Texas Men Jailed for Bigamy Charges

For two Hardin County, Texas men, being married to one person apparently is not enough. Indictments name Kiplin N. Ellis, 43, and Gary Paul Mitcham, 52, on bigamy charges, according to court documents.

Entering into a marriage while legally married to someone else is a third-degree felony, punishable by up to 10 years in prison.

Mitcham, who lives in China, made his first court appearance this week. Ellis, a Nederland resident, was indicted in June 2007. Ellis is scheduled to appear in court April 30. Mitcham is scheduled to appear again in July.

Ellis' attorney, Hal Laine was on vacation and could not be reached for comment. Mitcham's attorney, Bryan McEachem of Kountze, said his client was shocked by the allegations. 

McEacham said the case, still under review, was not a "classical bigamy" case. He said Mitcham was not living with two women at the same time.

"My initial understanding was that he was married previously and that he had been separated for several years, and thought that she had gotten a divorce," McEacham said.

The indictment naming Ellis refers only to Ellis' marriage to Mary Kelley while he still was legally married to a Virginia woman named Liza Ellis. Kelley, reached at her Nederland home, said she married Ellis in March 2003. The two grew up together and got reacquainted in church, she said. She said "things just didn't seem right" in the marriage, annulled in January 2004 at her request.

The bigamy charge is not Ellis' first offense. He also was arrested in 2000 for obtaining money or signature by false pretense, according to Virgina court records. He pleaded guilty and served 18 months in prison.

These are not the first cases of bigamy in Hardin County. Former Hardin County Constable Curtis Crowell left office in late 2001 after pleading no contest to a misdemeanor charge of bigamy.

By Jemimih Noonoo of The Hardin County News