US mother and daughter charged with incest after marrying each other; Mother previously married to son

A US mother and daughter have been charged with incest after marrying each other earlier this year. The mother was also married to her son a few years prior.

Patricia Ann Spann, 43, and her daughter, Misty Velvet Dawn Spann, 25, were discovered legally married to each other in March. Under the law in the state of Oklahoma, where the two reside, marrying a close relative is incest, whether or not they are in a sexual relationship.

According to the Associated Press, the two have made initial appearances in Stephens County district court. They did not list an attorney in court documents. Police learned about their marriage last month amid a child welfare investigation concerning Patricia’s children.

Patricia had lost custody of her three children, who were adopted by their paternal grandmother. She told a state child services investigator that she did not have contact with her children until two years ago. When she reunited with Misty, the mother and daughter “hit it off,” The Lawton Constitution reports.

Patricia and Misty were married on March 25. According to the elder Spann, she thought it was okay to marry Misty because her name was no longer listed on Misty’s birth certificate. Police investigation has found out that Patricia was listed as Misty’s mother in the latter’s original birth certificate. However, the new, modified version of the birth certificate shows Misty’s grandmother as her mother.

She listed her last name as “Clayton” in her marriage to Spann.

The mother and daughter team have been arrested and charged with a count of incest. They are held on a US$10,000 (AU$13,000) bond and are facing up to 10 years in prison if convicted. On Wednesday, they pleaded not guilty in court.

Prior to Patricia’s marriage to her daughter, she was also married to her son. In 2008, she married her son Jody Spann Jr, who filed for annulment 15 years later citing incest as reason.