1
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[Mark Athans]
<i> She was my first love.</i>

2
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[narrator] <i> When Mark Athans</i>
<i> loses the mother</i>
<i> of his children,</i>

3
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<i> it leaves a gaping hole</i>
<i> in his life.</i>

4
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[Mark] <i> To fall in love agai</i>
<i> and feel that</i>
<i> for another person...</i>

5
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...was something
that I longed for.

6
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[narrator] When he meets
a woman who seems
to fill the void...

7
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[Mark] <i> Charity drew me in</i>
<i> personality-wise.</i>

8
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[narrator] <i> ...he'll quickly</i>
<i> discover he's just the mark</i>
<i> she's been looking for.</i>

9
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[Michael Flores] <i> She's</i>
<i> a master manipulator.</i>

10
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And she's literally
out to take all that she can.

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[Mark] <i> I paid for vehicles,</i>
<i> for apartments,</i>
<i> cell phones, clothes.</i>

12
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That's strange. Why are there
men's clothes here
if her daughter is here?

13
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[Mark] <i> That's when Dakota</i>
<i> started looking</i>
<i> into Charity's background.</i>

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There wasn't a Charity Parchem
or a Charity anything.

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[anchor] <i> Montgomery County</i>
<i> has ordered Athans</i>
<i> to pay $96,000 by tomorrow.</i>

16
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I found Charity's husband.
Her real husband.

17
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Boy, did I get
a kick in the balls.

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[Mark] <i> My name is Mark Athan</i>

19
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<i> I live in Willis, Texas.</i>

20
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And I'm a surgical
first assistant,

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licensed through
the State of Texas.

22
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<i> I been doing this</i>
<i> for 35 years.</i>
<i> And, uh, I love it.</i>

23
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<i> I'm proud of all three</i>
<i> of my boys. I couldn't have</i>
<i> asked for better.</i>

24
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<i> Dakota is my youngest.</i>
<i> He is 25.</i>

25
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<i> He is God's gift to me.</i>

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Dakota is very
high functioning,
but he is autistic.

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<i> So he sees things</i>
<i> in a different light.</i>

28
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<i> He is purely honest and ope</i>

29
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<i> with what he sees,</i>
<i> understands, or hears.</i>

30
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[Dakota Athans] <i> I do love</i>
<i> my dad. My dad's</i>
<i> a very wonderful guy.</i>

31
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<i> He takes care of me,</i>

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takes care of
my doctor's appointments,

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hair appointments,
that sort of stuff.

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Always stands up for me.

35
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[Mark] <i> We were told that he</i>
<i> would never</i>
<i> graduate high school.</i>

36
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<i> He graduated from high schoo</i>
<i> He went on to college.</i>

37
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<i> It's a tragedy that his moth</i>
<i> is deceased,</i>

38
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and is not seeing
the young man
that he's turned out to be.

39
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<i> Kelly was my first love.</i>

40
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<i> I spent 22 years of my life</i>
<i> with a woman</i>
<i> that I loved dearly.</i>

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<i> That filled the void</i>
<i> in my heart with something</i>
<i> that I longed for.</i>

42
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[narrator] <i> It's been almost</i>
<i> four years since the death</i>
<i> of Mark's first wife.</i>

43
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[Mark] <i> I'd tried dating,</i>
<i> and there wasn't any</i>
<i> encounters that were serious</i>

44
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I was hoping to find someone
who I could trust enough

45
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that if something
happens to me,

46
00:03:07,971 --> 00:03:11,190
that they can carry on forward
to help Dakota.

47
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<i> So he's not left alone.</i>

48
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<i> Because I'm not gonna be</i>
<i> around forever.</i>

49
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<i> Now, I met Charity online.</i>

50
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<i> Charity said that she was</i>
<i> a Texas registered nurse.</i>

51
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<i> With a couple of</i>
<i> home health agencies.</i>

52
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<i> She worked with</i>
<i> elderly patients</i>
<i> and terminally ill patients</i>

53
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That made me say, wow,
she's gotta be pretty special
if she can do that.

54
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<i> We did have a chance</i>
<i> to have a date.</i>
<i> Going to a local restaurant</i>

55
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<i> Charity had told me</i>
<i> that she had been</i>
<i> married twice,</i>

56
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<i> and that she had</i>
<i> four daughters.</i>

57
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[narrator] <i> Charity is livin</i>
<i> with her two</i>
<i> youngest daughters,</i>

58
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<i> Paige, 17, and Destiny, 15,</i>
<i> in the nearby</i>
<i> town of Spring.</i>

59
00:04:05,862 --> 00:04:10,415
She had been divorced
from her second husband
for almost ten years.

60
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Charity had told me that, uh,
his name was Bart Parchem.

61
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<i> That she didn't have anythin</i>
<i> to do with Bart.</i>

62
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<i> That he was, uh,</i>
<i> a convicted felon.</i>

63
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<i> I said, okay, well,</i>
<i> it is what it is.</i>

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Charity had, uh, a magnetism
that drew me in
personality-wise...

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...that in a way kind of
reminded me of the boys' mom.

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<i> Bubbly, friendly.</i>

67
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[narrator] <i> It only takes</i>
<i> a few weeks for Mark</i>
<i> to fall in love.</i>

68
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<i> Now, he introduces Charity</i>
<i> to his closest friends:</i>

69
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<i> his neighbors,</i>
<i> Gina and James,</i>

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<i> who are living with him</i>
<i> while their house</i>
<i> is being renovated.</i>

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[Gina Helm] <i> Mark said, hey,</i>
<i> I'd like you guys to meet he</i>

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<i> see what you think.</i>

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So I was like, oh, yay,
that's so nice.

74
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<i> She was very bubbly,</i>
<i> and I liked her.</i>

75
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She looked very normal to me.
Just a normal, average person.

76
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Like... yeah, nice.

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[narrator] <i> Mark and Charity</i>
<i> start seeing</i>
<i> more of one another.</i>

78
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[Mark] <i> I mean,</i>
<i> to fall in love again...</i>

79
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...and feel that
for another person,

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<i> that was something</i>
<i> that I hadn't felt</i>
<i> in a long time.</i>

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Charity came, she was like,
hey, I've gotta
run a few errands,

82
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do you wanna come with me?

83
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I just have to pick up
a prescription
and we'll come back.

84
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<i> So, we go to the pharmacy,</i>

85
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<i> and she immediately</i>
<i> pulls out her insurance card</i>

86
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<i> and it said, Charity Parchem</i>
<i> Bart Parchem.</i>

87
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<i> And I thought,</i>
<i> who's Bart Parchem?</i>

88
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<i> And she said, that's my ex.</i>

89
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[narrator] <i> Charity has been</i>
<i> divorced for almost ten year</i>

90
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<i> It seems strange</i>
<i> her ex is still</i>
<i> on her insurance card.</i>

91
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[Gina] <i> But you know,</i>
<i> she started immediately</i>
<i> talking to the pharmacist,</i>

92
00:06:00,852 --> 00:06:04,654
<i> and so I wasn't able to tal</i>
<i> more about it.</i>

93
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<i> So, then we leave</i>
<i> the pharmacy, and she says,</i>

94
00:06:08,452 --> 00:06:12,704
<i> hey, I am really sorry,</i>
<i> but I need to stop by</i>
<i> my house.</i>

95
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<i> When we get there, she says</i>
<i> my middle daughter, Paige,</i>
<i> lives here by herself.</i>

96
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Then she goes, oh, I'm gonna
go to my bedroom.

97
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Come with me.
You can see the bedroom.

98
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<i> So I go to the bedroom.</i>

99
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<i> And there's a closet open,</i>
<i> full of men's clothes.</i>

100
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<i> And so I'm thinking, what?</i>

101
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<i> That's strange. Why are ther</i>
<i> men's clothes here</i>
<i> if her daughter is here?</i>

102
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<i> And then I look down,</i>
<i> and there's a basket of like</i>
<i> like, laundry.</i>

103
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<i> Like someone's staying here</i>

104
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<i> And then, she takes me</i>
<i> through the bathroom,</i>

105
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<i> and there's like,</i>
<i> men's cologne, men's razors</i>
<i> um, shaving cream.</i>

106
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<i> And I said,</i>
<i> what man lives here?</i>

107
00:06:55,740 --> 00:06:58,583
<i> And she says, oh,</i>
<i> no man lives here.</i>

108
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<i> My ex comes here</i>
<i> after working out,</i>

109
00:07:01,964 --> 00:07:05,257
<i> showers and changes and the</i>
<i> takes the girls to do stuff</i>

110
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And I was like, okay, but...

111
00:07:09,754 --> 00:07:11,655
...this is a lotta stuff.

112
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It literally looked like
the girls lived there
and he lived there.

113
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<i> So, when we got back,</i>
<i> I went straight to Mark.</i>

114
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<i> I was like, okay.</i>

115
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<i> I don't understand at all.</i>
<i> You may want</i>
<i> to discuss that with her.</i>

116
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[Mark] <i> That was where</i>
<i> my confusion starts.</i>

117
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How do I take this?

118
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Because I was in love
with Charity,

119
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and because of,
I wanted things to work,

120
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<i> that was the whole intent,</i>
<i> was to get a life partner.</i>

121
00:07:44,748 --> 00:07:47,757
And he comes to us
and mentions, hey,

122
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I've asked Charity
to move in with us.

