A young Utah woman who alleges her parents kidnapped her to prevent her from getting married says she wants prosecutors to move forward with the criminal case.
Julianna Redd said Monday on the “Today” show that she still loves her parents and hopes someday to welcome them back into her life. But for now, she wants to let the criminal-justice system run its course.
“It’s very sad. I’m sad this has had to happen but … the prosecutors approached us. They wanted to press charges. We asked them to treat it like any other case, and I believe the legal authorities know what they’re doing,” she said.
Lemuel and Julia Redd of Monticello, Utah, are charged with second-degree kidnapping, accused of driving Julianna to Colorado against her will the day before she was to get married to her college sweetheart, Perry Myers. The parents are scheduled to appear in District Court on Oct. 26. The maximum penalty, if convicted, is 15 years in prison.
Julianna Redd, 21, and Myers, 23, both students at Brigham Young University, married on Aug. 8, three days later than planned. Julianna is six weeks pregnant with the couple’s first child.
Julianna and Perry and their legal adviser, Randy Kester, appeared on “Today” to discuss the episode that could put her parents behind bars.
“If I could talk to them, I’d want them to know I love them,” Julianna said of her parents. “I care for my family very much. I just want things to get healed, but I think it has to be someone beyond just our family trying to work things out. That’s why I’m glad things are moving forward.”
Wedding jittersAccording to Utah County prosecutors, Julianna’s parents picked her up at her apartment the day before the original wedding date, ostensibly to take her shopping. Instead they led her on a five-plus-hour ride to Grand Junction, Colo., where they tried to talk her out of the wedding, the charges allege. At one point, during a stop at a convenience store in Salina, Utah, Julianna says her parents used force – pulling her hair and grabbing her wrist – to get her back in the car.
The Redds spent the night in Colorado, causing Julianna to miss her pre-wedding dinner with her fiancé’s family, before heading back to Provo the next day.
“It was a very special day for her and it should have been special. And it was changed forever because of what her parents did,” Utah County Attorney Kay Bryson said.
“I’ve never seen a parent take a child to keep them form marrying somebody that they wanted to marry, particularly the day before they were scheduled to be married.”
But Greg Skordas, an attorney for the parents, say there’s no basis for the kidnapping charge.
“"They never perceived that their daughter was being taken against her will. They never thought she did anything against her will," Skordas said. "I can tell you that no one was every forced to do anything, physically or psychologically, by the parents."
Family mattersJulianna contends it was only after she told her parents she would leave Myers that they drove her back home to Utah. She said her parents’ opposition to the marriage had more to do with “control” and “communication” issues than with her choice for a husband.
For example, Julianna said, her parents wanted her to get married in her hometown of Monticello but the couple instead opted for Salt Lake City. “I wanted (my mother’s) input but it wasn’t the same. She wanted a huge wedding and I always wanted a small, simple thing.”
Myers said he even went the traditional route and asked Julianna’s father for her hand in marriage. “He said, ‘absolutely, you have our blessing. We’re excited for you.’”
It was only after the engagement that Julianna’s parents made it clear they didn’t like the idea, and felt Myers was forcing her into marriage, the couple said.
But Skordas said the parents were only trying to get their daughter to reflect on her decision. “I think they felt it was a little bit rushed and wanted to make sure it was really something she wanted to do, that it was her choice to get married.”
Julianna denies she was coerced. Two months after their delayed wedding, she says married life is “better than I ever could have imagined.”