Bigamist wed THIRD while still married to second - blaming paperwork confusion
A man who tied the knot with his third bride while still married to his second was caught out when wife No2 found out via social media.
Mark Rowlands, 47, married nurse Kerry Adams, 45, at a Holiday Inn in 2020 and put the happy news online.
But he was reported to police after shocked second wife Hayley Brown found out from a friend.
She had married Rowlands in 2012 and split from him a few years later.
Rowlands claimed in court that his solicitor had told him the marriage was legally over.
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But prosecutors say only a decree nisi was issued, not the final decree absolute.
Rowlands, an electrician, who first got divorced in 2004, initially denied a bigamy charge.
But he changed his plea to guilty on the day of the trial.
Kerry and Mark get hitched (Cavendish Press (Manchester) Ltd)He was fined £456 with £346 in prosecution costs and a victim surcharge.
On top of that, he now faces legal fees to finalise the divorce from Hayley – and paying for another wedding to legalise his new marriage with Kerry.
NHS worker Kerry, who is also thought to have worked as a deputy manager in a care home, watched the case from the public gallery to support her partner Rowlands.
It is not thought Hayley was in Chester magistrates court for the hearing yesterday. Mitigating, Stephen Ferns said: “Hayley has suffered no detriment as a result of what has happened.
“She wanted to be divorced from Mr Rowlands, so much so that she had a change of name by deed poll.”
He added: “They have now been separated for quite some time.
“It’s not a traditional case where a gentleman has got two separate families, when he marries at the same time and goes between the first wife and the second wife. It’s not one of those cases.
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“Kerry Rowlands stands by her husband. She is the person who suffers the most with these proceedings as she has now found that she is not legally married.”
Leanne Gallagher, prosecuting, said Rowlands, of Ellesmere Port in Cheshire had initiated divorce proceedings in Preston, Lancs.
She added: “We believe that the instructed solicitors were Christine Murray and Company.
“But the building has been knocked down and she has either retired or deceased. She is no longer on the roll of solicitors and the company has ceased trading.
“Records have now all been destroyed. He now believes that he confused his decree nisi with the decree absolute."
She said: “He said he had no intention to deceive.”
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