123
00:07:51,129 --> 00:07:55,474
<i> And James and I, you know,</i>
<i> are like, okay...</i>

124
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[Mark] <i> Her youngest daughter</i>
<i> Destiny, came with Charity.</i>

125
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<i> So I picked up a ready-made</i>
<i> family, pretty much.</i>

126
00:08:04,267 --> 00:08:07,402
[Gina] <i> Charity really</i>
<i> took over the house.</i>

127
00:08:07,437 --> 00:08:11,823
Like, these are my things,
and I'm gonna cook this.

128
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And I thought, she just
wants us outta here.

129
00:08:16,038 --> 00:08:18,580
[Mark] <i> Charity</i>
<i> wanted to quit work</i>

130
00:08:18,582 --> 00:08:22,876
<i> and just concentrate</i>
<i> on Destiny and Dakota.</i>

131
00:08:22,953 --> 00:08:25,795
<i> At that point in time, I jus</i>
<i> said, you know what? Sure.</i>

132
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<i> Let's rock and roll with thi</i>

133
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I'm getting back on track
with a life, a family life.

134
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[Gina] <i> I just</i>
<i> didn't understand it.</i>

135
00:08:34,506 --> 00:08:38,141
You know, we're thinking, uh,
he's just so in love?

136
00:08:38,185 --> 00:08:41,311
You know... You know,
is this what's happening?

137
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We didn't like it at all.

138
00:08:43,857 --> 00:08:48,735
Honestly, I thought that Gina
and James were not
getting along with Charity

139
00:08:48,812 --> 00:08:52,656
because there might be
an issue that I'm not seeing.

140
00:08:52,699 --> 00:08:56,660
<i> So that weekend, I wanted</i>
<i> to go somewhere</i>
<i> with James, Gina and Charity</i>

141
00:08:56,703 --> 00:09:01,998
<i> and I could take a little</i>
<i> mental health break,</i>
<i> and I guess reconnect.</i>

142
00:09:02,709 --> 00:09:04,876
[Gina] <i> James and I</i>
<i> were a bit reluctant.</i>

143
00:09:04,953 --> 00:09:07,629
But we were like, okay,
you know, we'll do it.

144
00:09:08,423 --> 00:09:10,197
[Mark]
<i> Charity starts drinking.</i>

145
00:09:10,275 --> 00:09:14,302
<i> All of a sudden, she starts</i>
<i> forcing me to do these shots</i>

146
00:09:14,304 --> 00:09:17,931
<i> Then I just put my foot down</i>
<i> said, that's it, I'm not doi</i>
<i> no more shots.</i>

147
00:09:18,725 --> 00:09:21,810
[Gina] <i> James snaps a pictur</i>
<i> of us at the table,</i>

148
00:09:21,886 --> 00:09:25,397
<i> and it was, oh, I got</i>
<i> a picture of us,</i>
<i> I'm posting it on Facebook,</i>

149
00:09:25,473 --> 00:09:27,148
<i> and we're all, like, oh, cut</i>

150
00:09:27,943 --> 00:09:30,217
[narrator] <i> Moments</i>
<i> after posting the photo,</i>

151
00:09:30,219 --> 00:09:34,447
<i> James gets a phone call</i>
<i> from an old and trusted</i>
<i> friend, Michael Flores.</i>

152
00:09:34,524 --> 00:09:36,557
[phone ringing]

153
00:09:36,559 --> 00:09:39,452
<i> Michael and Charity had bee</i>
<i> friends and colleagues</i>
<i> in the past.</i>

154
00:09:39,529 --> 00:09:41,204
<i> But it didn't end well.</i>

155
00:09:43,959 --> 00:09:46,042
I, I was just like, wow.

156
00:09:46,044 --> 00:09:49,129
<i> Out of all the people</i>
<i> in the world,</i>
<i> what are the odds?</i>

157
00:09:50,215 --> 00:09:52,882
<i> It had been two years</i>
<i> since I had saw Charity.</i>

158
00:09:52,926 --> 00:09:55,885
She was more full figured
than she was when I knew her,

159
00:09:55,929 --> 00:09:59,014
but I I knew it was her
as soon as I saw her.

160
00:10:01,476 --> 00:10:04,394
[Gina] James comes back
to the table, and he's very...

161
00:10:05,606 --> 00:10:07,522
...like, freaked-out looking.

162
00:10:08,358 --> 00:10:10,358
<i> And then James kinda,</i>
<i> like, nudges me</i>

163
00:10:10,435 --> 00:10:13,028
<i> while Mark and Charity</i>
<i> are talking about something</i>

164
00:10:13,238 --> 00:10:16,031
<i> And he says...</i>

165
00:10:17,075 --> 00:10:20,201
...Mike Flores says Mark
needs to run.

166
00:10:20,537 --> 00:10:22,037
From Charity.

167
00:10:26,793 --> 00:10:30,295
<i> James asks Charity,</i>
<i> do you know Mike Flores?</i>

168
00:10:31,840 --> 00:10:34,633
<i> And her face was shock.</i>

169
00:10:35,135 --> 00:10:37,719
<i> And then James goes,</i>
<i> I grew up with him.</i>

170
00:10:39,181 --> 00:10:44,309
<i> And in fact, I spoke to him</i>
<i> and he didn't have very goo</i>
<i> things to say about you.</i>

171
00:10:45,145 --> 00:10:47,520
[narrator] <i> But before Charit</i>
<i> can respond,</i>

172
00:10:47,597 --> 00:10:50,398
<i> the group is distracted</i>
<i> by another bar patron.</i>

173
00:10:51,234 --> 00:10:53,652
[Gina] <i> Somebody bumps into</i>
<i> Charity's chair,</i>

174
00:10:53,654 --> 00:10:57,781
which, you know, seemed
harmless, oh, and he was like,
[slurring] "Oh sorry."

175
00:10:57,783 --> 00:10:59,824
You know, and just walked off.

176
00:10:59,901 --> 00:11:04,204
<i> But then she's telling Mark</i>
<i> oh my gosh,</i>
<i> I think he touched me.</i>

177
00:11:04,280 --> 00:11:05,997
<i> And now Mark's up,</i>
<i> and he's like,</i>
<i> what do you mean?</i>

178
00:11:06,074 --> 00:11:08,333
<i> Like, how did he touch you?</i>

179
00:11:08,335 --> 00:11:11,628
<i> And she seems to be</i>
<i> getting Mark all riled up.</i>

180
00:11:11,713 --> 00:11:13,713
<i> There he is, pointing him ou</i>

181
00:11:17,886 --> 00:11:20,053
[Mark] <i> Man, I was,</i>
<i> I was fixing to go at him.</i>

182
00:11:20,130 --> 00:11:21,930
<i> I was losing my cool.</i>

183
00:11:21,932 --> 00:11:25,308
<i> My saving grace was, is Jame</i>
<i> decided this is done,</i>

184
00:11:25,352 --> 00:11:26,935
<i> we gotta walk outta here now</i>

185
00:11:27,729 --> 00:11:29,913
<i> We got out in my truck.</i>

186
00:11:29,915 --> 00:11:34,609
[Gina] <i> Charity is still,</i>
<i> you know, badgering Mark,</i>
<i> they're fighting.</i>

187
00:11:35,946 --> 00:11:38,279
Mark's trying to get her
to calm down.

188
00:11:38,356 --> 00:11:41,408
And she seems
to just want to escalate it.

189
00:11:41,484 --> 00:11:45,286
And she's like,
you don't even care.

190
00:11:45,363 --> 00:11:48,581
[Mark] <i> When we were</i>
<i> coming down the road</i>
<i> here at the house,</i>

191
00:11:48,616 --> 00:11:50,458
<i> Charity got out of the truck</i>

192
00:11:51,628 --> 00:11:53,628
[Gina] <i> She slams the door,</i>

193
00:11:53,705 --> 00:11:57,257
<i> walks over to her vehicle,</i>
<i> and says, "I'm leaving."</i>

194
00:11:58,093 --> 00:12:00,427
And Mark's like, what?

195
00:12:02,013 --> 00:12:03,629
And she did. She left.

196
00:12:04,975 --> 00:12:07,225
James and I
look at each other,
and we're thinking...

197
00:12:08,186 --> 00:12:10,103
<i> ...but where is she going?</i>

198
00:12:12,107 --> 00:12:13,547
<i> This is not good.</i>

199
00:12:13,625 --> 00:12:16,651
I told James that she isn't
who he thinks she is.

200
00:12:16,728 --> 00:12:18,570
<i> She's a master manipulator.</i>

201
00:12:18,572 --> 00:12:21,573
I lost everything.
I lost everything.

202
00:12:21,649 --> 00:12:23,825
<i> She is the spawn of Satan.</i>

203
00:12:31,084 --> 00:12:34,043
[narrator] <i> Mark Athans'</i>
<i> evening out with his</i>
<i> friends and girlfriend</i>

204
00:12:34,087 --> 00:12:36,421
<i> has ended in confusion.</i>

205
00:12:36,423 --> 00:12:38,965
I'm going, like,
what the hell just happened?

206
00:12:38,967 --> 00:12:41,426
[Gina] <i> Charity just</i>
<i> tears outta there.</i>

207
00:12:41,595 --> 00:12:45,305
And I don't even understand.

