR創辦人周向榮
DR死者陳宛琳丈夫楊先生（右）指DR集團從未接觸家屬，更未交代事件來龍去脈。 何家達攝
