Florida Statute Allows Man To Get Away With Bigamy

Las Vegas Marriage Not In State Attorney's Jurisdiction

Published On: Oct 03 2011 03:12:39 PM EDT  Updated On: Jul 14 2011 09:47:37 AM EDT
ORLANDO, Fla. -

A Florida man has two wives, two families and two marriage certificates, but under Florida's current bigamy law, the state cannot do a thing about it.

Tait "Tater" Michael Bennett was arrested and booked on bigamy charges last October after his wife, Heather Marie Bennett, discovered he had married another woman in Las Vegas.

Heather Bennnet said her husband, "Swore it never even happened," but Clark County, Nev., records confirmed a marriage certificate was issued to Michael T. Bennett and Amy Bessey on Nov. 4, 2005.

Tait Bennet lives in Central Florida and has a child with Amy Bennett.

Local 6 reporter Mike Holfeld found a full page of photographs posted on Amy Bennett's Facebook page. In them, the Bennetts appear to be happily married.

The marriage ceremony was held at the Stained Glass Chapel in Las Vegas.

Heather Bennett said she never knew about the secret wedding until she went to the Department of Children and Families seeking child support for their two children. They separated after she said she discovered her husband was cheating on her.

A records check found another Mrs. Tait Bennett. Much to her surprise, her husband has been married to another woman for six years.

The Department of Motor Vehicles conducted an investigation and found that Amy Bessey Bennett was legally married to Tait Bennett.

Heather Bennett filed charges against her husband, but on June 28, 2011, Assistant State Attorney John N. Knutton sent her a stunning decision.

"Unfortunately, Florida case law and statute says that the second marriage must take place in Florida," Knutton wrote.

Heather and Tait Bennett were married in Fort Pierce, Fla., in 2000.

She said it feels like the law is allowing her husband to laugh at her and the system.

"It's like almost getting away with murder, because he's murdered my life," Heather Bennett said.

Under Florida statute 826.01, anyone "having a husband or wife living (and) marries another person" is guilty of a 3rd-degree felony.

Attorney Steven Lockhart, a former state legislative researcher, said Bennett has violated "the spirit of the law."

Lockhart said a simple adjustment in the language would ensure that Florida would not be a haven for bigamists.

The Florida state attorney sent a complete file of the case to Clark County District Attorney David Roger.

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