Police believe Amy Yu “willingly” flew from Philadelphia International Airport to Dallas, and ultimately to Cancun, Mexico, with Kevin Esterly. (Allentown Police Department)
The wife of a Pennsylvania man who was arrested after he fled to Mexico with a 16-year-old girl filed for divorce Monday, citing infidelity and “irretrievable breakdown” of their marriage, a report said.
She filed for divorce just days after Kevin Esterly, 45, was flown back to Lehigh County, Penn., after his arrest in Mexico, where he was found with 16-year-old Amy Yu, The (Allentown) Morning Call reported. Esterly, a father of four, was captured by Mexican authorities in Cancun on March 17 after he disappeared from Allentown on March 5. He was charged with interfering with the custody of a child.
Stacey Esterly, who has been married to her now-estranged husband for more than 12 years, is requesting spousal support and alimony. She said she’s unable to “sustain herself during the course of the litigation,” the divorce filing said, according to The Morning Call.
MISSING PENNSYLVANIA TEEN 'WILLINGLY' WENT TO MEXICO WITH 45-YEAR-OLD MAN, POLICE SAY
Yu was reported by her mother as a runaway. Esterly withdrew $4,000 from his wife’s bank account and took personal documents before he fled. Yu’s mother also reported personal and jewelry items missing.
Kevin Esterly had a "secretive relationship" with 16-year-old Amy Yu before going missing with her, authorities said. (Miami Dade County County Jail)
Authorities later said the teen, who was once a best friend to Esterly’s oldest daughter, willingly got on a plane with the 45-year-old, taking a one-way flight from Philadelphia International Airport to Dallas, and then to Cancun, Mexico. The two reportedly had a “secretive relationship.”
Esterly had signed out Yu from a charter school 10 times between November 2017 and February, according to court documents.
Yu’s mother, Miu Luu, said she is pursuing legal action against Esterly and others who may have been involved in her daughter’s disappearance. In a statement released through her lawyer, Luu called Esterly’s actions “predatory.”
“Ms. Luu is concerned for the health and safety of her daughter and is shocked and appalled by the length and depth of the depravity of this man,” the lawyer said in a statement, according to The Morning Call. “Ms. Luu trusted Kevin Esterly and his wife to supervise and care for her daughter when her daughter spent time with their daughter at their home.”
Esterly could be forced to register as a sex offender for 15 years if he is convicted of the charges. He’s being held on $500,000 bail.
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