My stepfather is a convicted murderer... my mom fell in love with the felon after they became prison pen pals
A woman has laid bare the grim realities of having a convicted murderer as a stepfather... while revealing how her mom fell in love with a felon after they became pen pals.
The woman, 35, who will be referred to as the pseudonym Sophia throughout the story as she asked to remain anonymous, explained to DailyMail.com that her mom, 58, endured immense 'trauma' over the course of her life.
In recent years, she gained a newfound fascination with convicts and began sending letters to prison inmates.
In 2019, she started corresponding with one man, who has been behind bars for over 20 years for murder, and they formed a strong connection.
They spent over a year writing back and forth to one another before they decided to become boyfriend and girlfriend.
'Eventually, they mutually admitted to having feelings for one another and started dating,' Sophia told DailyMail.com exclusively.
When her mom broke the news to her that she was dating a man who was in prison for murder, Sophia recalled being uneasy, but ultimately deciding that there was no harm in the relationship.
'My siblings and I discussed it separately and decided that while it was surprising, it was a safe situation for her,' she recalled.
'He didn't have the access, means, or resources to abuse or significantly take advantage of her, and the likelihood of his release is minimal.'
But when her mom revealed that they were getting married, she was shocked.
She admitted that she 'couldn't stop crying' at first, adding, 'She's the grandmother to my children and I have no idea how to navigate this. My heart is just so tired.
'There is a part of me that is happy that she has found her own path to contentment in life despite a lot of significant hardship, but there is also a part of me that is grieving another affirmation that I will never have "normal" parents.'
Sophia's mom married the felon last month, and despite her reservations, Sophia attended the nuptials.
'[Me and my sister] showed up an hour before the ceremony was due to start and went through the screening process that included a metal detector and a drug dog,' she said of the big day.
'We waited a full hour before a van showed up to drive us over to where the ceremony would be.
'We were escorted through a few big locked metal gates to a long outdoor corridor that was lined with chain link fence topped with barbed wire.
'Eventually, we were let into the non-denominational church. Music played and my sister and I walked my mom down the aisle [in matching pink dresses].
'[The groom] was able to find a dress shirt and tie for the occasion and put out some flowers.'
Sophia said a reverend 'read some scriptures' before her mom and the convict exchanged vows, officially becoming husband and wife.
'They kissed, and then everyone signed a bunch of paperwork and we were off to the reception,' she continued.
'The reception was in the main visitation area where all of the other families were sitting. We had a little meal and took a lot of pictures, and then we left.'
Sophia added that the first time she met her new stepfather was at the wedding, which made it slightly awkward.
'He seemed nice but also very nervous between trying to host a wedding inside a prison and meeting his bride's adult children for the first time,' she shared.
When asked what led to the man being put behind bars in the first place, Sophia dished, 'The murder was a botched robbery.
'He was 18 and drunk for one of the first times in his life, egged on by two much older men.
'He has taken accountability from day one, took a plea deal, and has never attempted to be released.'
In the end, she said her mom is 'optimistic' that he will get out of prison one day, but even if he doesn't, she said she's prepared to 'stay by his side.'
'It's not that [my mom] doesn't care that he's a murderer so much as she believes in redemption,' Sophia added.
'She believes had his circumstances been different, it never would have happened.'
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