208
00:12:45,381 --> 00:12:49,934
[narrator] <i> James thinks</i>
<i> he knows what was behind</i>
<i> Charity's hasty retreat.</i>

209
00:12:49,936 --> 00:12:52,979
[Gina] <i> James says she didn'</i>
<i> wanna deal</i>

210
00:12:52,981 --> 00:12:57,692
with any of the Mike Flores
questions from any of us.

211
00:12:57,769 --> 00:13:03,156
<i> So it was a giant, blown-up</i>
<i> situation to create drama.</i>

212
00:13:03,784 --> 00:13:07,410
And then I think,
oh, that's right.

213
00:13:09,498 --> 00:13:13,583
[narrator] <i> The next morning</i>
<i> there's still</i>
<i> no sign of Charity.</i>

214
00:13:13,618 --> 00:13:16,127
<i> It's James' chance</i>
<i> to get Mark alone.</i>

215
00:13:17,672 --> 00:13:19,522
[Gina] <i> They sit down,</i>

216
00:13:19,524 --> 00:13:25,553
and James begins to just
unload all this material
that Mike Flores,

217
00:13:25,555 --> 00:13:27,847
you know, explained to him.

218
00:13:27,849 --> 00:13:31,226
[Flores] <i> I gave him a rundow</i>
<i> of my dealings with her.</i>

219
00:13:31,228 --> 00:13:34,479
<i> And I met her</i>
<i> at the tattoo shop years ago</i>

220
00:13:34,481 --> 00:13:37,649
Charity liked getting
older guys to fall for her,

221
00:13:37,725 --> 00:13:39,984
and then getting what
she wanted out of them,

222
00:13:39,986 --> 00:13:44,030
<i> whether it was dinner or</i>
<i> jewelry or, you know, takin</i>
<i> care of some of her bills.</i>

223
00:13:44,107 --> 00:13:48,201
<i> Charity just uses,</i>
<i> you know, sexual favors</i>
<i> to kinda reel 'em in.</i>

224
00:13:48,278 --> 00:13:51,913
She talked about
how to manipulate, uh, men

225
00:13:51,990 --> 00:13:54,374
to get what she wanted
out of it.

226
00:13:54,376 --> 00:13:58,211
<i> Weak men with money</i>
<i> who are searching</i>
<i> for a relationship.</i>

227
00:13:58,213 --> 00:14:01,297
<i> Use 'em while she can,</i>
<i> and just go on to the next.</i>

228
00:14:01,842 --> 00:14:03,258
<i> She's a master manipulator.</i>

229
00:14:03,334 --> 00:14:06,386
<i> You know, she's sweet</i>
<i> on the outside,</i>

230
00:14:06,462 --> 00:14:11,307
and just a, a monster
on the inside once she gets
her, her fangs sunk in.

231
00:14:11,351 --> 00:14:15,520
<i> I told James to tell Mark</i>
<i> to get out now, while you ca</i>

232
00:14:15,597 --> 00:14:18,439
<i> Before this guy</i>
<i> just loses everything.</i>

233
00:14:18,441 --> 00:14:20,149
<i> This is the real deal.</i>

234
00:14:20,193 --> 00:14:23,236
And she's literally
out to take all that she can.

235
00:14:23,238 --> 00:14:25,738
[narrator] <i> A dire warning</i>
<i> which Mark completely ignore</i>

236
00:14:25,740 --> 00:14:28,241
<i> when Charity</i>
<i> returns a day later.</i>

237
00:14:29,119 --> 00:14:31,786
[Flores] <i> James says Mark's</i>
<i> response was,</i>

238
00:14:31,788 --> 00:14:35,957
<i> well, that may have been</i>
<i> her in her past,</i>
<i> that's not the way she is no</i>

239
00:14:37,210 --> 00:14:39,193
[Mark] <i> You know what?</i>

240
00:14:39,195 --> 00:14:42,630
<i> I had lost somebody</i>
<i> that I spent 22 years</i>
<i> of my life with.</i>

241
00:14:43,717 --> 00:14:46,926
<i> You know, to feel that</i>
<i> for another person...</i>

242
00:14:47,804 --> 00:14:50,305
...I opened up totally, 100%.

243
00:14:53,518 --> 00:14:57,687
[narrator] <i> And now,</i>
<i> Gina and James are the ones</i>
<i> who feel unwelcome.</i>

244
00:14:57,731 --> 00:14:59,856
[Gina] <i> There's a lotta tensi</i>
<i> in the house.</i>

245
00:14:59,983 --> 00:15:02,609
<i> We go in to get</i>
<i> a cup of coffee,</i>
<i> if she's in there,</i>

246
00:15:02,685 --> 00:15:06,279
<i> she just immediately, like,</i>
<i> removes herself from the roo</i>

247
00:15:06,356 --> 00:15:10,408
I'm sure she doesn't want me
asking her questions.

248
00:15:10,410 --> 00:15:13,995
[Mark] <i> I'm getting told</i>
<i> over and over</i>
<i> that they're just using you</i>

249
00:15:14,072 --> 00:15:18,416
<i> I mean, Charity had told me</i>
<i> that James had tried</i>
<i> to sell her drugs.</i>

250
00:15:18,493 --> 00:15:22,128
<i> She had told me also</i>
<i> that James had tried</i>
<i> to come on to her.</i>

251
00:15:23,256 --> 00:15:24,797
<i> On multiple occasions.</i>

252
00:15:25,884 --> 00:15:27,175
I was upset.

253
00:15:27,251 --> 00:15:28,551
Of course.

254
00:15:32,557 --> 00:15:36,225
Honestly, I was
really hurt by it.

255
00:15:36,937 --> 00:15:39,854
He must be
believing this stuff.

256
00:15:39,931 --> 00:15:43,983
And at that point, you know,
James and I were like,

257
00:15:44,060 --> 00:15:48,237
we need to immediately
get out of Mark's house.

258
00:15:49,366 --> 00:15:51,532
<i> We get everything done quick</i>

259
00:15:51,609 --> 00:15:55,745
<i> And we move where</i>
<i> we needed to be next door.</i>

260
00:15:55,747 --> 00:16:00,750
It was weird. We lived
right next door to Mark,
but we didn't talk.

261
00:16:00,752 --> 00:16:06,422
[Mark] <i> Everything really</i>
<i> started going into high gea</i>
<i> within a matter of weeks.</i>

262
00:16:08,635 --> 00:16:12,929
[Mark] <i> I got down on one kne</i>
<i> and asked Charity</i>
<i> if she would marry me.</i>

263
00:16:12,931 --> 00:16:18,434
<i> And I guess I'm expecting</i>
<i> something like,</i>

264
00:16:18,478 --> 00:16:22,188
okay, yeah, yeah, yeah,
and then come give me
a big hug and a kiss,

265
00:16:22,190 --> 00:16:23,856
and, oh my gosh, and...

266
00:16:25,110 --> 00:16:27,694
But it's... subdued.

267
00:16:28,947 --> 00:16:33,366
She looked at me and she said
yes, she would.

268
00:16:33,443 --> 00:16:36,995
<i> I guess I'm thinking</i>
<i> of a crescendo...</i>

269
00:16:37,071 --> 00:16:40,999
...when it was more like
a little vibrato,
[laughing] you know?

270
00:16:41,835 --> 00:16:44,877
But that's the way
that occurred.

271
00:16:44,954 --> 00:16:49,048
And she told me
she didn't want
any of her family knowing.

272
00:16:49,467 --> 00:16:51,718
Nobody. Daughters, nobody.

273
00:16:54,764 --> 00:17:00,226
<i> Charity had pushed it,</i>
<i> wanting to get married</i>
<i> in South Dakota, at Sturgis</i>

274
00:17:00,303 --> 00:17:05,231
<i> So, you know, we went</i>
<i> to South Dakota, and we</i>
<i> got married in City Hall</i>

275
00:17:05,233 --> 00:17:10,695
<i> in front of pictures of all</i>
<i> the Mayors</i>  [laughing]
<i> of Deadwood, South Dakota.</i>

276
00:17:10,697 --> 00:17:12,588
[laughing]

277
00:17:13,283 --> 00:17:17,493
<i> We go back, the people</i>
<i> at the resort</i>
<i> that we stayed at</i>

278
00:17:17,537 --> 00:17:21,914
<i> had, uh, drinks for us there</i>
<i> and that was it.</i>

279
00:17:22,292 --> 00:17:23,624
<i> That was the end of the nigh</i>

280
00:17:25,837 --> 00:17:27,795
<i> What, what a wedding night,</i>
<i> huh?</i>

281
00:17:27,872 --> 00:17:30,923
[laughing]

282
00:17:32,761 --> 00:17:35,094
Nothing else happened.

283
00:17:35,171 --> 00:17:37,722
Actually, nothing else
happened for the next...

284
00:17:39,976 --> 00:17:41,392
...six days.

285
00:17:42,812 --> 00:17:45,438
So for six days, we didn't
consummate the marriage?

286
00:17:48,443 --> 00:17:52,028
Seriously? What the hell
is going on?

287
00:17:52,989 --> 00:17:57,575
<i> On the way back, I had</i>
<i> 20-something hours of drivin</i>
<i> to think,</i>

288
00:17:57,652 --> 00:18:03,498
<i> and the whole time back,</i>
<i> I felt like I had made</i>
<i> one hell of an error.</i>

289
00:18:06,211 --> 00:18:10,088
[narrator] <i> Once back home</i>
<i> in Willis, Mark</i>
<i> sets his concerns aside</i>

290
00:18:10,090 --> 00:18:12,965
<i> and commits himself</i>
<i> to supporting his new family</i>

291
00:18:13,042 --> 00:18:14,592
<i> But it's a strain.</i>

292
00:18:14,669 --> 00:18:19,806
The expenses increased tenfold
from the day we were married.

