The case of missing 2-year-old Sky Metalwala has baffled authorities for weeks.

Investigators have not ruled out any possible theories as to what happened to the boy, despite over 1,000 tips from the public and expanding the search.

Julia Biryukova, the boy’s mother, has told police that she left the boy in the car after it ran out of gas in Bellevue on Nov. 6. She claims to have walked with her daughter to get help and when she returned the boy was gone.

As the investigation into Sky’s whereabouts has largely focused on the parents, the Reporter took a closer look at the couple’s contentious past.

This is the first of a two-part series that examines the parents’ contentious marriage and allegations against each other.

MARITAL CONFLICT

Domestic violence has allegedly followed Biryukova, who was born in Russia and became a U.S. citizen in 1999.

She described in court documents daily beatings from her parents during much of her childhood. She felt like she could not do anything right, as she was also taken for a variation of electroconvulsive shock treatment in Russia for punitive reasons, according to court records.

Biryukova describes being “controlled” by Solomon as well.

Hundreds of King County Court documents illustrate Biryukova and Solomon’s financial and marital struggles.

The couple met in 1997 when Biryukova, 15, a Bellevue High School sophomore, was invited to a party by Solomon, 21. The couple’s romantic relationship began shortly after and they separated in March of 2010.

She told Stephen J. Cummings, a licensed clinical psychologist in Seattle, that soon after she met Solomon, she learned he was “very controlling, declared himself to be a Christ-like figure who had great persuasive skills due to his charisma. An emotional abuse pattern insidiously set in whereby Julia gradually became dependent upon Solomon for her very identity and self esteem,” the court documents continue.

A Kirkland police report showed a possible beginning to conflict as early as 1999.

Officers were called to a gas station in response to a couple arguing loudly. The report states that the boyfriend and girlfriend were arguing about where to go that night, but the name of the man claiming to be Biryukova’s boyfriend is Solomon’s brother, Sulaiman.

But Biryukova states in court documents that she has been with only Solomon since 1997.

Biryukova began working at Solomon’s family business, Kings Street Kafe in Pioneer Square. By the time she graduated from high school, they purchased a $265,000 Bellevue condo and moved in together.

At first, the couple was passionate about running their business. They enjoyed yoga, kickboxing, jogging at the Bellevue Park, movies, cooking, spending time with friends and each other, according to court documents.

But the nature of the relationship changed in 2003, as the couple was seemingly forced to get married.

Testimony in court documents states the couple married on Feb. 10 2003 in Solomon’s mother’s kitchen after Biryukova was approached with an ultimatum – marry Solomon or never see him again after his deportation to Pakistan.

It is unclear why Solomon faced deportation.

Biryukova states in court documents that she hid her reason for marrying Solomon from her parents until 2010.

The couple’s financial woes, which contributed to their separation, began in 2005-2006 “as a competitor with a deli moved in next door to us, causing real economic loss from our anticipated and previously received income average. Subsequently, with the economic downturn, business became even slower,” Solomon testified.

But that did not stop the couple from purchasing an $860,000 home in Kirkland in 2008, along with the mortgage payments for the Bellevue condo.

Biryukova has also apparently called into question her ex-husband’s involvement in their son’s disappearance.

On Monday, ABC’s Good Morning America (GMA) claimed to have corresponded with someone using Biryukova’s email. It has not been confirmed that the email response to GMA was from Biryukova, a family member or if the email was hacked.

But the respondent directly accuses her ex-husband, Solomon Metalwala, of being involved in the boy’s disappearance.“My former husband is a sadistic Muslim Pakistani,” the respondent wrote to GMA’s Neil Karlinksky. “No one has any idea. This is all too difficult.”

However, this response contradicts the couple’s past, as seen through court documents.

Solomon’s conversion to Christianity is a point of conflict in the deterioration of their marriage, according to court documents.

Biryukova claims that Solomon became a born-again Christian in 2005 and that she felt his family resented her for his conversion, the documents continue.

Parishioners at City Church in Kirkland, where the couple began attending in 2005, did not question his faith.

“They have been members of the church,” said Troy Anderson, associate pastor and general counsel. “And some of our members have reached out to them.”

The City Church community held a special prayer on Nov. 9 for the missing 2-year-old Redmond boy.Anderson said the couple’s kids attended sunday school at the church.

The couple also attended divorce-care meetings at the church, according to court documents.

A member of City Church also played a big part in attempting to mediate conflict between the couple and transferring the children from one party to the other during a bitter custody fight. That fight included allegations against each other that Biryukova suffered from psychiatric issues and that Solomon was abusive.

The final story in this two-part series will examine those allegations against each other.