Kidnapped Bride Bodes Ill for Marital Bliss

A man kidnapped his ex-girlfriend and forced her to marry him during a mass wedding ceremony on Valentine’s Day, authorities said.

A criminal complaint filed in Albuquerque Metropolitan Court accuses Robert Tellez, 36, of breaking into the apartment of Jeanette Francia, threatening her and her children, ages 6 and 10, with an ice pick and abducting them on Valentine’s Day morning.

Later that day, he allegedly forced Francia, 26, to marry him during a downtown civil ceremony in which about 100 couples were wed by volunteer judges.

“She looked so mad, and I couldn’t figure out why she looked so mad,” said Metro Court Judge Denise Barela Shepherd, who performed the ceremony. “She kept reassuring me that she was fine and wanted to proceed.”

Later, Francia told police “she feared that should could not really say that she didn’t want to get married,” according to the criminal complaint.

Tellez remained in jail Friday on $100,000 bond, accused of kidnapping, child abuse, domestic violence and other charges.

The wedding came to light when the children called their grandmother from school, saying Francia was in danger. Tellez was charged with aggravated assault and battery in an attack on Francia last September, court records show.

Francia can petition District Court to void the wedding, Barela Shepherd said.

Police seized a child’s ring, adorned with a green frog, that was used in the ceremony. Tellez replaced the ring with a gold band after the nuptials, the complaint said.