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Stephanie Sloop, who is suspected of helping abuse and kill her son and mutilate his body, claims she was forced to marry her co-defendant and wants the marriage annulled.
In a court petition, Sloop says her participation in the May 6 marriage ceremony "was not voluntary, and was the result or product of physical duress by" the groom, Nathan Sloop.
The couple was charged with aggravated murder, abuse and other felonies for the death of Stephanie Sloop's 4-year-old son, Ethan Stacy, a few days after they were married. Prosecutors have not said whether they will seek the death penalty. The Sloops remain in the Davis County jail without bail.
Stephanie Sloop's annulment petition was filed Friday in state court in Farmington. It was written and submitted by Mary Corporon, one of Stephanie Sloop's criminal attorneys. Corporon declined to comment on the petition Friday.
Nathan Sloop could fight the request for an annulment. The petition does not specify how Nathan Sloop might have coerced his bride.
The couple had been engaged for months and was planning an Independence Day ceremony in Golden, Colo. They even created a website for the event and a bridal registry at stores.
In a call to her half-brother in Michigan on May 5, Stephanie Sloop said she and Nathan Sloop were getting married in Utah the next day so they could qualify for public aid, but the "real" wedding was still on for July Fourth in Colorado. The ceremony occurred at the old memorial courthouse in Farmington.
In the petition, Stephanie Sloop also requests her name be changed to a previous surname. Although she did not specify which surname, she once used the name of her first husband, Joe Stacy.
Joe Stacy on Friday said he does not want his ex-wife using his surname. He speculated Stephanie Sloop wants "to have the same last name as her son, but I would be real surprised if a judge accepts that."
"She looks like a complete idiot because she's the one who set that website up, and said all those things about how in love with Nathan she was," Joe Stacy added.
Stephanie Sloop also is asking for the personal property she owns at the Layton apartment she shared with Nathan Sloop and Ethan and that Nathan Sloop pay any debts the couple accumulated.
The Ethan Stacy case
Ethan's mother and stepfather are accused of beating and abusing him in late April and early May at their apartment in Layton. Court documents also claim Stephanie Sloop told police she found Ethan dead May 9 and she and her husband buried his body near Powder Mountain ski resort. Documents also say Nathan Sloop used a hammer to disfigure Ethan's face to hinder his identification. On May 10, the couple reported Ethan to police as missing. Documents say they then confessed.