An official with the Los Angeles County sheriff's department announced Wednesday that sheriff's detectives are expanding their investigation into whether Mel Gibson committed domestic violence against his ex-girlfriend, Russian singer Oksana Grigorieva. They are now looking into whether his ex-girlfriend tried to extort money from him in regards to the domestic violence allegations.
Grigorieva secretly recorded phone arguments between herself and Gibson while they were in the midst of a volatile break-up and custody dispute. The couple has an infant daughter and have been fighting for custody rights of the child. The secret recordings were involved in closed-door court hearings for the custody dispute. The tapes were also obtained by the website Radar Online and made public. On the tapes, Gibson can be heard using derogatory terms for women and racial slurs. He also seems to admit to hitting Grigorieva while she was holding their daughter.
Legal experts have questioned whether the tapes would be allowed in the event of a criminal trial for domestic violence. In California law, both parties to be recorded in a phone conversation must give their consent in order to make the recording legal. Since Grigorieva recorded the tapes without Gibson's knowledge or permission, it is likely they could not be used as evidence. It is also possible that Grigorieva committed a crime by recording them.
Source:
Detectives examining alleged extortion attempt by Mel Gibson's ex-girlfriend (Los Angeles Times)
