Naman Shrestha
In the episode titled ‘Unholy Matrimony’ of Investigation Discovery’s ‘Who the (Bleep) Did I Marry,’ the primary focus is on the alleged crimes and polygamous relationships of Stanley King, an alleged Mormon cult leader who chose Carol Dennis to be his fourth church wife when she was a teenager in Owen Sound, Ontario, in the 1960s. The documentary explores Carol’s traumatic experience as Stan’s church wife for several years as she recounts her pain and suffering before she finally escaped the alleged cult’s clutches.
Carol Dennis Christie Allegedly Endured Decades of Physical and Sexual Abuse
Born to Howard Dennis around the 1960s, Carol Dennis was raised in Owen Sound, Ontario, where she and her mother attended the Church of Jesus Christ Restored. Still in her teenage years, Carol was allegedly forced by her mother to get intimate with the church’s founder, Stanley “Stan” King. According to the show, her mother told Carol that God wanted her to marry Stan, who was also called “The Prophet.” At the time, he was legally married to Erna, with whom he shared three sons — Frederick “Fred” Madison King, Judd King, and Joe King. However, Stan also had multiple church wives. In 1971, Carol moved into his farm near Sauble Beach, where she lived with his legal wife and sons, and eventually became his fourth church wife.
After getting a large cyst removed from her ovary, Carol became a mother to Stan’s son, James King, on July 2, 1977. By then, she was made to marry his eldest son, Joe King, in a sham marriage to protect Stan’s image in the church. 18 months after giving birth to her first son, she welcomed her second son, Marcus King, into the world. After suffering from two aneurysms on his brain, Stan passed away in October 1986, after which his son, Fred, took charge of the church and his wives, as per Carol. According to the show, Carol alleged that Fred ordered her to bathe Stan’s body every day for a week or so, believing that he could rise back from the dead. After taking over the church, he kicked Carol and her two sons out of the farm. She then began living with Stan’s other church wife, Angie, and her children in Guelph, where she landed a cleaning job.
Carol claimed that about a year later, Fred made her his church wife and sexually assaulted her. While Fred was later criminally charged with sexual assault, prosecutors ultimately withdrew the specific charges. In the summer of 2002, she claims he physically assaulted her. In the following years, she alleged his physical assaults continued and that she was forcibly confined to the house. She also alleged that he beat her two sons in front of her on multiple occasions. A few years later, in 2007, James escaped. The following year, on March 25, 2008, he picked Carol up, and the two began a new life in Owen Sound. The mother of two cleaned offices to get by, and that’s when she met John Christie, the City Councilor and contractor at Bayshore Broadcasting. A romance blossomed between them before they tied the knot in October 2009. Together, they filed a civil lawsuit against Fred King in February 2010 and received an undisclosed settlement amount.
Carol Dennis Christie Leads a Private Life in Owen Sound With Her Husband Today
Although Carol Dennis Christie was contractually bound not to reveal the settlement amount, she went on a media spree and interviews, exposing Fred King’s church and his alleged cult. Her public exposure of the church sparked a police investigation that led to Fred’s arrest. He pleaded guilty to nine counts of physical assault in 2016 and received an 18-month prison sentence. Years later, she claimed that the alleged abuse and assault inflicted by Fred on her left her struggling with anxiety, depression, chronic pain, and PTSD. Determined to put an end to the alleged cult’s wrongdoings, she even co-authored a book with her husband, John Christie, titled ‘Property: The True Story of a Polygamous Church Wife.’
Published in April 2012, the book helped raise awareness about the polygamous practice of Fred’s church. Hailing from Englehart, Ontario, the West Hill Secondary School and Georgian College graduate still resides in Owen Sound, Ontario, with John. Besides being a devoted wife and mother, Carol is also a doting grandmother to Leona Rose, who was born on December 2, 2016. Over the years, she has gone on several trips with her loved ones to places like Varadero, Cuba.
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