On Katherine Hennessey, Zachary Livingston, the COVID Defamation, and the Pattern That Refuses to Stop
By John F. Sendelbach · May 2026
“When I see something wrong, I just have to do something about it.”
That was the line Katherine Hennessey was heard saying at a gathering after her most recent visit to Floodwater Brewing. Five words that illuminate a long-running behavioral pattern.
A credible firsthand source who was present reports that Hennessey has gone back inside Floodwater Brewing — the exact scene of the November 30, 2025 assault — while under active criminal charges and court-imposed stay-away and no-contact conditions. She was there as a guest during a live performance. According to the account, she not only circulated among patrons telling multiple people that the performer on stage had COVID-19 and should not be performing — she directly approached Zachary Livingston himself to press the same unverified medical claims about a private individual. She was broadcasting private health information she had no business knowing or sharing in the very establishment where she is accused of committing assault.
Later, at a separate gathering, the same source heard her express open anger at Zachary Livingston — the man whose sworn statement is now the prosecution’s cleanest independent evidence in Commonwealth v. Hennessey (2641CR000158) and Commonwealth v. Batteau (2641CR000159) — for failing to remove the performer from the stage.
That sentence is devastating.
The woman currently on bail for a violent assault outside this very bar has returned to the scene of her alleged crime, directly confronted the prosecution’s key neutral witness in his own establishment with unverified medical accusations, and deployed the same public defamation tactic she and her circle used against me for six years.
The charge she deployed against the performer — publicly claiming someone has a communicable disease without evidence, to warn others away from them — is structurally identical to what she and her circle did to me in 2020. Different target. Same mechanism.
This is not abstract. Under Massachusetts law (M.G.L. c. 268 §13B), it is a crime to willfully harass or intimidate a witness, or to retaliate against someone for their participation in a criminal proceeding. Zachary Livingston gave a sworn statement documenting Brook Batteau’s voluntary admission right after the assault. Returning to his establishment, directly confronting him with unverified medical claims, expressing anger at him in connected social circles, and running fresh accusations on his premises while under bail conditions raises serious concerns under the statute.
The pattern of disrespect for the court is equally clear. There have now been five Harassment Prevention Order petitions filed between us — Hennessey filed two against me (March 2023 and December 2025, the latter denied with prejudice by Judge Mazanec after he found her not credible), and I filed three against her (two in March 2025 and one in March 2026). All five were denied. No protection orders were granted to either side until April 7, 2026, when the court imposed stay-away and no-contact conditions as part of the defendants’ bail. During my March 12, 2026 hearing, Hennessey openly pushed her glasses up with her middle finger in a deliberate gesture while in my line of sight. At the April 7 arraignment, she repeated the same middle-finger “glasses push” multiple times in the gallery and then five or six more times (switching hands) as she walked out of the courtroom with Attorney Elkins.
The law does not require an explicit threat — only a documented pattern in context. Six years of receipts provide that context in abundance.
On November 30, 2025, outside Floodwater, she and Brook Batteau unleashed a barrage of hits on me on the public sidewalk. A third individual pinned my elbows from behind. Hennessey then picked up my still-recording iPhone, walked seventy-five feet to the Deerfield River, and threw it in while the screen was still lit. I watched the glow arc into the water. Zachary Livingston — a neutral party — handed me my shoe and asked Batteau why he had pushed me. Batteau replied: “You don’t understand, John has been after my family for five years.” Livingston answered: “But you still shouldn’t have pushed him.” That exchange is now in a sworn statement dated December 9, 2025.
Both defendants were arraigned April 7, 2026. Both remain under court-ordered stay-away and no-contact conditions. I am the person those orders require them to stay away from.
I cannot independently verify every detail of the recent Floodwater account, but the source was present and credible, and the behavior is entirely consistent with the documented six-year record: the eight collapsed police reports (never once interviewing or notifying me), the frog mask worn eight days before the assault, the false affidavit, the phone in the river, the death-threat lyric posted while her parents were on bail, and the repeated courtroom gestures.
The pattern does not change. Only the setting does.
