Bride case may be resolved

PROVO — Talks are continuing to resolve the criminal case against two parents who earned national media attention when they allegedly kidnapped their adult daughter the day before her wedding.

"We do want to keep that trial date (July 9), but there have been some constructive talks that would get this case resolved," attorney Rhome Zabriskie said Thursday in 4th District Court. "We don't want it to drag out any longer."

Zabriskie represents parents Lemuel and Julia Redd, who are each charged with one second-degree felony of kidnapping, which carries a maximum penalty of 15 years in prison.

Zabriskie declined to detail the talks or any potential deals but did say there had been "give and take on both sides."

He did say any deal would involve both parents.

"We're working toward a mid-point that we'd be satisfied with," he said.

Thursday's hearing — a pre-trial conference — was continued until June 14 at 1:30 p.m.

Police allege that on Aug. 4, 2006, the Redds told their 21-year-old daughter, Julianna, they were going shopping for last-minute wedding items.

Instead, they drove her from Provo to Grand Junction, Colo., all the while questioning her decision to marry 23-year-old Perry Myers and spouting twisted religious logic, Julianna testified during a previous hearing.

During one stop at a gas station in Salina, Julianna testified her parents physically forced her to get back in the van and even pulled her hair to prevent her from running away.

However, attorneys for the Redds say the parents were simply expressing their concern over what they felt were warning signs about Myers. They said that Julianna had plenty of opportunities to call out for help or run away had she felt kidnapped or threatened.

After arriving at a hotel in Grand Junction, the family spent the night, then returned to Utah the next morning, after Julianna had already missed her wedding.

The couple married days later and now have a three-week-old baby girl. They did not attend Thursday's hearing but are doing great, said the husband's cousin, Megan Myers.

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