293
00:18:19,882 --> 00:18:23,893
<i> Charity told me that Bart</i>
<i> didn't pay any child support</i>

294
00:18:23,937 --> 00:18:28,231
<i> He was an ex-con deadbeat da</i>
<i> That's exactly</i>
<i> the way she put it.</i>

295
00:18:29,526 --> 00:18:33,736
<i> With Charity</i>
<i> and her daughters, I had</i>
<i> to pay for vehicles,</i>

296
00:18:33,738 --> 00:18:37,573
I had to pay for furniture,
I had to pay for apartments,

297
00:18:37,575 --> 00:18:42,829
I had to pay for college
tuitions, cell phones,
and I'm doing it all alone.

298
00:18:43,039 --> 00:18:44,956
<i> For a lotta people.</i>

299
00:18:44,958 --> 00:18:48,126
<i> Even though Destiny</i>
<i> was the only daughter</i>
<i> that lived here.</i>

300
00:18:50,046 --> 00:18:53,297
<i> One day, Charity said</i>
<i> she had to go see Paige</i>

301
00:18:53,374 --> 00:18:55,633
<i> and pick up some things</i>
<i> that she had.</i>

302
00:18:55,710 --> 00:18:59,262
<i> She left at like, eight, nin</i>
<i> in the morning.</i>

303
00:18:59,305 --> 00:19:02,807
I would come home from work
about four or five-ish
in the afternoon.

304
00:19:03,601 --> 00:19:05,217
She wasn't here.

305
00:19:05,294 --> 00:19:07,979
I was going, like, okay, well,
she's just busy. I'd text her.

306
00:19:08,055 --> 00:19:11,941
<i> And couldn't get a reply</i>
<i> out of the text.</i>

307
00:19:11,985 --> 00:19:15,153
<i> She just disappeared</i>
<i> off the face of the earth.</i>

308
00:19:15,738 --> 00:19:17,530
<i> Gone.</i>

309
00:19:17,607 --> 00:19:21,075
<i> She came back home</i>
<i> at about 11:00.</i>

310
00:19:21,077 --> 00:19:26,330
And she's going like, well,
I had a lotta things I had
to get with Paige.

311
00:19:26,332 --> 00:19:30,042
I had suspicions
that something was up.

312
00:19:30,044 --> 00:19:34,505
<i> And that's when Dakota</i>
<i> started looking into</i>
<i> Charity's background.</i>

313
00:19:34,507 --> 00:19:38,092
[Dakota] <i> I actually</i>
<i> went through, uh, online,</i>
<i> found some stuff about her.</i>

314
00:19:38,928 --> 00:19:41,804
<i> I went to the Montgomery</i>
<i> County Texas Odyssey databas</i>

315
00:19:41,806 --> 00:19:44,724
<i> that's actually the court</i>
<i> docket system, and she has</i>
<i> a criminal record.</i>

316
00:19:45,685 --> 00:19:47,226
For theft by check.

317
00:19:48,229 --> 00:19:50,730
She said she was a nurse.

318
00:19:50,806 --> 00:19:54,150
[Mark] <i> All the lights,</i>
<i> all the red flags, popped up</i>

319
00:19:56,029 --> 00:20:00,990
You can't be a nurse
with a criminal record.
You just can't do it.

320
00:20:01,034 --> 00:20:04,994
<i> I called the Texas State</i>
<i> Nursing Board.</i>
<i> They went and looked.</i>

321
00:20:05,038 --> 00:20:08,080
<i> There weren't no</i>
<i> Charity Parchem, or a Charit</i>

322
00:20:08,082 --> 00:20:10,833
<i> or anything</i>
<i> with her birthday in there.</i>

323
00:20:11,669 --> 00:20:14,378
<i> Anything. Her social securit</i>
<i> anything.</i>

324
00:20:14,380 --> 00:20:17,048
<i> I'm going, like,</i>
<i> are you kidding me?</i>

325
00:20:17,050 --> 00:20:23,179
So she's been lying to me
all this time about her being
a nurse when she never was.

326
00:20:23,223 --> 00:20:25,056
[narrator] <i> What else</i>
<i> is she lying about?</i>

327
00:20:25,132 --> 00:20:28,601
<i> Now Mark really wants to kno</i>
<i> what Charity has been up to</i>

328
00:20:28,603 --> 00:20:30,353
[Mark] <i> And then I also</i>
<i> remembered</i>

329
00:20:30,396 --> 00:20:33,856
that I put GPS trackers
on my vehicles.

330
00:20:33,900 --> 00:20:36,049
On all the vehicles.

331
00:20:36,051 --> 00:20:39,946
<i> So if one of 'em ever</i>
<i> got stolen, I knew exactly</i>
<i> where that would be.</i>

332
00:20:40,073 --> 00:20:44,158
<i> Said, you know what? I need</i>
<i> to look and see</i>
<i> where the vehicles are.</i>

333
00:20:44,193 --> 00:20:46,327
<i> And guess where the vehicle</i>
<i> would be showing up at?</i>

334
00:20:46,329 --> 00:20:48,496
<i> Especially the one</i>
<i> that Charity had?</i>

335
00:20:50,458 --> 00:20:53,834
<i> At the old house in Spring.</i>

336
00:20:53,836 --> 00:20:58,297
[narrator] <i> ...where earlier</i>
<i> Gina had observed</i>
<i> men's toiletries and clothes</i>

337
00:20:58,549 --> 00:21:00,782
Imagine that.

338
00:21:06,307 --> 00:21:09,475
[narrator] <i> Mark Athans</i>
<i> has just discovered</i>
<i> that his new bride Charity</i>

339
00:21:09,552 --> 00:21:12,728
<i> has been spending a lot</i>
<i> of time at her previous hous</i>

340
00:21:12,772 --> 00:21:16,524
Of course, I'd already had
the devil picking on
my shoulder, causing doubt.

341
00:21:17,777 --> 00:21:21,320
And doubt was starting
to seem pretty, pretty
hard and heavy then.

342
00:21:22,240 --> 00:21:25,074
[narrator] <i> True, her daughte</i>
<i> Paige lives there.</i>

343
00:21:25,118 --> 00:21:27,660
<i> But does her ex-husband</i>
<i> Bart live there as well?</i>

344
00:21:28,955 --> 00:21:32,081
<i> Mark's suspicions are growin</i>

345
00:21:32,125 --> 00:21:35,084
There's a lotta things I will
believe, but when it
comes down to it,

346
00:21:35,128 --> 00:21:37,878
and you can't get in touch
with somebody,

347
00:21:37,880 --> 00:21:40,381
<i> whether you needed 'em</i>
<i> for an emergency or nothing</i>

348
00:21:40,458 --> 00:21:42,591
<i> no contact, cell phone's</i>
<i> turned off...</i>

349
00:21:43,594 --> 00:21:46,137
Things changed
very rapidly then.

350
00:21:47,098 --> 00:21:49,557
<i> I started looking at Charity</i>
<i> cell phone records,</i>

351
00:21:49,633 --> 00:21:52,393
<i> because the phones</i>
<i> were in my name.</i>

352
00:21:53,521 --> 00:21:55,387
And it was kinda funny,

353
00:21:55,389 --> 00:21:59,025
because the morning
that she disappeared
off the face of the earth...

354
00:22:00,236 --> 00:22:02,611
...there was a phone call
made on her cell phone,

355
00:22:02,613 --> 00:22:04,613
and guess whose phone
it went to?

356
00:22:06,492 --> 00:22:07,658
<i> Bart Parchem's.</i>

357
00:22:09,537 --> 00:22:11,645
<i> I confronted Charity</i>
<i> about this.</i>

358
00:22:11,647 --> 00:22:16,334
<i> I said, you're calling</i>
<i> your ex-husband three or fou</i>
<i> times a day.</i>

359
00:22:16,410 --> 00:22:19,086
<i> "It had to do about the girl</i>
<i> They are his daughters."</i>

360
00:22:19,088 --> 00:22:22,214
<i> And I said, so,</i>
<i> you're telling me</i>

361
00:22:22,249 --> 00:22:26,969
<i> that you sent him over</i>
<i> a hundred-and-something text</i>
<i> about his daughters</i>

362
00:22:26,971 --> 00:22:30,389
when you never
did that before?

363
00:22:30,391 --> 00:22:33,768
<i> She blew up. So she got</i>
<i> extremely mad.</i>

364
00:22:33,770 --> 00:22:35,594
<i> Extremely ticked off.</i>

365
00:22:35,671 --> 00:22:38,314
<i> "What are you doing</i>
<i> tracking me,</i>
<i> you don't trust me?"</i>

366
00:22:38,358 --> 00:22:40,608
And I told her straight up,
hell, no, I don't trust ya.

367
00:22:40,684 --> 00:22:43,444
You're doing things that are,
that are violating that trust.

368
00:22:45,031 --> 00:22:47,573
<i> I asked her if she</i>
<i> was sleeping with Bart.</i>

369
00:22:47,575 --> 00:22:50,493
<i> And she said no, she was not</i>

370
00:22:50,536 --> 00:22:54,955
But sometimes, you don't
have to have
an admission of guilt

371
00:22:54,957 --> 00:22:58,125
whenever you got the proof
sittin' right in front
of your face.

