Bigamist is shopped by husband she ditched
She claims he’s ‘vindictive’
WHEN Faith Jenkinson walked out on her husband and launched a bitter divorce battle, she had no idea what lay in wait for her.
For six months later, businessman Andrew Asher reported the mother of his three-year- old daughter to police for being a bigamist.
In the course of the acrimonious split, he had discovered that she had been married two decades ago, but the divorce had never gone through.
Jenkinson, 43, insisted it was an ‘honest mistake’ and believed she was free to marry again. The couple’s marriage was declared void at Lincoln Family Court in June last year.
With ill-feeling still simmering between them, Mr Asher, 52, turned Jenkinson into police shortly before Christmas and she was charged with bigamy. Jenkinson admitted the offence at Lincoln Crown Court where the complex saga of blunders, deceit, tragedy and betrayal was revealed.
Judge John Pini, QC, allowed Jenkinson to walk free from court, deciding she was confused about her marital status rather than being a wicked schemer.
She was sentenced to a sus- pended four-month prison term and ordered to carry out 150 hours of unpaid work.
Outside court, the accusations continued to fly as Jenkinson accused her former partner of reporting her out of ‘hatred’. She said: ‘He is a very bitter, twisted and vindictive little man.’
The court heard that Jenkinson, a former health and safety consultant, married in March 1994 when she was 21. The marriage to Michael Ulatowski resulted in a baby girl, said prosecutor Stephen Kemp.
The child died aged 11 months and Mr Kemp said ‘the marriage did not survive long after that’.
After a lengthy separation Jenkinson sought a divorce and a petition was issued at Slough County Court in September 2000. However, it was returned as ‘not served’ a month later and a decree absolute was never issued.
Jump forward a decade, and Jenkinson was still officially a married woman when she tied the knot with divorcee Mr Asher at a country house hotel in October 2010.
No one seemed aware of a problem as ceremonies were conducted at Branston Hall in Lincoln and the bride ‘entered on the marriage certificate that she was single’, Mr Kemp said.
All was well during two and a half years of marriage, but the relationship collapsed after the birth of their daughter and the couple split. Mr Kemp told the court: ‘Mr Asher was unaware the defendant had ever been married to Mr Ulatowski, although he was aware of a previous relationship and a child.’
When interviewed by police in March, Jenkinson said she last saw Mr Ulatowski in 1995 and thought she was free to marry again after issuing a divorce petition in 2000. She admitted they were still married when she wed Mr Asher. Mr Kemp said she was clearly aware her first husband was alive ‘as he was living and working in Enfield’ and she had seen his Facebook page.
The judge said it was not in the public interest to send her to jail as the bigamous marriage was not for immigration purposes or financial gain. Jenkinson, who lives near Gainsborough, Lin-
‘She’s a nightmare’
colnshire, has custody of their daughter. She said she had little choice but to plead guilty, adding: ‘This is my first conviction. I am a woman of good character – I’ve never even had a parking ticket before.’ Mr Asher, who works for a family swimming pool business, was not available for comment. His new partner, who did not give her name, said: ‘I don’t think, at the end of the day, we are that bothered about what that young lady has to say. We just want her out of our lives. She’s a nightmare.’