Marilyn Mosby, the former Baltimore state’s attorney facing federal perjury charges, has filed for “a limited divorce” — essentially a legal separation — from her husband, Nick Mosby, the City Council president.
The estranged couple released a joint statement through the City Council’s communications office saying that “after careful consideration and much prayer, we have decided to end our marriage.”
The statement was signed by both Marilyn and Nick Mosby.
“We want to emphasize our commitment as strong co-parents moving forward,” the statement reads. “Our dedication to our family and community remains unwavering.”
The pair, who not long ago were one of Baltimore’s premiere power couples, wrote in the statement that they would not comment further and requested that the public and news media respect their privacy and that of their two daughters, aged 14 and 12.
The two-page divorce petition was filed Friday in Baltimore Circuit Court by Marilyn Mosby’s attorney, Chantal M. Joseph. The legal document is brief, factual and dry, but it raises unanswered questions.
For instance, a checked box indicates that this is a contested divorce, though that would appear to contradict the couple’s joint statement.
In addition, a “limited divorce” does not legally end a marriage or permit either spouse to remarry, according to a fact sheet prepared by the Maryland Courts.
“File for limited divorce if you and your spouse need the court to address issues such as child custody or finances before you are eligible for an absolute divorce,” the fact sheet reads.
If either member of the couple decides to officially end their marriage and divide property, that will require a separate legal filing.
The limited divorce petition asks a judge to award Marilyn and Nick Mosby joint custody of their daughters.
The document also asks the judge to order Nick Mosby to continue to provide health insurance for Marilyn Mosby and the girls, to contribute to the children’s school and transportation costs, and to pay any “extraordinary” medical expenses they might incur while the divorce is pending.
The Baltimore Brew first reported the news.
According to a 2016 profile in the New York Times Magazine, the couple met and began dating when they were students at Tuskegee University in Alabama in the late 1990s. They married in Boston in October, 2005.
Marilyn Mosby was thrust into the national spotlight in 2015 following the death of Freddie Gray, who suffered fatal injuries while riding in a police van. Mosby’s office announced criminal indictments against six officers in Gray’s death. But after the first three officers to stand trial were acquitted, Mosby’s office dropped charges against the remaining three defendants.
The Times article documented the personal and professional fallout that Mosby experienced as a result of the Gray case, and documented the “chasm” that the couple acknowledged had opened between them.
Even after the Gray trials had concluded, husband and wife didn’t remain out of the public spotlight for long.
Marilyn Mosby was indicted in January 2022 on two counts of perjury and two counts of mortgage fraud while she was still serving as Baltimore State’s Attorney.
Federal prosecutors accused her of lying about her financial struggles during the coronavirus pandemic to make early withdrawals from her city retirement savings accounts. Prosecutors said that the roughly $80,000 in withdrawals were used for down payments on vacation properties in Florida. Marilyn Mosby also is accused of misleading lenders to get a lower interest rate and neglecting to disclose that she owed unpaid taxes.
Defense attorneys have argued that Marilyn Mosby is not guilty of perjury because her personal businesses suffered during the pandemic. In addition, she has said previously that because her husband handled the family taxes, she was unaware of the 2020 tax lien she is accused of failing to disclose. The Mosbys paid off the $45,000 lien later that year.
Nick Mosby has not been charged with any crimes.
Following several postponements, Marilyn Mosby is scheduled to stand trial in November. Late last month, she renewed her request to have her trial moved outside of Baltimore.
Mosby vacated the State’s Attorney’s Office in January, six months after she lost her bid for a third term in the Democratic primary.
Nick Mosby, meanwhile, has announced his intent to seek another term as City Council president.
