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Proof of Adultery: The Pregnancy Test

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Evidence of Adultery, or Stupid Joke Gone Awry?

On this web page we'd like to look at some of 3ABN president Danny Shelton's prima facie proof that his ex-wife and 3ABN's ex-co-founder, Linda Shelton, had committed adultery. This proof is referred to in the form letter 3ABN board chairman Walt Thompson, MD, was sending out at least in May and June of 2006, as well as in other of his communications:

May 16, 2006, Email of Walt Thompson, MD

-------- Original Message --------
From:  Walt Thompson
To:  ******
CC:  Mollie Steenson
Subject:  3abn
Date:  May 16, 2006 10:59:28 PM EDT

Dear ******,

...

... And as you might expect, Danny was by this time checking things out pretty carefully. One night she came home all cheery. While she and Danny were getting ready for bed, she left to do something else (I have forgotten what). While out, Danny found a sack of things in the closet. Upon opening it, he found a pregnancy test kit. (He is "fixed" so he cannot have more children.) When she found out that he had discovered it, she was at first angry because he had "snooped" in her things, and then told him she had just purchased it to see his reaction.

...

Sincerely in Jesus' precious name,

Walter Thompson
Chairman, 3Abn board
Walter Thompson MD

June 13, 2006, Email of Walt Thompson, MD

-------- Original Message --------
From:  Walt Thompson
To:  ******
Subject:  Re: 3abn
Date:  Tue, 13 Jun 2006 21:24:27 -0500

Dear ******,

...

... And as you might expect, Danny was by this time checking things out pretty carefully. One night she came home all cheery. While she and Danny were getting ready for bed, she left to do something else (I have forgotten what). While out, Danny found a sack of things in the closet. Upon opening it, he found a pregnancy test kit. (He is "fixed" so he cannot have more children.) When she found out that he had discovered it, she was at first angry because he had "snooped" in her things, and then told him she had just purchased it to see his reaction. ...

...

Sincerely in Jesus' precious name,

Walter Thompson MD
Chairman, 3ABN Board

Walter Thompson MD

Thus we are left with a question: Did Linda buy the pregnancy test just to see Danny's reaction, or did she buy it because she thought she might be pregnant with Dr. Arild Abrahamsen's child? Before answering that easy question, we should take a look at others who have echoed Walt Thompson's claim.

Tommy Shelton Echoes the Pregnancy Test Claim

The following is an email sent out by Gailon Arthur Joy in early November, which is an attempt to answer questions about the morals of Linda Shelton, questions raised by Tommy Shelton several months before.

Strange that Tommy would be raising such questions when, to our knowledge, he still has not adequately addressed the child molestation allegations leveled against him over perhaps the last quarter century.

-------- Original Message --------
From:  AUReporter
To:  AURToday
CC:  AUReporter
Subject:  Answers to your questions, part 2
Date:  Wed, 8 Nov 2006 12:43 AM

EMAIL FROM TOMMY SHELTON AUGUST 2006

Mr. X,

...

If they were only doctor and patient or casual friends, why did Linda buy a pregnancy test after a trip to Norway. She knew her husband had had a vasectomy.

Answer: Allysa is the purchaser of record for the ept. ... as a joke–perhaps a poor judgement .... But then who knew Danny was really working on the motive for a divorce at the time and looking for every ludicrous excuse to justify his mid-life trade-in, apparently a tradition for the Shelton Boys, of course with the exception of Tommy, who, though married to Carol, has allegedly a proven track record of youthful male preference, purportedly including their own adopted son (******), requiring counseling in Nashville.

...

Yours in the Blessed Hope

Gailon Arthur Joy
AUReporter
...

It is clear that Tommy is suggesting that Linda thought she might have gotten pregnant after her trip to Norway. That point is pivotal later on.

Linda's Warning of May 6, 2004

In the email below, Linda writes from her daughter's email account, warning Dr. Abrahamsen that she was going to plant a pregnancy test in her car. Danny would then find it on Friday, May 7, 2004, if he searched her car as usual. She says she wished she could see his face when he found it.

The fact that she sent this email from her daughter's account suggests that her daughter was in on the scheme.

