Parents plead in missing bride case

PROVO, Utah - A couple originally charged with kidnapping their daughter on the eve of her wedding pleaded guilty Wednesday to a reduced charge in a deal that spares them jail time.

Julia Redd, 57, and husband Lemuel Redd, 60, pleaded guilty to custodial interference, a misdemeanor, capping the legal end of a family spat over their daughter Julianna's choice for a husband.

A judge immediately sentenced the parents to three years of probation and ordered them to pay $2,000, the cost of a meal that was missed on the eve of the original wedding date.

The parents, who live in southern Utah, were accused of kidnapping their 20-year-old daughter on the eve of her wedding. A brief trip to buy religious garments in August 2006 for the ceremony in a Mormon temple turned into a long drive to Grand Junction, Colo., and a night in a motel.

The Redds picked up their daughter to take her shopping to buy religious garments in August 2006 for the ceremony in a Mormon temple, but instead drove more than 200 miles to Colorado.

Their daughter has said her parents berated her on the drive, accusing her of breaking the Old Testament's Fourth Commandment, which says to honor parents. She said they called her fiance "evil and wicked."

In an interview Tuesday night, Julia Redd said she had concerns about Perry Myers, and their daughter "was only 20 years old."

"We're not against marriage. We just believe people need to be wise," she told The Associated Press.

Julianna and Perry Myers were married Aug. 8, 2006, three days later than planned — and without the Redds in attendance.

A court order has prevented the Redds from speaking to their daughter or son-in-law for more than a year. The young couple had a daughter last spring.

Source: news.yahoo.com