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SALT LAKE CITY (AP) -- Authorities investigating a girl's claim that she was married at 15 to her cousin have collected DNA evidence from the girl's mother.
Authorities on Wednesday took a vial of blood from Mary Orlean Gustafson Kingston, 67, the mother of LuAnn Kingston.
The blood will be analyzed to determine whether LuAnn Kingston is the first cousin -- and aunt -- of her husband, Jeremy Ortell Kingston, the nephew of clan leader Paul Kingston.
LuAnn Kingston told police that she married Jeremy Kingston -- who already had three wives -- on June 16, 1995, when she was 15 and he was 24, according to documents filed in 3rd District Court.
Before she broke off her relationship in May 2000, she had two children with her husband, she said.
The children's birth certificates listed Jacob William McCallister -- a fictitious person -- as the father, say state investigators.
LuAnn Kingston also told investigators that her father-in-law, Joseph Ortell Kingston, is her half brother, which would make her husband a nephew as well as a cousin.
Authorities are investigating a possible charge of incest, a third-degree felony carrying a potential five-year prison sentence, against Jeremy Kingston, according to the records.
They also are investigating relatives for allegedly aiding and abetting felony incest, according to court records.
The Kingston clan, called the Latter-Day Church of Christ, is estimated to have 1,200 members and has amassed a $150-million business empire/
(Copyright 2003 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)