-------- Original Message --------
From:  [Linda Shelton's daughter]
To:  [Dr. Arild Abrahamsen]
Date:  Thu, 6 May 2004 17:21:55 -0700 (PDT)

...

You know how Dan has been searching my car? I've got a little surprise for him. But I wanted to warn you that a brand new rumor may very well make its way to Norway. Tomorrow he's going to find a carefully hidden pregnancy test in it. My only regret is that I won't be there to see his face. Do you think it will be worth the rumors?? I think so!!

...

LS

Is May 7 the Correct Date?

It is quite important that we nail down the exact date the pregnancy test was found. Danny's email of Sunday, May 16, 2004, a reply to Linda's "Corrections" email sent earlier that day, does that well, for it confirms that the pregnancy test had to have been found on Friday, May 7, 2004, a week before Friday, May 14.

-------- Original Message --------
From:  Danny Shelton
To:  [Linda Shelton's daughter]
Subject:  Re:
Date:  Sun, 16 May 2004 13:29:09 -0500

Linda, you need to get honest with yourself and everyone else. When your relationship first started with the doctor it may have been professional ....

...

Linda, the very fact that I have proof of your vacation plans alone with him in several different locations, will tell anyone this is not about professional anything----except maybe ADULTERY. The pregnancy test kit a week ago Friday pretty well confirms that.

[We've deleted certain information about biorhythms that Danny elaborates upon to "prove" that Linda thought she might be pregnant, and thus that that is why she bought the pregnancy test. Frankly, we can't see how we wouldn't get criticized by nearly everyone if we included that. ]

...

Love,

your husband

Please leave the "professional relationship stories" for the uninformed and unsuspecting. Your wasting your time to try to talk to me about this "lie"

Does Linda Stand by Her Story?

In March 2007, Linda updated the "Questions" page of her website. Here's what she said about the pregnancy test at that time.

Q. What about the pregnancy test?
A. Let me clear up the situation here. Did I buy the pregnancy test? My daughter, Alyssa, and I bought it together, chuckling all the way out of the store. Did I have personal fears of being pregnant? Absolutely not. What was your motive in the purchase? My motive was twofold. I was bewildered about Dan's behavior. He was searching my car and my personal belongings behind my back. I would be able to expose this activity with him coming forward with such a "find." I also wanted to lighten up a situation that was bizarre and ridiculous, never thinking my husband would grab it declaring he had "proof."

Last Contact with Dr. Abrahamsen

In perusing various emails from Danny, we have yet to see him accusing Linda of being in the same location as Dr. Abrahamsen anytime between February 6, 2004, and late May 2004. Here is the email nailing down when Linda left Norway in February to return home:

-------- Original Message --------
From:  Arild Abrahamsen
To:  [Danny Shelton]
Date:  Thursday, February 05, 2004 5:47 AM

Hi Hon,

Sorry I've been unable to communicate before now...our sleeping schedule and activity schedule and the international phone not working has conflicted with getting through to you. But I'm sure you've been busy too.

Norway is gorgeous, but what makes it the most special is that I'm seeing a miracle happen right before my eyes with Nathan. The transformation is incredible. He looks great. He's gained weight, He's quit smoking and his attitude has been great. He's developed a real trust and friendship with the doctor, and he'd like to come back in the summer. I'm hoping you will allow Nathan to stay in the apartments for a couple of weeks when he gets home so his drug friends won't have easy access to him. Please pray about it.

We leave tomorrow and I look forward to seeing you in Atlanta. Should I meet you outside of customs You can e-mail me back at this address if you have a chance. Well, gotta go.

Love you,

LINDA

Did Linda Think She Might Be Pregnant?

Let us summarize:

  • Linda left Dr. Abrahamsen's clinic in Norway on February 6, 2004.
  • Linda warned Dr. Abrahamsen that she had gotten a pregnancy test for Danny to find on May 7 when he searched her car.
  • The pregnancy test was indeed found by Danny on May 7, 2004.
  • There are no known accusations of Linda and Dr. Abrahamsen meeting between those two dates.
  • They did converse on the telephone a disputed number of times for disputed lengths of time.

