This is an archived article that was published on sltrib.com in 2006, and information in the article may be outdated. It is provided only for personal research purposes and may not be reprinted.
Posted: 4:43 PM- PROVO - A woman allegedly kidnapped by her parents on the eve of her wedding testified Wednesday they believed her fiance was "evil and abusive" for buying her a gold band instead of a diamond ring.
BYU student Julianna Myers told 4th District Judge James Taylor that on Aug. 4, her parents picked her up at her Provo condo on the pretext of driving to Orem to buy religious garments for her Aug. 5 wedding ceremony.
But her father turned the van south on Interstate 15, instead of north.
When Myers asked what was going on, she testified, her mother turned to her and said: "What is the 4th [sic] Commandment?"
Her testimony came in a preliminary hearing Wednesday for Julia Redd, 58, and Lemuel Hardison Redd, 61, of Monticello. At hearing's end, Taylor found there was sufficient evidence to send the couple to trial on one count each of second-degree felony kidnapping.
No trial dates have been set. If convicted, the Redds face 1 to 15 years in prison.
The commandment Julia was apparently referring to was the fifth of the Ten Commandments, which pertains to honoring "thy father and thy mother," and Myer's mother was apparently asking Myers to choose between her parents and her husband-to-be, Perry Myers, also a BYU student, from Texas.
At a Salina rest stop, Julianna Myers refused to get back in the van, but said she relented after her parents pulled on her wrists and hair.
They stayed the night in Grand Junction, Colo., but returned to Provo the next day after Myers promised to have no contact with her fiance.
She testified she made that promise even though she knew her fiance would be looking for her and would find her.
They returned to Provo after the wedding was supposed to take place. Julianna Myers said Perry Myers was looking for her at her condo when they arrived.
The couple was married three days later.
Julianna Myers' parents did not attend the wedding.