SON IN DANGER? Little People star Caryn Chandler’s son Connor was hospitalized 12 times for overdosing on drugs, ex claims in court
LITTLE People, Big World star Caryn Chandler’s son, Connor, has been hospitalized 12 times for overdosing on drugs, as his ex-girlfriend is bringing up his longtime battle with substance abuse issues in custody court papers.
Connor, 24, and his ex-girlfriend Ashley Washam are involved in a nasty custody war over their 2-year-old son, Liam.
In the court papers exclusively obtained by The U.S. Sun, Ashley made allegations regarding his former drug addiction in her Hearing Memorandum filed one day before their January 9 trial.
Ashley claimed in the filing, “Father also has/had a drug addiction with Xanax, an addiction that he claims he gave up when he turned eighteen.
“Because of this drug addiction, Father was hospitalized twelve times for overdosing.
“Mother also used to have a drug addiction to Xanax, but stopped using it before she became pregnant with Liam.”
Ashley is seeking sole custody of Liam, while Connor is requesting joint time.
Connor did not respond to The U.S. Sun’s request for comment regarding the overdose claims.
‘ERRATIC AND UNSAFE’ BEHAVIOR
The U.S. Sun previously reported on more from Ashley’s Hearing Memorandum.
Ashley claimed she has Liam “at all times” and “has done so since his birth.”
Connor has parenting time with Liam “nearly every time Father wants as long as the parenting time is supervised by his father.”
The court papers read, “Father rarely will take Liam for parenting time because he refuses to have his parenting time supervised by his father (or anybody else) although he has allowed his father to supervise his parenting time on several occasions.
“It just depends on what Father wants or how he feels at the time as to whether he will allow his father to supervise his parenting time with Liam.”
Ashley claims even though Connor has lived with Ashley since August 2023, he is “unaware of Liam’s daily routine.”
She claimed he attended all of Liam’s medical appointments the first nine months of his life, but “has expressed little interest in attending them since then.”
In the court papers, Ashley accused him of “erratic and unsafe” behavior.
The docs claimed, “His behavior frightens Mother and she will take all reasonable precautions to assure that Liam is protected while in Father’s presence.
“Mother wants Father and Liam to have a good relationship, but her first priority is to make sure that Liam is safe.”
The court filing continues to claim that a year before they separated, Connor allegedly told Ashley he would take Liam from her if she left or threatened to leave him.
Ashley alleged of one incident, “On one such occasion, when Liam was approximately four months old, Father threatened to take Liam and not come back. He was yelling at Mother at the top of his lungs while holding Liam and shooting a video.”
Ashley admitted she “lost her composure” and “hit Father twice while he had Liam in his arms on Mother’s bed.”
She claimed she “filed several police reports against Father during the year that he lived with her,” but no arrests took place.
She said of a second incident, “On one occasion, he took a bunch of Mother’s personal items and told Mother that she had to take Liam out to his car in order to get them back. When Mother took Liam to put him in Father’s car, Father sped off down the road with Mother and Liam in the vehicle.
“He swerved at high speeds while Liam was screaming in the back seat.”
‘YELLS AND SCREAMS’
On another occasion, she claimed Connor left her and Liam stranded on the side of the road.
She also mentioned an alleged incident where Connor “hit her on the elbow with his phone in front of Liam, which caused Liam to cry.”
Ashley continued to claim in the filing, “Father has locked Mother out of the car on the side of the road while Liam remained in his car seat. Father has screamed at Mother on multiple occasions for her and Liam to get out of the car. This happened mostly when Liam was 2-9 months old.
“Mother breastfed Liam for fourteen months. When Liam was around 2-6 months old, Father would throw things at Mother and scream at her while she was breastfeeding.
“Throughout the history of this case, Father constantly yells and screams around Liam until Father gets his way.
“Father cannot stay calm if he is mad and he knows that he has anger issues. When Father gets angry, he does not care who is around. He will break things, scream and yell and try to control the situation until everyone feels powerless.
“Father has narcissistic gaslighting behaviors.”
LEGAL TROUBLE
Ashley then brought up the harassment charge filed by his mother, Caryn.
As The U.S. Sun previously reported, Connor was charged with two counts of harassment against the Little People, Big World star in January 2020.
Then in May of that year, he received two additional charges of “attempted use of physical force or the threatened use of a deadly weapon” and “did unlawfully and intentionally damage property, the property of Caryn Chandler.”
He pleaded not guilty to all at the time the charges were filed.
Connor later pleaded guilty to misdemeanor criminal mischief on the day of his scheduled trial.
