A woman who married a man she met while writing to inmates on death row, has revealed they’ve managed to have a baby together – despite conjugal visits not being permitted at his prison.
Sigrid, 39, who is from France but now lives in Florida, spoke to Truly about the challenges she’s faced since beginning a relationship with Alan Wade, 33, who was convicted in 2005 of robbery, kidnapping and first-degree murders of Reggie and Carol Sumner, a retired couple living in Jacksonville, who he buried alive.
Alan and Sigrid met after she began writing to prisoners because she’s against the death penalty and have now welcomed a son, although Sigrid has not revealed how she managed to fall pregnant with her husand behind bars at Union Correctional Institution.
Even in states that allow conjugal visists, they are banned on death row.
‘We don’t want to say how my son was conceived. I think it’s important that we can sit and explain to my son how he was conceived before someone else does it for us,’ she said.
‘I like to respond that he’s in prison but I’m not. It was really hard, but we managed and now we have a son,’ Sigrid said.
Sigrid, 39, who is from France but now lives in Florida, revealed the challenges of raising her son while his father is on death row in an interview with Truly. Pictured: Sigrid, Alan Wade and their son
‘I met my husband first as a pen pal. When people learn about my relationship most of the comments I have is that I don’t care about the victim.
‘It’s hard to be in a relationship that’s based on something so tragic. My family were not happy, they were really scared for me, they’re like, “He’s the worst person ever”.’
Alan Wade was convicted alongside Tiffany Ann Cole, Michael James Jackson and Bruce Kent Nixon on July 8 2005 for robbery, kidnapping and the first degree murders of a retired couple living in Jacksonville.
The foursome had planned to rob Reggie and Carol Sumner just days before the crime, after Tiffany past on information about the pair that she had gathered while being their neighbor.
In preparation, the group found a place to dig a large hole and purchased materials including rubber gloves, duct tape and a large role of plastic.
Wade and Nixon gained entrance to Reggie and Carol’s home by asking to use their phone.
They then tied up the victims and began searching for financial documents. Reggie and Carol were then walked to their Mazda car and driven to the large hole, where they were buried alive by Wade and Jackson.
The crime was discovered after the couple’s daughter reported being unable to contact her parents. Investigators found evidence after tracking the group down in a South Carolina hotel and noted that $8,000 from the Sumners’ account had been made payable to Alan Wade.
Since being convicted of his crimes, Alan has tried to motion for a mistrial citing 12 issues including that his trial counsel was ineffective during jury selection and argued against a number of testimonies given.
Documents from his trial shared by Court Listener reveal he also mentioned his history of using drugs, mental health disorders and feelings of abandonment, but his appeals to date have failed.
Revealing how they got to know each other, Sigrid explained: ‘Pretty quickly we started writing all the time.
Sigrid (pictured) explained that she met Alan after deciding to write to inmates because she disagrees with the death penalty
Sigrid said they spoke for a year before Alan proposed to her during a visit to the prison. Pictured: Alan and Sigrid’s son
‘After six weeks he wrote back. The first words were, “I love you”.
‘When I started to realize that I was having feelings for him and him for me, we both got scared because it wasn’t only a prison relationship but also a really long distance relationship because I was in Europe.
‘We took a step back and tried to stop writing to each other and we were both miserable.
Sigrid explained she keeps all of their correspondence in boxes, saying: ‘My husband is Alan, he’s been in prison for 15 years with 12 on death row.
‘I believe in second chances and rehabilitation.
Sigrid keeps the letters (pictured) from Alan, who is serving a sentence for murder and burglary in boxes
Sigrid said many of her relatives didn’t reply to announcements about their wedding (pictured)
Alan proposed to Sigrid during one of her visits to Florida State Prison, a year after they began talking.
Speaking about their 2016 wedding, she said: ‘He made a little speech, saying how much he loved me and how much I mattered to him, that he really wanted to spend the rest of his life with me.
‘It’s bittersweet when I look at the pictures. Seeing us together and holding hands, it makes me really nostalgic and I really hope I can have that again soon.’
According to The Tampa Bay Times, inmates on death row are escorted throughout the prison in handcuffs and rarely leave their cells, with the exception of medical issues, visits, exercise and interviews with the media.
A petition was recently set up calling for conjugal visits to be permitted to married couples, with those who’ve signed complaining that they’re unable to hug or kiss their loved ones.
Sigrid revealed her friends and family don’t approve of her choice of husband, saying: ‘I think they found out his name and looked him up.
‘That’s when they all disappeared. They were really scared for me and I think they were being worried who he was and if he’s being honest with me.
‘I sent out maybe 60 wedding announcements to my own family and I got maybe four “I got your card” and a couple of congratulations.
‘That was it. I got a few people who deleted me from their Facebook account. I understand that it’s really hard to understand.
Sigrid (pictured) revealed she speaks to Alan once a month on the phone and visits last six hours
‘I want people to understand he makes me happy and I don’t get why it bothers people so much.
‘People who are supposed to love me, they’re bothered because someone is loving me right and making me happy.’
Sigrid said she’s only able to speak to her husband on the phone once a month.
Speaking to Alan, she added: ‘It’s harder than I think we both thought it would be.’
‘People stigmatize you just for being in a relationship with me. But I know people who judge you that way are a waste of skin anyways,’ he replied.
Sigrid explained visits last six hours but leaving him in the prison always makes her feel sad.
Sigrid said she’s sends videos of their son (pictured) to Alan, revealing she loves her husband unconditionally
Speaking about her son, she added: ‘I try to send short videos but it’s not the same. I will tell him that his dad is not who people are going to tell him he is, that he’s an amazing person.
‘Really caring and sweet, that he loves him very, very much.’
Sigrid revealed it’s challenging raising her son alone and she’s aware many people who live in the town may have heard about the case.
‘It scares me to say who my husband is. I don’t know how to approach it,’ she said.
‘Being with Alan definitely changed everything in my life because I’ve really embraced who I am completely and loved unconditionally by someone who I love the same.
‘And now we have the little guy here. This is something I would never have wanted with anyone else.’