Bride Who Says She Was Kidnapped: "I'm past forgiveness"

Bride Who Says She Was Kidnapped: "I'm past forgiveness"


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PROVO, Utah (AP) -- There is no thaw in the case of a young woman who says she was kidnapped by her parents on the eve of her wedding.

Julianna Myers, 21, suggested she doesn't want her mother, Julia Redd, to see her baby, who is due in May.

"We have to protect our new baby. I don't trust my mom," she told the Deseret Morning News in a copyright story Friday.

Myers said she's tired of hearing her parents in TV interviews describe her as a disobedient child who wants to see them in prison.

"I'm past forgiveness," she said. "I can't do anything more. They'll have to (show) accountability."

(AP Photo)
(AP Photo)

Myers' parents, Lemuel Redd, 60, and Julia Redd, 57, of Monticello, are charged with kidnapping her Aug. 4 to stop from her getting married the next day. A trial has been set for July 9 in Utah County.

Myers said her parents drove her to Colorado instead of taking her to purchase religious undergarments for the ceremony. At a rural gas station, she claims they used force to get her back in the minivan.

The three spent a night in Grand Junction, Colo. Myers married Perry Myers on Aug. 8 in the Mormon temple in Salt Lake City.

"It's so frustrating. They look like this innocent farm family," he said. "People simply don't want to believe."

Perry Myers said Julia Redd once looked him in the eye and declared: "In this family, I am in charge, and you will do exactly what I say."

An attorney for the parents has held out the possibility of a plea agreement to close the case before trial.

"I think it should have been mediated out," said Craig McLachlan, a legal-matters specialist who has been working with the Redds. "They aren't criminals. This should be settled in the family room, not the courtroom."

The Redds are barred from contacting Julianna Myers. They apologized during a recent appearance on "Good Morning America," although Julia Redd still seemed upset with her daughter.

This case "clarifies to society that you can't do this because you're a parent and you want to," Julianna Myers said. "You're accountable, no matter who you are."

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Information from: Deseret Morning News, http://www.deseretnews.com

(Copyright 2007 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)

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