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St. Pete Police: Woman Admits Being Married To 2 Men

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By STEPHEN THOMPSON | The Tampa Tribune

Published: January 23, 2009

Updated: 01/23/2009 03:37 pm

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Michelle Rios Southern

ST. PETERSBURG - A 41-year-old woman was arrested on a charge of bigamy Thursday, according to court records and police.

Michelle Rios Southern married Kevin Vanderkelen, 41, on July 14 at the Renaissance Vinoy Resort and Golf Club in St. Petersburg, even though she was still married to a Kevin Southern, St. Petersburg police spokesman George Kajtsa said.

By November, however, what was Michelle Southern's fourth marriage started to sour. Kevin Vanderkelen was charged with domestic battery, and on Dec. 3, Michelle Southern and Kevin Vanderkelen appeared in court after she sought a restraining order against him, Kajtsa said. In front of the judge, she admitted to being married to both men, and the judge denied the restraining order.

Then authorities began working the bigamy case.

Southern was expected to be released on her own recognizance today.

Kevin Southern said today he and Michelle were married in August 2005, but she left him after she was three months' pregnant with their son, Ty. Though they have been fighting over custody, word that she had remarried didn't reach him until recently.

"I hadn't found out about it till I got a call from the detective saying he was investigating it," Kevin Southern said. "I think it's kind of crazy."

He wondered why his wife couldn't wait until their split was permanent before she moved on. "I don't understand what the big hurry is," he said.

Reporter Stephen Thompson can be reached at spthompson@tampatrib.com or (727) 451-2336. Peter Bernard can be reached at pbernard@wfla.com or (727) 536-8283.

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