372
00:22:59,879 --> 00:23:02,922
<i> She was pissed off,</i>
<i> and she just took off.</i>

373
00:23:03,424 --> 00:23:07,259
After about ten hours,
Charity came back,

374
00:23:07,294 --> 00:23:11,514
<i> and it was like, let's talk</i>
<i> I can fix this, I,</i>
<i> I can do right.</i>

375
00:23:11,516 --> 00:23:15,226
<i> I went and said,</i>
<i> okay, you know,</i>

376
00:23:15,302 --> 00:23:17,469
<i> you can't say</i>
<i> I'm not gonna try.</i>

377
00:23:17,546 --> 00:23:21,232
[narrator] <i> Charity seems</i>
<i> determined to make</i>
<i> a fresh new start with Mark</i>

378
00:23:21,901 --> 00:23:24,235
[Mark] <i> Charity made</i>
<i> reservations</i>

379
00:23:24,311 --> 00:23:27,988
<i> at the San Luis Hotel</i>
<i> in Galveston for the weekend</i>

380
00:23:28,065 --> 00:23:33,536
Just me and her.
Something to rebuild
what had been broken.

381
00:23:33,579 --> 00:23:38,082
<i> We go to the hotel.</i>
<i> The restaurant</i>
<i> was a very good dinner.</i>

382
00:23:38,084 --> 00:23:41,752
<i> But, uh,</i>
<i> halfway through the meal,</i>

383
00:23:41,829 --> 00:23:43,963
<i> she wanted to go</i>
<i> back upstairs.</i>

384
00:23:44,081 --> 00:23:45,798
<i> We went back up to the room</i>

385
00:23:45,800 --> 00:23:49,135
<i> and she starts getting</i>
<i> a little bit frisky with me</i>

386
00:23:50,054 --> 00:23:52,555
And we end up having sex.

387
00:23:53,891 --> 00:23:55,307
Twice.

388
00:23:56,727 --> 00:23:58,269
So I'm going, like, okay.

389
00:23:58,345 --> 00:24:01,188
<i> We go out for a walk</i>
<i> on the beach together.</i>

390
00:24:01,265 --> 00:24:05,067
<i> The next morning, we get up</i>
<i> and go have</i>
<i> some fancy brunch there</i>

391
00:24:05,069 --> 00:24:06,694
<i> that they have every Sunday</i>

392
00:24:07,738 --> 00:24:10,322
<i> I opened up totally. 100%.</i>

393
00:24:12,076 --> 00:24:15,661
[narrator] <i> And Charity</i>
<i> is in it 100%, too.</i>

394
00:24:15,738 --> 00:24:21,000
<i> For Dakota's birthday,</i>
<i> she organizes a trip they ca</i>
<i> all three enjoy together.</i>

395
00:24:21,002 --> 00:24:22,960
[Mark] <i> Dakota wanted to go</i>
<i> to Fredericksburg.</i>

396
00:24:23,037 --> 00:24:25,087
<i> Me and Dakota</i>
<i> spent lots of time</i>
<i> at Fredericksburg.</i>

397
00:24:25,131 --> 00:24:27,715
<i> We always have.</i>

398
00:24:27,717 --> 00:24:30,384
[narrator] <i> Charity arranges</i>
<i> for her daughters</i>
<i> to house sit,</i>

399
00:24:30,461 --> 00:24:33,429
<i> and the three of them</i>
<i> head West to Fredericksburg</i>

400
00:24:33,431 --> 00:24:36,348
<i> a popular spot for wine love</i>
<i> and history buffs.</i>

401
00:24:37,560 --> 00:24:39,727
[Mark] <i> It's a four to five</i>
<i> hour drive there.</i>

402
00:24:39,803 --> 00:24:42,354
<i> Got there in Fredericksburg</i>
<i> with the B&B.</i>

403
00:24:42,431 --> 00:24:44,815
<i> And then Charity</i>
<i> started a conversation</i>

404
00:24:44,892 --> 00:24:49,028
that went really South on me.
Real quick.

405
00:24:50,531 --> 00:24:53,782
<i> Charity's talking about</i>
<i> her past life,</i>

406
00:24:53,826 --> 00:24:58,078
<i> about how one of her</i>
<i> boyfriends had made her</i>
<i> be a drug mule</i>

407
00:24:58,155 --> 00:25:02,082
<i> down in Mexico, and do</i>
<i> some real wild, crazy stuff</i>

408
00:25:02,084 --> 00:25:04,210
<i> And Dakota's</i>
<i> out there with us.</i>

409
00:25:04,286 --> 00:25:06,587
<i> So I got uptight.</i>

410
00:25:06,589 --> 00:25:09,673
<i> And this is not something</i>
<i> that Dakota</i>
<i> needed to be hearing.</i>

411
00:25:09,750 --> 00:25:13,427
<i> And he doesn't know what</i>
<i> to think. I'm sure right now</i>
<i> he's in panic mode.</i>

412
00:25:13,429 --> 00:25:18,307
<i> And you can tell, because</i>
<i> with anybody</i>
<i> that's, that's autistic,</i>

413
00:25:18,309 --> 00:25:20,743
<i> they start</i>
<i> flapping their hands.</i>

414
00:25:20,745 --> 00:25:24,939
<i> I would think she was tryin</i>
<i> to bait me into something</i>
<i> where it would get physical</i>

415
00:25:25,015 --> 00:25:28,317
<i> And then she could have me</i>
<i> arrested for assault,</i>

416
00:25:28,361 --> 00:25:31,904
so it's a he said, she said
type situation.

417
00:25:31,981 --> 00:25:33,948
<i> Because that's</i>
<i> exactly what she wanted.</i>

418
00:25:33,950 --> 00:25:35,824
<i> She was baiting me into that</i>

419
00:25:37,119 --> 00:25:40,246
<i> I said, I've got to get thi</i>
<i> under control immediately,</i>

420
00:25:40,248 --> 00:25:42,915
and isolate this
from me and Dakota.

421
00:25:42,950 --> 00:25:46,585
<i> And I did. I just said</i>
<i> it stops. It stops now.</i>

422
00:25:46,662 --> 00:25:48,629
<i> This is not the life</i>
<i> I'm gonna live.</i>

423
00:25:48,706 --> 00:25:51,006
<i> I said, Dakota,</i>
<i> we gotta go home.</i>

424
00:25:53,094 --> 00:25:55,970
[narrator] <i> Mark and Dakota</i>
<i> make the five hour drive hom</i>

425
00:25:55,972 --> 00:25:59,723
<i> knowing that when they</i>
<i> get there, they'll have</i>
<i> to tell Destiny and Paige</i>

426
00:25:59,725 --> 00:26:02,810
<i> they left their mom</i>
<i> in Fredericksburg</i>
<i> to cool down.</i>

427
00:26:03,813 --> 00:26:06,522
<i> But that's not</i>
<i> how the night unfolds.</i>

428
00:26:07,733 --> 00:26:10,109
[Mark] <i> Dakota and I pulled i</i>
<i> at around 4:00 in the mornin</i>

429
00:26:10,611 --> 00:26:12,111
<i> The dogs were gone.</i>

430
00:26:12,187 --> 00:26:14,655
<i> And Destiny and Paige</i>
<i> were gone.</i>

431
00:26:14,732 --> 00:26:19,910
And so were the vehicles.
The Mustang, her truck,
the truck that I had.

432
00:26:19,987 --> 00:26:22,288
<i> All of those vehicles</i>
<i> were gone.</i>

433
00:26:22,290 --> 00:26:25,749
And I knew what had happened
then. I'd been set up.

434
00:26:27,628 --> 00:26:32,047
<i> Me and Dakota walk</i>
<i> into my house and see</i>
<i> a lotta things missing.</i>

435
00:26:32,082 --> 00:26:34,925
<i> I mean a lotta things.</i>

436
00:26:35,002 --> 00:26:38,262
[Dakota] It was very empty.
So I was like, where's
the stuff that was gone?

437
00:26:42,351 --> 00:26:43,583
[phone chimes]

438
00:26:43,661 --> 00:26:45,844
[Mark] <i> My phone</i>
<i> starts burning up.</i>

439
00:26:45,846 --> 00:26:49,690
[narrator] <i> It's a string</i>
<i> of texts that were sent</i>
<i> by Mark's neighbor, James,</i>

440
00:26:49,692 --> 00:26:53,110
<i> while he and Dakota were sti</i>
<i> on their way home.</i>

441
00:26:53,187 --> 00:26:55,195
[Mark] <i> You're, you're out</i>
<i> in the hill country of Texas</i>

442
00:26:55,272 --> 00:26:56,989
<i> We don't get cell signals</i>
<i> down there.</i>

443
00:26:57,066 --> 00:27:00,117
<i> So I got 'em after I got her</i>

444
00:27:02,455 --> 00:27:05,205
[narrator] <i> Hours earlier,</i>
<i> sometime around midnight,</i>

445
00:27:05,282 --> 00:27:08,417
<i> Gina and James had been</i>
<i> alerted to trouble.</i>

446
00:27:09,295 --> 00:27:11,754
-[dog barking]
-[Gina] <i> Champ keeps barking</i>

447
00:27:11,797 --> 00:27:14,548
<i> Champ likes Mark and he like</i>
<i> to watch his house.</i>

448
00:27:14,550 --> 00:27:19,720
<i> And James goes outside</i>
<i> and he sees a U-Haul truck</i>
<i> and a Charger,</i>

449
00:27:19,722 --> 00:27:24,391
<i> and there's a man</i>
<i> and some girls there.</i>

450
00:27:24,468 --> 00:27:26,101
[narrator] <i> Gina believes</i>
<i> she recognizes the man.</i>

451
00:27:26,145 --> 00:27:29,730
<i> and at least one of the girl</i>

452
00:27:29,807 --> 00:27:33,400
[Gina] <i> The lights were on,</i>
<i> so you could see</i>
<i> Bart and Paige.</i>

453
00:27:33,486 --> 00:27:36,487
[narrator] <i> Bart Parchem,</i>
<i> Charity's ex.</i>

454
00:27:36,563 --> 00:27:39,073
They were going
into the house,
bringing things out,

455
00:27:39,149 --> 00:27:41,825
and putting 'em
into the U-Haul.