If this account is accurate — and the source’s credibility and consistency with the record give me no reason to doubt it — then the Northwestern District Attorney’s office and Shelburne Police now have clear notice of potential witness intimidation under M.G.L. c. 268 §13B and a bail violation that warrants immediate review.
I have documented atrial fibrillation attributed by my physician to the sustained stress of this six-year pattern. The American Heart Association is clear: repeated episodes shorten life expectancy by five to ten years. The machine is still running.
She’s back at the bar.
She’s still telling people what she sees as wrong.
She still “just has to do something about it.”
The phone is still in the river.
The court case is still active.
And the pattern is still on the record.
John F. Sendelbach is a metalworker, sculptor, and landscape designer based in Shelburne Falls, Massachusetts. The complete documented archive is at johnsendelbach.com. No login. No fee.
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John F. Sendelbach
Shelburne Falls, MA
[Your Phone Number]
[Your Email Address]
May 26, 2026
Northwestern District Attorney’s Office
Attn: Assistant District Attorney handling Commonwealth v. Hennessey (2641CR000158) and Commonwealth v. Batteau (2641CR000159)
Shelburne Police Department
Attn: Chief Gregory Bardwell / Sergeant Kurt Gilmore
and
Attorney [Elkins’ Full Name]
Counsel for Katherine Hennessey
Re: Witness Intimidation (M.G.L. c. 268 §13B) and Bail Violation by Katherine Hennessey – Cases 2641CR000158 and 2641CR000159
Dear District Attorney’s Office, Shelburne Police Department, and Attorney Elkins,
I am writing to formally report recent conduct by Katherine Hennessey that I myself understand to constitute witness intimidation under M.G.L. c. 268 §13B and a clear violation of her court-imposed bail conditions. I believe this conduct warrants immediate investigation and consideration of a motion for bail revocation.
As you know, I am the victim in both cases. Hennessey and Brook Batteau were arraigned on April 7, 2026, and remain under active stay-away and no-contact orders as conditions of bail. Zachary Livingston provided a sworn statement to Sergeant Gilmore on December 9, 2025, documenting Brook Batteau’s voluntary admission immediately after the November 30, 2025 assault. That statement is now among the Commonwealth’s strongest independent evidence.
A credible firsthand source has reported the following:
• Katherine Hennessey returned to Floodwater Brewing at 40 State Street in Buckland — the exact location of the alleged assault — while the criminal cases are pending.
• She was present as a guest during a live performance.
• She directly approached Zachary Livingston to press unverified medical claims that the performer on stage had COVID-19 and should not be performing.
• She also circulated among other patrons repeating the same claims.
• At a separate gathering afterward, she expressed open anger at Zachary Livingston for failing to remove the performer from the stage.
• She was heard stating: “When I see something wrong, I just have to do something about it.”
In my view, directly confronting the prosecution’s key neutral witness in his own establishment with false medical accusations, while on bail for assaulting me outside that same establishment, constitutes witness intimidation and retaliation. This is compounded by her continuing pattern of courtroom behavior. During my March 12, 2026 hearing, she openly pushed her glasses up with her middle finger in a deliberate gesture while in my line of sight. At the April 7, 2026 arraignment, she repeated the same middle-finger “glasses push” multiple times in the gallery and again (switching hands) as she walked out of the courtroom with Attorney Elkins.
There have now been five Harassment Prevention Order petitions filed between us (Hennessey filed two against me in March 2023 and December 2025; I filed three against her in March 2025 and March 2026). All five were denied. No protection orders were granted until the court imposed stay-away and no-contact conditions on April 7, 2026.
I respectfully request that the District Attorney’s Office and Shelburne Police Department:
1 Immediately investigate this reported conduct.
2 Determine whether it constitutes a violation of Hennessey’s bail conditions.
3 File a motion for bail revocation or modification if warranted, as I believe the facts strongly support such action.
4 Provide me with any updates on the status of this report.
Additional details from the firsthand source can be provided to law enforcement upon request. I am available at any time for an interview and will cooperate fully.
All prior documentation in this matter is publicly available at johnsendelbach.com with no login required.
Thank you for your prompt and serious attention to this matter.
Sincerely,
John F. Sendelbach