UFC hall-of-famer BJ Penn’s deeply troubling behavior over the past few years has escalated to the point that his mother Lorraine Shin has had to file for a restraining order.
Sadly the 46-year-old Penn has been showing signs of deteriorating mental health for a long time now and has repeatedly posted on social media about his belief that his real family had been murdered by someone who is now impersonating his mother.
And it seems that in recent days the situation has escalated, with Penn having been arrested twice for abusing a member of his family or household.
In a police report Shin detailed a catalogue of alarming incidents recently, including alleging that her belongings had been removed from her bedroom, then her driving license and credit cards were stolen.
Shin filed police reports for theft on both occasions and then decided to install a dead bolt lock on her bedroom door and installed cameras in the home, but she alleges that Penn removed them and put glue in her locks. However, when the police were called Penn denied any involvement in that.
Then Shin discovered that her mail was missing, and though Penn denied that he’d taken it, his mother claimed that later that night she saw Penn sitting in his friends car with the mail on the backseat.
Shin once again opted to call the police, but Penn tried to intervene by repeatedly shining a flashlight in her eyes.
“I tried turning in several directions and he continued to blind me with his flashlight,” Shin wrote in her statement. “I then tried to grab the flashlight and remove it from my face and then he grabbed my arms and shoved me against the 4-door gray sedan, which I felt a sharp pain in my back. I then started to scream at the top of my voice for my son Reagan Penn to help me.
“Reagan lives two houses away from me. Reagan ran over to help me. I then dialed 911 for help.”
Penn was arrested and ordered by police to stay away from Shin’s home for 48 hours, but the next morning she discovered her son running out of the house and leaving in his friends car.
Later that day police were called again after Penn got into an argument with his brother Reagan, and when Shin showed them video evidence of him entering and leaving her home during the 48 hour period he was arrested again.
In her statement Shin states her belief that Penn is suffering from a mental health issue that needs treatment.
“I believe my son [B.J. Penn] is suffering from Capgras delusional syndrome (a psychiatric disorder in which a person holds a delusion that a friend, spouse, parent, other close family member has been replaced by an identical imposter). He believes I’m an imposter who has killed his family to gain control of the family assets.
“In the best interest for my safety, I ask the court for a six month [temporary restraining order] and have my son ordered to get medical treatment or other source of therapy.”
This has clearly been an incredibly difficult and potentially dangerous situation for the star’s family, who have been having to deal with this for a long time now.
It’s also very sad to see a living legend like Penn going through these struggles with his mental health at a time in his life where he should be enjoying the fruits of his labor after an illustrious career that saw him not only become a lightweight champion but become one of the all-time greats of that division, while also winning the welterweight title too.
Hopefully he is able to get the help he needs to get his mental health back on track and reunite with his family under better circumstances in the future.
