California school principal left suicide note ahead of court date

A California elementary school principal who died by suicide ahead of a court date to answer to child endangerment charges left a farewell note blaming his troubles on his widow and what he sees as a “deeply flawed” legal system that’s supposedly biased against men.

Chris Christensen posted his final message over the weekend before jumping from a Disneyland Park structure, the Los Angeles Daily News reported.

According to Christensen, he and his wife of three and a half years had a heated argument in front of her girls last week, prompting her to call the police.

“Never in this exchange did I hit, slap, or hurt Marlena in any manner,” he claimed. “Nor did I ever touch the girls (I never have and never will). I love the girls like my own and they know that, as does everyone else who truly knows me.”

Christiansen was reportedly due in court Monday to answer to misdemeanor charges of child endangerment and battery. He’d pleaded not guilty.

He wrote on Facebook that because of that incident, he was on the verge of losing his new job at Newland Elementary School in Huntington Beach, Calif. He’d reportedly spent nearly 22 years between that campus and nearby Courreges Elementary School in Fountain Valley, Calif.

He said he suspected his wife had regrets about making the call that landed him in jail, claiming “the legal system is extremely flawed (especially against men/fathers) and it’s sickening how quickly and easily an innocent man can be thrown in jail based on zero evidence or proof!”

Theme Park Insider identified the dead man as the son of longtime Disney theme parks music director Jim Christensen.

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It’s not known how Christensen’s telling of events would have played out in court, though a Facebook page attributed to the Courreges Elementary School Parent Teacher Association remembered him fondly.

“Our hearts are so broken,” that page reads. “We love you, Mr. C and we’ll miss you immensely.”