Given the facts, there are essentially only two ways that Linda Shelton could have thought she was pregnant:

  • Linda thought she might be pregnant because she had talked on the telephone too much.
  • Linda thought she might have become pregnant on or before February 6, 2004, which would make her about 15 weeks pregnant on May 6 (gestation would have started two weeks before February 6). But she couldn't tell for sure.

We have heard it said repeatedly that Linda is naive. Is it at all possible that she is so naive that she thought that she had gotten pregnant over the telephone, or that she couldn't tell that she was 15 weeks pregnant without a pregnancy test?

Yet isn't the second option what Tommy Shelton was suggesting in his August 2006 email? Linda bought a pregnancy test in May because of a trip to Norway that ended February 6? And how is it that Walt Thompson, MD, would be spreading this story when it seems so unlikely from a medical point of view?

It is said that some women carry babies to full term and never figure out what is going on. April Branum is one recent example, but then, as the article points out, that was due to her weighing 420 pounds, and Linda doesn't weigh anywhere close to that.

We have to conclude that the overwhelming evidence is that the whole pregnancy test incident was a stupid prank. And it was incredibly stupid, because if you have a paranoid, jealous husband whom a doctor has concluded is "psychotic" and "out to lunch," to quote Danny's terminology about Dr. Abrahamsen's conclusions, you don't go buying a pregnancy test. Especially is this the case when your husband has already told your family 9 days earlier that the marriage is over because you've hidden his gun.

Danny Corrects Gailon

We'll include just two more emails on this web page. In Gailon's answers to the questions raised by Tommy Shelton, Gailon claimed that Linda's daughter was the purchaser of the pregnancy test. Danny claims to have proof that Linda was the one who bought the pregnancy test instead, but he makes quite clear to Gailon that he won't be showing that proof to him:

-------- Original Message --------
From:  Danny Shelton
To:  AUReporter
CC:  [Walt Thompson]
Subject:  RE: Answers to your questions - part 2
Date:  Wed, 8 Nov 2006 11:04 AM

Linda and Arild must be belly laughing you! They could have only dreamed she could find someone to believe all of her stories! You continue to amaze me at how unprofessional you are by printing her stories without any documented proof. This does make you equally liable.

Example:

Did Alyssa show you the receipt in which she bought the pregnancy test kit? Where is the proof? You boldly print that the receipt holder is Allyssa. There is none! How do I know?

I have the receipt listing the pregnancy test kit but it was purchased on Linda's credit card! Therefore Gailon, Linda is the purchaser on record! I have witnesses to this fact. I have long ago showed it to church leaders. It's these kind of statements from you that discredit you.

It's this kind of wrong info that you have bought hook line and sinker from Linda this whole time. You want me to show you all my proof but Linda only gives you words and you buy it. Why make her document what she says to you?

That's why you are not in the mix anymore. Because you are obviously on a mission to destroy, not find truth.

This situation is now in the hands of respected Church people. They will see the receipt, not you.

...

So, where is your proof for all of these things except Linda's words to you. Once again, why do you believe her without any proof?

...

It seems obvious that the finding of the pregnancy test is a big thing to Danny. Does he really think his ex-wife thought she had gotten pregnant over the telephone, or that she needed a pregnancy test to tell her that she was 15 weeks pregnant?

Gailon Replies to Danny

Gailon points out that Linda is not necessarily the source of his information, and that it is difficult to figure out exactly what happened if Danny persistently refuses to cooperate in the investigation.

-------- Original Message --------
From:  AUReporter
To:  [Danny Shelton]
Subject:  Re: Answers to your questions - part 2
Date:  Wed, 08 Nov 2006 11:49:36 -0500

What church leaders were shown the receipt...I could always confirm your statement by interviewing respected church leaders? Right?

You and Mollie have made it clear you will not show any "documentation"...therefore, statements are the only recourse. Put your evidence where your mouth is... show to those of us that can track it out and get responses. Proof is only proof if it can be sourced and verified without a reasonable explanation, explanations you clearly do not want heard!!!

Danny, it is you that continue to hide behind the supposition that you have documentation but fail to show anyone. When board members have not seen these things then one must assume they are fiction. Roll em out or suffer from fictionitis!!!

Further, you keep referring to Linda as a source...Linda apparently had little to do with the finances, therefore Linda was not the source/sources in the subject case.

...

Gailon Arthur Joy
AUReporter

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