‘I have never met my husband who is serving 24 years in prison’
A British woman has revealed that she is married to a man who is serving 24 years in a US prison – and they have never actually met.
Marriage
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A UK woman who is married to a man she has never met, as he is currently serving a 24-year sentence in a US prison, has defended her husband online, saying he “just wants a second chance at life”.
Naomi Oquendo, 27, from Manchester, UK, has been very open about her unconventional relationship with Victor Oquendo, 31, who is about halfway through his sentence for double homicide, The Sunreports.
She brought up her situation on social media, writing: “Remembering I’m married to a man serving 24 years in an American prison that I’ve never met.”
Naomi hasn’t shared how the pair were able to get legally married but did talk about how they got to know each other.
How did they find each other?
Naomi first contacted Victor in June 2020 after she signed up for a prisoner pen pal service when her counselling course was cut short during the pandemic.
In her message, she explained that she was looking for a pen pal before talking about what she looked like, where she lived, her job, her family history and her dream job.
She then asked to know more about him but said she wouldn’t take it to heart if he never replied.
In his message back, he told Naomi he was a victim of his life circumstances.
He claimed that his mum was “addicted to drugs” but she has been sober for the last 10 years.
He also explained that his dad had never been in the picture and he had also been incarcerated for 10 years, before dying just three months after his release.
He wrote: “Everything I know and do … it was self-taught. I didn’t know how to read or write, spell, and much more! But now I know how to do all that.”
He also said he considers himself a tattoo artist, barber and artist.
“I’ve been locked up for over 10 years and with good time, I have seven years left,” he wrote
Victor also said that he would love to keep talking to her either by letter or through the phone, but that she’d have to send him some money for them to communicate since he doesn’t “have any support or anyone helping me”.
His story
Growing up, Victor Oquendo was in the foster care system and spent time partly in foster families, as well as sleeping rough on park benches and in abandoned houses,” Naomi said in her video.
His crime, she said, was gang and drug-related. She said that when he was 18 years old, Victor was allegedly attacked by an enemy gang during a drug deal. She said “he shot back” and it “resulted in a double homicide and illegal firearms charges”.
Because he took shelter at someone’s home after the shooting, he was also charged with home invasion.
After finding out about his crimes, Naomi decided to start a petition asking for clemency.
“We feel like Victor should be granted clemency,” she explained in a third video.
“Not only was his case unjust, but he’s a 30-year-old man now that has learned from his mistakes and just wants a second chance at life.”
She said she believes he has completely changed and would never want to go back to a life of crime and gang affiliations.
However many commenters online were sceptical.
One person wrote: “No judgment at all! But is he only telling you what you want to hear? [An] 18-year-old against five grown men – he came out unscathed yet two of them died?”
“You don’t even really know this man,” a second person said. “What if they aren’t telling you everything?”
And a third said: “Do you not worry that he’s telling you what you want to hear? No hate; just curious. I love watching your videos and wish you all the best.”
This story originally appeared in The Sun and has been reproduced with permission
Originally published as ‘I have never met my husband who is serving 24 years in prison’
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