456
00:27:41,902 --> 00:27:45,788
<i> And at this point, James and</i>
<i> are just thinking,</i>
<i> this is not good.</i>

457
00:27:45,823 --> 00:27:48,374
[scoffs] <i> We were like,</i>
<i> this is not good.</i>

458
00:27:48,450 --> 00:27:53,796
<i> James says, I don't see</i>
<i> Mark's truck. Let me just</i>
<i> send him a quick text.</i>

459
00:27:55,466 --> 00:28:00,010
[narrator] <i> But by the time</i>
Mark receives James' messages,
<i> it's far too late.</i>

460
00:28:00,087 --> 00:28:04,515
It was four in the morning.
I had driven 800 miles.

461
00:28:04,591 --> 00:28:07,768
<i> I'm mentally</i>
<i> and physically wiped out.</i>

462
00:28:07,845 --> 00:28:10,270
<i> So me and Dakota laid down</i>
<i> and went to sleep.</i>

463
00:28:10,856 --> 00:28:12,981
[narrator] <i> Mark feels</i>
<i> he's been burgled.</i>

464
00:28:13,025 --> 00:28:17,569
<i> But as his spouse,</i>
<i> Charity is entitled</i>
<i> to remove her belongings.</i>

465
00:28:17,646 --> 00:28:22,116
<i> What happens next is less</i>
<i> of a legal gray area.</i>

466
00:28:22,118 --> 00:28:24,201
[Mark] <i> The next morning,</i>
<i> I woke up,...</i>

467
00:28:25,579 --> 00:28:28,997
...and my phone
is going crazy.

468
00:28:29,041 --> 00:28:35,170
I'm getting alerts from
my bank, sending me notices
of charges right and left.

469
00:28:35,214 --> 00:28:37,423
<i> They're wanting to know</i>
<i> what's going on.</i>

470
00:28:37,499 --> 00:28:43,929
<i> There was $15,000</i>
<i> taken out of my bank account</i>
<i> all to Amazon.</i>

471
00:28:44,006 --> 00:28:47,808
And Amazon told me
where everything was going,
to Spring.

472
00:28:49,979 --> 00:28:52,020
Guess who lives in Spring?

473
00:28:52,064 --> 00:28:55,232
[narrator] <i> Sure, Charity's</i>
<i> daughter Paige lives there,</i>

474
00:28:55,309 --> 00:28:57,359
<i> but now, Mark thinks</i>
<i> Gina was right</i>

475
00:28:57,403 --> 00:29:00,612
<i> that Bart Parchem</i>
<i> is also staying there.</i>

476
00:29:01,490 --> 00:29:04,950
[Mark] <i> I knew what had</i>
<i> happened. I knew who did it</i>

477
00:29:06,370 --> 00:29:10,038
At the meantime,
Charity is texting me,
burning my phone up,

478
00:29:10,082 --> 00:29:12,916
<i> trying to get me</i>
<i> to come pick her up</i>
<i> from Fredericksburg.</i>

479
00:29:15,004 --> 00:29:16,754
First thing
that popped into my head...

480
00:29:16,830 --> 00:29:19,798
<i> ...is Charity was not even</i>
<i> in Fredericksburg.</i>

481
00:29:21,802 --> 00:29:26,388
[narrator] <i> Mark has</i>
<i> his suspicions. Now,</i>
<i> he goes looking for proof.</i>

482
00:29:26,432 --> 00:29:28,891
[Mark] <i> I went to Sam's</i>
<i> and actually said,</i>

483
00:29:28,934 --> 00:29:30,768
<i> I wanna see who used my card</i>

484
00:29:30,844 --> 00:29:33,604
and they pulled it up
on their video surveillance.

485
00:29:34,565 --> 00:29:37,107
And who was on
the video surveillance?

486
00:29:37,818 --> 00:29:40,194
Charity and Bart.

487
00:29:42,114 --> 00:29:46,950
<i> When she's trying to get me</i>
<i> to go back to Fredericksbur</i>
<i> to pick her up,</i>

488
00:29:46,952 --> 00:29:51,163
<i> her and Bart are here</i>
<i> in the woodlands at Sam's,</i>

489
00:29:51,240 --> 00:29:55,417
trying to pick up stuff
they had just bought
off my credit card together.

490
00:29:56,837 --> 00:29:59,004
[narrator]
<i> Bart may be Charity's ex,</i>

491
00:29:59,081 --> 00:30:00,964
<i> but as far as</i>
<i> Mark is concerned,</i>

492
00:30:01,041 --> 00:30:03,884
<i> the two of them</i>
<i> seem to be working together</i>

493
00:30:03,886 --> 00:30:07,846
[Mark] <i> Her and Bart, they bo</i>
<i> facilitated this together.</i>

494
00:30:07,848 --> 00:30:11,433
<i> They instigated this whole</i>
<i> thing and had it planned.</i>

495
00:30:13,103 --> 00:30:15,062
[narrator] <i> Mark</i>
<i> has reached his limit.</i>

496
00:30:15,064 --> 00:30:19,817
I got a local attorney
down here in Conroe,
I file for divorce.

497
00:30:20,903 --> 00:30:22,802
<i> Everything went to court.</i>

498
00:30:22,880 --> 00:30:27,616
This time, I'm going
full force, locked and cocked.
I'm ready to go.

499
00:30:27,660 --> 00:30:29,451
[narrator]
<i> Less than a month later,</i>

500
00:30:29,495 --> 00:30:31,870
<i> with the divorce proceeding</i>
<i> already underway,</i>

501
00:30:31,947 --> 00:30:37,668
<i> Mark looks like he might be</i>
<i> on the hook for a hefty amou</i>
<i> of spousal support.</i>

502
00:30:37,670 --> 00:30:41,630
<i> Until he gets a call</i>
<i> that could change everything</i>

503
00:30:41,674 --> 00:30:44,967
[Mark] <i> The detective called </i>
<i> on the phone and says,</i>

504
00:30:44,969 --> 00:30:47,719
"Uh, I've got
some news for you."

505
00:30:48,722 --> 00:30:50,973
"I found Charity's husband."

506
00:30:50,975 --> 00:30:53,809
And I said, Bart, yeah,
I know about Bart.

507
00:30:53,853 --> 00:30:55,561
He's going, like, no.

508
00:30:55,563 --> 00:30:58,105
<i> "Trevor Hendry.</i>
<i> Her real husband."</i>

509
00:30:59,400 --> 00:31:01,683
And I'm going, like, what?

510
00:31:04,238 --> 00:31:08,532
[narrator] <i> Trevor Hendry,</i>
<i> the guy Charity said</i>
<i> she'd been a drug mule for,</i>

511
00:31:08,609 --> 00:31:10,826
<i> wasn't just an ex-boyfriend</i>

512
00:31:11,370 --> 00:31:13,662
<i> He was a husband.</i>

513
00:31:13,706 --> 00:31:17,040
[Mark] <i> The detective told m</i>
<i> they've never been divorced</i>

514
00:31:17,117 --> 00:31:22,421
I'm trying to, to unscramble
all of what I was just told.

515
00:31:22,423 --> 00:31:25,674
[narrator] <i> Charity had marri</i>
<i> Bart Parchem in 1999,</i>

516
00:31:25,718 --> 00:31:28,093
<i> divorced Bart in 2002,</i>

517
00:31:28,170 --> 00:31:31,179
<i> married Trevor</i>
<i> just one day later,</i>

518
00:31:31,223 --> 00:31:35,142
<i> and then left him, without</i>
<i> bothering to divorce him.</i>

519
00:31:35,177 --> 00:31:37,561
[Mark] And he says,
"Guess what?"

520
00:31:37,563 --> 00:31:42,691
<i> "She illegally married</i>
<i> Bart Parchem again, after sh</i>
<i> was married to Trevor Hendry</i>

521
00:31:43,360 --> 00:31:45,360
"And then she married you."

522
00:31:46,780 --> 00:31:49,323
[narrator] <i> Four weddings.</i>
<i> One divorce.</i>

523
00:31:49,399 --> 00:31:52,993
<i> Charity is now married</i>
<i> to three different men.</i>

524
00:31:53,070 --> 00:31:54,912
[Mark] <i> And I'm going like,</i>
<i> hold on, hold on.</i>

525
00:31:54,988 --> 00:31:58,624
This is bull [bleep], right?
You're kidding me, right?