The other three charges were dropped.
Connor received 18 months of bench probation.
CUSTODY PLAN
Ashley also provided a proposed custody and parenting plan.
She is requesting sole legal custody of Liam with decision-making regarding medical, educational, religious, and extra-curricular activities.
She will consult with Father to get his input regarding any major decision.
However, if they disagree, she will make the final decision.
As for parenting time, she is requesting for three months after the entry of judgment, Connor will have supervised visitation with Liam once a week for three hours.
She is requesting he enroll in and participate in regular therapy, and for their communication to take place over a court app.
If this plan goes well, Connor could have unsupervised visitation with Liam for one day every other weekend from 10 am to 5 pm.
Connor could then move to step three, which would involve parenting time with Liam for two days every other weekend from 10 am to 5 pm.
Step four would include parenting time with Liam for two days every other weekend from 10 am to 5 pm, with one of the days overnight until 10 am the next day.
The final step would be parenting time with Liam every other weekend from 5 pm on Friday until Sunday at 5 pm.
Connor has not responded to The U.S. Sun’s request for comment or to Ashley’s filing.
An Oregon judge has not ruled on Ashley’s proposed parenting plan.
‘I WANT HIM TO KNOW ME’
As The U.S. Sun first reported, Ashley filed for sole custody on November 16, 2022.
She wrote in her request, “I am requesting supervised parenting time due to his recent threats against Liam and I, and previous threats in the past.”
In Connor’s response to her initial petition filed on December 15, 2022, he wrote, “I deny that the petitioner receives sole custody. I request joint custody. I deny that any supervision is supervised.”
Connor continued, “I request 50/50 custody of my son. I want him to intimately grow up w/ and know his father.”
Regarding her claims, he responded, “I agree to pursue treatment for this so I can develop a healthy relationship w/ my son.”
‘A LOT OF TEARS’
Connor previously opened up to The U.S. Sun about their custody battle in an August 2023 interview.
When asked how long he wasn’t allowed to see Liam at the time of the interview, he told The U.S. Sun, “Six months, that was really hard, you know, a lot of staying up late at night, a lot of tears, and a lot of confusion.
“It was really hard on my mental health. Through my past addiction, one big thing now that I’m clean and I’ve been clean is working on feeling better mentally, and physically.
“So going through that was a struggle for me and I just had to really focus on like how to be okay. And it was probably one of the hardest things I’ve ever been through.”
DRUG BATTLE
Connor previously opened up about this battle with drugs to The U.S. Sun.
“I was extremely addicted to Xanax,” he told The U.S. Sun in a video interview. “And it all started in high school. I was about 15 and it went on until I was about 19, I was going through depression but wasn’t sure what it was.
“I wasn’t really depressed for any specific reason. I just know I wanted to feel better. So I tried this new pill, Xanax, and everybody was talking about it.
“I know I had a couple of relapses until I truly stopped and haven’t done it since. But I really got ahold of my addiction around 19 years old.
“I went to seven inpatient rehabs, it was a lot… bunch of different outpatient programs. It was really, really, really hard.”
DEEP DEPRESSION
He also admitted he was still struggling with his parent’s divorce, which had happened some years earlier.
Connor would experiment with other pills, including hallucinogenics, but Xanax was his drug of choice.
He said, “I think what Xanax does to you is it makes you stop feeling, stop caring, and I think that’s what I was kind of looking for because I just didn’t want to be upset in life.
“But I haven’t touched or thought about drugs for so long.
“I smoke pot, it helps, a lot of people do it, but I haven’t done anything else and I’ve been clean and clear for a very long time.
“I wouldn’t say I’m sober from alcohol, [but] I’ve never really had a drinking problem. I never was big on alcohol. At a party, I was doing drugs instead of alcohol.
“I go out, I have a drink, I have a beer here and there, but it’s only on like a weekend. I’m not a big fan of it.”
FRESH START
He also previously told The U.S. Sun that his harassment case and the birth of his son helped him remain sober.
He said, “Becoming a dad is a feeling like no other. I have been gifted by God the most amazing thing I could have ever asked for.
“The first couple weeks were tiring, but I didn’t even think about how tired I was because I know that my son is happy and feeling the way he should at all times.
“My relationship with my mom is right back to where it should be, better and happier than ever and seeing each other even more now that Liam has arrived.
“I am completely sober and have been for a long time. Being a dad has only made me want to go above in beyond in every aspect of my life to set a good example for my son.”
Caryn is currently engaged to Little People, Big World star Matt Roloff.
