Feb 12, 2008 1:25 pm US/Pacific
La Quinta Woman Pleads Not Guilty To Bigamy
RIVERSIDE, Calif.
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If convicted, Ko could be sentenced to up to three years in state prison.
AP
A woman accused of marrying a man in Palm Springs while still married to another man in Phoenix pleaded not guilty to bigamy, it was reported Tuesday.
La Quinta businesswoman, Carolyn Yvonne Ko, 44, allegedly married Brian Davies in Palm Springs in April 2004 while still married to Steven Satterstrom of Phoenix, according to court papers.
Davies, the alleged second husband, provided a marriage certificate to Indio police indicating that Ko and Satterstrom were married on March 18, 2002, in Phoenix.
Satterstrom told police he had not filed for divorce from Ko. He said he was under the impression he was still married to her and had been unaware that Ko had remarried in California, according to court papers.
Ko, who was charged on Dec. 6, is believed to be the first person to be prosecuted for bigamy in the county, according to Michael Jeandron of the Riverside County District Attorney's Office.
"This is a very straight-forward case and after a thorough investigation we determined that we had sufficient evidence that bigamy was in fact committed," he said.
If convicted, she could be sentenced to up to three years in state prison, he said.
Ko's former attorney, Sheldon G. Wellins, said last month the bigamy charge was "ridiculous."
"It's a victimless crime. She was the primary breadwinner and there is no crime," he said.
According to Wellins, Ko believed at the time she married Davies that she had obtained a legal Mexican divorce from Satterstrom.
Wellins said that in order to dissolve the relationship with Davies quickly, Ko agreed to a divorce court document that specified there may have technically been a bigamy in place when they got married.
"However, it would not be sufficient for a criminal charge because Ko thought she was single and free to marry," Wellins said.
Riverside County Superior Court Judge Roger A. Leubs scheduled a felony settlement conference for March 18.
Ko is free on $5,000 bail.
(© 2008 CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. Wire services contributed to this report.)
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