526
00:31:58,700 --> 00:32:05,505
That whole entire court case
was the biggest mess
I have ever seen.

527
00:32:05,582 --> 00:32:07,925
It's baffling. It's upsetting.

528
00:32:07,927 --> 00:32:12,262
[Mark] The Texas justice
system failed me completely.

529
00:32:16,727 --> 00:32:19,019
[narrator] <i> A detective</i>
<i> from the sheriff's departmen</i>

530
00:32:19,021 --> 00:32:21,063
<i> has just discovered</i>
<i> that Mark Athans' wife Chari</i>

531
00:32:21,106 --> 00:32:25,776
<i> is married to two other men</i>
<i> besides Mark.</i>

532
00:32:25,852 --> 00:32:27,945
[Mark] And I'm going, like,
you've got to be kidding me.

533
00:32:27,947 --> 00:32:30,172
And he's going, like, no.

534
00:32:30,174 --> 00:32:34,493
<i> They filed a warrant</i>
<i> for her arrest, and she was</i>
<i> taken into custody.</i>

535
00:32:34,569 --> 00:32:37,245
[reporter] Now, she's, she's
facing court tomorrow. It was
a bigamy charge?

536
00:32:37,289 --> 00:32:40,499
Yes, sir. She is in court.
She's been indicted
by a grand jury.

537
00:32:40,575 --> 00:32:44,127
Uh, she's gonna be in court
for the criminal charges
tomorrow.

538
00:32:44,129 --> 00:32:47,255
When the detectives sent over
Charity Parchem's case,

539
00:32:47,257 --> 00:32:50,133
it had everything in it
that a prosecutor would need

540
00:32:50,135 --> 00:32:52,219
to prove it
beyond a reasonable doubt.

541
00:32:52,254 --> 00:32:54,846
[narrator] <i> With Charity</i>
<i> now charged with bigamy,</i>

542
00:32:54,848 --> 00:32:58,392
<i> Mark expects he won't even</i>
<i> have to bother</i>
<i> about a divorce,</i>

543
00:32:58,468 --> 00:33:00,769
<i> let alone spousal support.</i>

544
00:33:00,771 --> 00:33:04,231
[Mark] <i> I was elated.</i>
<i> I was going like, my God.</i>

545
00:33:04,233 --> 00:33:06,274
<i> Now all this is over.</i>
<i> This is done.</i>

546
00:33:06,318 --> 00:33:09,778
<i> She's a bigamist.</i>
<i> So none of this stuff</i>
<i> goes forward.</i>

547
00:33:09,780 --> 00:33:13,031
Divorce proceedings
are gonna be
stopped immediately.

548
00:33:13,108 --> 00:33:15,242
Because I'm not
legally married to her.

549
00:33:16,078 --> 00:33:17,703
And we've got proof I'm not.

550
00:33:19,415 --> 00:33:22,040
<i> Did that happen?</i>
<i> No, it did not.</i>

551
00:33:22,117 --> 00:33:27,504
Boy, was I shocked. Boy,
did I get a kick in the balls.

552
00:33:27,581 --> 00:33:33,510
<i> Even after the voided marria</i>
<i> was submitted to</i>
<i> Judge McDonald in her court</i>

553
00:33:33,587 --> 00:33:35,804
<i> she refused to accept it.</i>

554
00:33:37,516 --> 00:33:40,350
<i> And she still</i>
<i> kept coming after me.</i>

555
00:33:41,937 --> 00:33:45,939
[narrator] <i> Mark fires</i>
<i> his attorney and seeks</i>
<i> out a tougher advocate.</i>

556
00:33:47,609 --> 00:33:51,820
When Mark called me,
every petition that they
had filed with the court

557
00:33:51,864 --> 00:33:54,239
was getting shut down
and denied.

558
00:33:54,316 --> 00:34:00,078
Sara immediately
started trying to get
this divorce dismissed,

559
00:34:00,155 --> 00:34:02,497
because... it's bigamy.

560
00:34:03,792 --> 00:34:05,667
[Sara Razavi Zand]
<i> It was shocking.</i>

561
00:34:05,669 --> 00:34:08,837
<i> This was the first time</i>
<i> in all of my years of practi</i>

562
00:34:08,881 --> 00:34:10,605
<i> this judge wasn't</i>
<i> following the law.</i>

563
00:34:10,607 --> 00:34:14,676
<i> Mark was ordered to pay</i>
<i> $40,000 as a cash settlement</i>

564
00:34:14,678 --> 00:34:17,929
<i> He was ordered to, uh,</i>
<i> give her a car.</i>

565
00:34:18,006 --> 00:34:21,141
<i> He was also</i>
<i> ordered to give</i>
<i> other cash settlements,</i>

566
00:34:21,143 --> 00:34:23,643
<i> uh, with regard to the decre</i>

567
00:34:23,645 --> 00:34:26,438
[Mark] <i> At one point in time</i>
<i> I, I just said,</i>

568
00:34:26,440 --> 00:34:28,774
<i> Charity Parchem</i>
<i> is not my legal wife.</i>

569
00:34:28,850 --> 00:34:33,028
And I locked my heels and I
dug in, and I just said, I'm
not paying another dime.

570
00:34:36,158 --> 00:34:38,742
[narrator] <i> But this only</i>
<i> makes things worse.</i>

571
00:34:38,819 --> 00:34:40,577
[Zand] <i> Charity had filed</i>
<i> an enforcement</i>

572
00:34:40,654 --> 00:34:45,457
to throw Mark in jail
because he hadn't paid
his cash settlement.

573
00:34:45,534 --> 00:34:47,042
She wanted her money.
[laughing]

574
00:34:47,086 --> 00:34:50,587
The judge held me
in contempt of court.

575
00:34:50,664 --> 00:34:54,174
There were five or six
orders of contempt.

576
00:34:54,251 --> 00:34:57,719
[narrator] <i> Mark faces at lea</i>
<i> a year and a half behind bar</i>

577
00:34:59,014 --> 00:35:02,390
Essentially, Charity
told the court
what she wanted,

578
00:35:02,434 --> 00:35:03,809
and the court granted it.

579
00:35:04,645 --> 00:35:07,062
And what am I
supposed to tell my son?

580
00:35:07,064 --> 00:35:10,065
I'm sorry, son, but I've gotta
go to jail for 18 months?

581
00:35:10,275 --> 00:35:12,000
[sniffling]

582
00:35:12,002 --> 00:35:17,155
[Mark] <i> Charity showed hersel</i>
<i> walking on TV, smiling,</i>

583
00:35:17,157 --> 00:35:19,825
<i> because she knew that day,</i>
<i> I was gonna go to jail.</i>

584
00:35:21,453 --> 00:35:23,495
Who does that? Who does that

585
00:35:23,572 --> 00:35:25,622
but a professional criminal...

586
00:35:26,083 --> 00:35:28,959
...or the spawn of Satan?

587
00:35:30,462 --> 00:35:36,591
[Zand] <i> I can't believe that </i>
<i> have someone who is so bold</i>

588
00:35:36,593 --> 00:35:41,096
that she files a petition
to enforce spousal support

589
00:35:41,140 --> 00:35:43,682
with felony charges
that are pending against her
for bigamy.

590
00:35:43,684 --> 00:35:45,225
That's crazy.

591
00:35:48,397 --> 00:35:50,272
Why was the law failing me?

592
00:35:50,274 --> 00:35:52,540
<i> It should have been</i>
<i> protecting me.</i>

593
00:35:55,988 --> 00:35:59,156
[narrator] <i> Mark's lawyer</i>
<i> brings in the detective</i>
<i> who arrested Charity</i>

594
00:35:59,232 --> 00:36:02,242
<i> to present proof</i>
<i> that she's a bigamist.</i>

595
00:36:02,319 --> 00:36:06,788
[Zand] <i> This judge</i>
<i> saw the police officer</i>
<i> in the courtroom,</i>

596
00:36:06,790 --> 00:36:12,210
and the judge just wouldn't
even give us an opportunity
to present the evidence.

597
00:36:13,213 --> 00:36:16,381
I was bamboozled.
Absolutely bamboozled.

598
00:36:16,383 --> 00:36:21,386
Everything that,
that Mark's attorney Sara
put out there,

599
00:36:21,388 --> 00:36:22,762
<i> she knocked it down.</i>

600
00:36:22,839 --> 00:36:25,265
<i> Everything</i>
<i> that Charity's attorney,</i>

601
00:36:25,342 --> 00:36:29,227
<i> whatever his name is,</i>
<i> he's the sorriest attorney</i>
<i> I ever saw in my life.</i>

602
00:36:29,346 --> 00:36:31,479
She went with it.

603
00:36:31,481 --> 00:36:34,024
[reporter] Were you
already married,
married to someone else?

604
00:36:34,100 --> 00:36:36,568
[security door beeping]

605
00:36:36,645 --> 00:36:37,936
I wanna talk to her.
She should talk to me.

606
00:36:37,938 --> 00:36:40,488
I'm her lawyer.
She doesn't wanna talk to you.

607
00:36:40,490 --> 00:36:47,537
[narrator] <i> At last, Mark's</i>
<i> side catches what should be</i>
<i> a break in the criminal cour</i>

608
00:36:47,614 --> 00:36:54,044
Today, uh, in court, Ms.
Charity Parchem pled guilty
to the offense of bigamy.

