Charge: Father, Daughter Married (Is it Okay With Sandra Day O'Connor?)

Mobile Register ^ | 07/25/03 | KAREN TOLKKINEN

[nickcarraway]

Authorities accuse couple of illegal incestuous union

A Mobile County grand jury has said that a Theodore husband and wife may really be father and daughter and ought to be tried for incest.

Carrol Eugene Ferdinandsen, 53, and Alice Faye Ferdinandsen, 30, were arrested Thursday and charged with incest and fraud in connection with their May 2 marriage in a civil ceremony in Mobile County. They were indicted in June.

According to Mobile County court records, Alice was the third child of Carrol and Shirley Faye Ferdinandsen, and her mother filed for divorce when Alice was only 4 months old. Her mother said Thursday that she later met and married Charles Stewart, who Alice listed as her father on her marriage license application.

Up to that point, Alice had used "Ferdinandsen" as her last name, according to court records.

Incestuous marriages are forbidden in all states, in part due to fears about genetic mutation and child abuse. They still occur, though rarely, according to a survey of news articles from around the country.

The Ferdinandsens could not be reached for comment Thursday. They were still being held in the Mobile County Metro Jail, with bond set at $8,500 for each, officials said.

Family members said they had heard about the marriage and disapproved of the relationship.

"My father is completely convinced that she's not his daughter, no blood relation at all," David Ferdinandsen, who said he is Carrol's son and Alice's older brother. He's tried to discourage his father from the relationship, he said, but his father won't listen.

Alice's mother, whose last name is now Crayne, said Carrol is definitely Alice's father. She didn't meet Charles Stewart until Alice was 3 or 4 years old, she said.

"I told her she was stupid for marrying her own daddy," Shirley Crayne said. "I told him he was crazy and stupid. I told her I didn't ever want to hear from her again."

Crayne started crying during an interview Thursday. It hurts so bad, she said, because Alice is her youngest child and she worked hard taking care of the children when they were young.

After the divorce, the couple's three children were placed in foster care, David Ferdinandsen said. They were there for five years, he said. They went to live with their mother, and later moved in with their father, he said.

Crayne said Alice sometimes called Carrol "Daddy" and sometimes just "Carrol."

Crayne said she would scold her daughter when she used her father's first name.

During the 1980s, Carrol and Alice went to Illinois, staying for months, David Ferdinandsen said. When they returned, Alice went back to school, he said.

According to Mobile County Circuit Court records, Carrol pleaded guilty to second-degree rape in 1989. The records do not identify the victim and prosecutors could not be reached for comment Thursday. He spent a year in jail.

Alice moved to Texas, where she got a boyfriend and a job at a hamburger stand, her mother said. But in the mid-1990s, Carrol came looking for her and she ended up moving back with him to Theodore, according to her mother and brother. They've been together ever since, relatives said.

Crayne said she never heard that Carrol claimed that Alice wasn't his daughter until just a few years ago. Now Alice believes it, too, she said.

[GraniteStateConservative]

Hermaphrodites are born to non-incestuous couples, too. This may have just been a coincidence. You can't come to a scientific conclusion based on one data point.

[Protagoras]

(The Federal govt should be protecting us from terrorists, not handing out goodies OR ALLOWING LOCAL THUGS TO PEEK IN OUR BEDROOM WINDOWS)

Edited for additional content.

[GraniteStateConservative]

Yeah, one set of my great grandparents were 1st cousins, and I'm a smart 6'2" conservative who takes about 2 days off at most per year from work in sick time.

[GraniteStateConservative]

Regardless of what physical changes are made at birth, the brain has already developed in utero with conflicting information.

[GraniteStateConservative]

Hey, now. You just have no appreciation for being able to pick up chicks at family reunions.

[Old Professer]

Such things as syphilis, gonorrhea, chlamydia, genital warts, herpes, and hepatitis (can't remember if it's A, B, or C that's sexually transmitted, but one of them is) top the list.

According to an authoritative article commissioned by the Encyclopedia Brittanica for their 1970 issue, all the diseases you list are spread primarily by prostitutes and homosexual men in that order.

[Protagoras]

Essentially, human beings were designed to live in concentrated groups with some genetic linkage.

It might be a good question for some of the biblical literalists on this board. If Adam and Eve were the only ones and they had kids, how did they avoid incest if the rest of us are here?

[GraniteStateConservative]

But is there DNA proof of that? I'm saying that this guy probably believes in his heart that he is only legally related to her.

[bourbon]

Exactly. And Justice Scalia's dissent in Lawrence makes precisely the same point. Everyone concerned about the future trajectory of the culture war should read it.

[nickcarraway]

Well, there isn't any DNA proof that they aren't related. And there is some evidence that he only took the position she wasn't his daughter recently. I don't know what he believes, but the evidence all points in one direction. If he didn't think it was his daughter, it would be easy enogh to prove...

[GraniteStateConservative]

Clarence Darrow asked it of William Jennings Bryan.

[cake_crumb]

According to proponents of that lovely SCOTUS decision on privacy, it's perfectly fine as long as the incest occurs in the privacy of their own home.

Before the flames start, those arguments were right here on FR.

Welcome to the new world folks. Guess which two parties you can thank (hint: none of them are Republican)

[Jeff Gordon]

What's the big deal. I seem to remember that one of the good guys in the Old Testament was having sex with his daughters and was doing it with God's approval.

[Protagoras]

Hey, now. You just have no appreciation for being able to pick up chicks at family reunions.

LOL, I guess not.

My sister in laws family (my wifes sister) has been adopted in a way by my extended family. They vacation with us and our kids all grew up together more or less. After they became of age, one of my cousins sons (the son is my first cousin once removed as far as I can tell) asked my wifes niece out on a date. All the other kids freaked! They thought it was "icky". These two people couldn't have been less genetically connected if he was from China and she was from Alaska. Nevertheless,,,,,,,:^}

[cake_crumb]

"Looks like Santorum was right."

Yes he was.

Even the question of WHEN DID THE (sexual) TRAINING START? is moot in light of the SCOTUS decision.

[Protagoras]

Clarence Darrow asked it of William Jennings Bryan.

Pretty good question, glad I thought of it. Well, maybe not first, but I still thought of it! :^}

[cake_crumb]

"She IS his biological daughter."

Oh, it just gets better and better, doesn't it? The polygamists should be next. Is the SCOTUS handing out numbers, or are they just gonna make one blanket decision in favor?

[GraniteStateConservative]

It's a common reaction, but this is a question of state interest. People are repulsed by physical deformities, too-- the "lobster man" at the circus freak show-- but the state shouldn't treat them differently under the law.

[nickcarraway]

Was ``lobster man'' eligible for affirmative action?

[meatloaf]

I wouldn't be so sure. If the b*tch had a huge litter, before the marriage, and you adopted them think how many dependents you could claim. The IRS would not be happy. But if it was legal, you could end up with dozens of dependents.

I smell a potential tax break!