Jailed auto mogul Denny Hecker will have no keepsake video of his marriage last week to girlfriend Christi Rowan, said officials in charge of the Sherburne County jail, where Hecker has been incarcerated since October.
Hecker-Rowan wedding isn't on video
The Sheriff's Office ruled out any ceremony but one that took place over the phone, raising questions about validity.
March 4, 2011 at 4:40AM
A video wedding "would not be in compliance with our procedures for visitation," Chief Deputy Scott Gudmundson said on Thursday.
"If you have signatures of people that say they witnessed this thing, they must have been standing on the other side of some phone listening," Gudmundson said. "But there is no video image of any of our inmates that would have been able to participate in something like this. No Skype. No visitation." A marriage certificate surfaced this week that was signed Feb. 22 by Hecker and Rowan, a Maple Grove pastor and witnesses Molly Jensen and Michelle Welinski. Jensen frequently baby-sits Rowan's two children.
The marriage certificate said the ceremony was at Lord of Life Church in Maple Grove, even though the groom was in the slammer and will be for the next 10 years on fraud charges. Inmates are allowed only "in-person" visits with their clergy and attorneys, Gudmundson said. It is not yet known who secured Hecker's signature on the marriage certificate.
The situation has led many to wonder how the lovebirds actually got hitched and whether a marriage by phone could be valid. Other questions abound.
A marriage license application was filed with Hennepin County on Nov. 5. But it was signed and notarized by Hecker on Sept. 8. It wasn't signed by Rowan and a notary until Nov. 5. Rowan's signature is missing a notary stamp, noted attorneys who examined the document.
A spokesman for Hennepin County Attorney Mike Freeman said his review of the marriage documents will be finished Monday.
However the marriage license is resolved, the union won't be consummated anytime soon. Rowan was arrested Feb. 23 for allegedly violating a court order forbidding her to spend money belonging to Hecker's bankruptcy estate. She faces up to 12 months in jail for that and other fraud charges.
Jensen is currently taking care of Rowan's 14-year-old daughter. Rowan's 6-year-old son is being cared for by his father and Christi's ex-husband, Brent Rowan.
Dee DePass • 612-673-7725