609
00:36:54,713 --> 00:36:56,379
[Sheri Culberson]
<i> That basically proves</i>

610
00:36:56,381 --> 00:36:59,090
<i> what Mark Athans has been</i>
<i> saying in the divorce.</i>

611
00:36:59,167 --> 00:37:03,053
"She's not really my wife.
She is not
legally married to me."

612
00:37:03,129 --> 00:37:06,181
"Therefore, I shouldn't
have to pay her a dime."

613
00:37:06,216 --> 00:37:09,309
[Mark] <i> Charity pled guilty</i>
<i> to bigamy.</i>

614
00:37:09,311 --> 00:37:13,480
And Judge McDonald
still didn't
rescind her orders.

615
00:37:13,556 --> 00:37:15,607
[anchor] <i> Montgomery County</i>
<i> Judge Patrice McDonald</i>

616
00:37:15,609 --> 00:37:20,195
<i> has ordered Athans to pay</i>
$96,000 to Parchem by tomorrow

617
00:37:20,239 --> 00:37:22,113
<i> or face jail time.</i>

618
00:37:22,115 --> 00:37:24,407
[Mark] <i> Sara knew,</i>
<i> she's gonna put you in jail</i>

619
00:37:24,484 --> 00:37:26,660
Okay, well, I've already
talked to my son.

620
00:37:26,662 --> 00:37:30,830
Prepared for this. I am not
backing down from this.

621
00:37:32,793 --> 00:37:36,962
This wasn't just about
his wife being married
to other people.

622
00:37:37,038 --> 00:37:40,799
This was about his wife
taking advantage
of him and his son.

623
00:37:41,260 --> 00:37:44,427
Leaving Mark
financially destitute.

624
00:37:50,227 --> 00:37:52,602
[narrator] <i> The clock</i>
<i> is ticking for surgical</i>
<i> assistant Mark Athans.</i>

625
00:37:52,679 --> 00:37:56,231
<i> With few exceptions, if you'</i>
<i> done time in jail in Texas,</i>

626
00:37:56,275 --> 00:37:58,299
<i> you can't practice medicine</i>

627
00:37:58,301 --> 00:38:03,196
<i> And yet, in less than</i>
<i> 24 hours, that's</i>
<i> where Mark is going.</i>

628
00:38:03,198 --> 00:38:06,157
<i> Mark's lawyer files</i>
<i> a last minute appeal.</i>

629
00:38:07,286 --> 00:38:09,527
[Zand]
<i> Filed an emergency stay.</i>

630
00:38:09,604 --> 00:38:13,665
And we were requesting that
the court of appeals freeze
all trial court proceedings.

631
00:38:14,376 --> 00:38:16,351
[Mark] <i> From what I understan</i>

632
00:38:16,353 --> 00:38:20,505
they had only had it
for about 15 minutes
before they made a decision.

633
00:38:22,467 --> 00:38:27,429
<i> The appellate court overrod</i>
<i> Judge McDonald's decision</i>
<i> and dismissed it.</i>

634
00:38:28,682 --> 00:38:31,308
Told 'em, basically,
leave this man alone.

635
00:38:32,936 --> 00:38:35,312
[Mark] <i> Sara saved me</i>
<i> from going to jail.</i>

636
00:38:37,858 --> 00:38:42,444
It was just a sigh of relief,
because all along, this is
absolutely what he deserved.

637
00:38:42,487 --> 00:38:44,212
...but I've
gotta go to jail...

638
00:38:44,214 --> 00:38:46,239
[Mark] <i> I was pretty emotiona</i>
<i> just to get it over with.</i>

639
00:38:46,241 --> 00:38:49,701
Actually, I, I did.
I cried over it.

640
00:38:51,455 --> 00:38:53,830
[narrator] <i> Three months</i>
<i> after filing for divorce,</i>

641
00:38:53,865 --> 00:38:56,249
<i> and barely five months</i>
<i> after their wedding,</i>

642
00:38:56,326 --> 00:38:59,336
<i> Mark's marriage to Charity</i>
<i> is officially dissolved.</i>

643
00:38:59,412 --> 00:39:01,421
<i> The ordeal is over.</i>

644
00:39:03,592 --> 00:39:06,176
Charity had scammed

645
00:39:06,252 --> 00:39:11,222
over $425,000 from me.

646
00:39:12,142 --> 00:39:14,309
I had lost funds

647
00:39:14,344 --> 00:39:19,522
in over $220,000
in legal fees.

648
00:39:19,599 --> 00:39:23,526
Everything that I had,
all my retirement, was gone.

649
00:39:24,029 --> 00:39:26,404
<i> I mean, I lost everything.</i>

650
00:39:28,408 --> 00:39:30,658
[Culberson] <i> The sentence</i>
<i> for bigamy in Texas,</i>

651
00:39:30,693 --> 00:39:32,243
<i> because it's a third degree</i>
<i> felony,</i>

652
00:39:32,320 --> 00:39:36,498
is anywhere from two years
up to ten years in prison.

653
00:39:38,543 --> 00:39:42,128
[narrator] <i> Charity gets</i>
<i> four years, but not in priso</i>

654
00:39:44,091 --> 00:39:46,299
[Mark] <i> She walks away</i>
<i> with probation.</i>

655
00:39:46,968 --> 00:39:48,793
<i> Not a day in jail.</i>

656
00:39:48,870 --> 00:39:52,472
After all the people
she's hurt, where's
the justification in that?

657
00:39:52,549 --> 00:39:55,266
I don't know
what's in Charity's future.

658
00:39:55,268 --> 00:39:59,354
I hope she doesn't hurt
anybody else.

659
00:39:59,389 --> 00:40:04,025
<i> But, not so sure I can</i>
<i> trust that hope.</i>

660
00:40:07,531 --> 00:40:09,948
[narrator] <i> Some good has com</i>
<i> from this ordeal.</i>

661
00:40:10,024 --> 00:40:13,410
<i> Dakota discovered he's got</i>
<i> a valuable skill set.</i>

662
00:40:13,870 --> 00:40:19,833
Dakota has a knack
of sizing people up.

663
00:40:19,868 --> 00:40:22,836
A hell of a lot better
than mine, [laughing]
I can tell you that.

664
00:40:22,912 --> 00:40:28,007
<i> So he's already got</i>
<i> his license in process</i>
<i> through the State of Texas</i>

665
00:40:28,042 --> 00:40:29,509
<i> to become a private detectiv</i>

666
00:40:30,554 --> 00:40:32,095
[Dakota] <i> I like</i>
<i> to find out the truth.</i>

667
00:40:32,130 --> 00:40:34,639
<i> I'm like the truth seeker.</i>

668
00:40:34,641 --> 00:40:37,851
<i> I wanna be the best</i>
<i> of the best when it comes</i>
<i> to investigations.</i>

669
00:40:39,729 --> 00:40:41,980
[narrator] <i> In spite</i>
<i> of all that Mark lost,</i>

670
00:40:41,982 --> 00:40:47,444
<i> there's one precious</i>
<i> and irreplaceable thing</i>
<i> he managed to win back.</i>

671
00:40:47,520 --> 00:40:51,406
James checks his phone,
and he's like,
Mark wants to talk to us.

672
00:40:53,869 --> 00:40:59,539
<i> So James goes over there</i>
<i> and Mark says, hey,</i>
<i> I am really sorry.</i>

673
00:40:59,616 --> 00:41:02,625
<i> And he really was regretful</i>

674
00:41:02,702 --> 00:41:06,963
[Mark] <i> The things that I</i>
<i> look for in a relationship,</i>
<i> I've got 'em already.</i>

675
00:41:08,049 --> 00:41:11,134
Because I've got
a relationship
with James and Gina

676
00:41:11,211 --> 00:41:13,928
<i> that after all</i>
<i> that happened...</i>

677
00:41:13,972 --> 00:41:17,557
<i> ...and me coming back tryin</i>
<i> to eat crow and apologize..</i>

678
00:41:17,634 --> 00:41:19,517
They could have told me
to [bleep] off.

679
00:41:20,604 --> 00:41:22,294
But they didn't.

680
00:41:23,565 --> 00:41:26,274
<i> Gina and James, I know that </i>
<i> something happens to me,</i>

681
00:41:26,276 --> 00:41:29,527
<i> or if Dakota needs help,</i>
[voice breaking]
<i> he's gonna have it.</i>

682
00:41:31,072 --> 00:41:33,239
<i> And I know that.</i>

683
00:41:33,241 --> 00:41:37,118
[Gina] <i> Now that</i>
<i> Charity's gone, Mark</i>
<i> is a different person.</i>

684
00:41:37,120 --> 00:41:39,621
He's not frustrated
all the time.

685
00:41:39,664 --> 00:41:43,708
[laughing] It's back to life
as normal.

686
00:41:45,670 --> 00:41:47,754
[Mark] <i> I'm back</i>
<i> on the dating scene.</i>

687
00:41:47,830 --> 00:41:51,508
<i> I'm just more thorough now</i>
<i> about looking at people.</i>

688
00:41:53,053 --> 00:41:57,222
<i> I want to try to find somebo</i>
<i> that will love my family,</i>

689
00:41:57,224 --> 00:42:01,684
and give me the same amount
of love and attention

690
00:42:01,686 --> 00:42:03,311
that I'm gonna
give to her back.

691
00:42:04,231 --> 00:42:05,939
<i> Because I learned</i>
<i> that I deserve that.</i>