Parents Claim Murder Suspect Married Their Daughter To Gain Citizenship

The parents of a Virginia woman claim that she was duped into marrying a man who was in the country illegally so he could gain citizenship. Shelby and Lindsay McDannold spoke with Fox News after Franklin Freddy Meave Vazquez was charged with killing a fellow crew member on a fishing boat off the coast of Massachusetts. 

They said that their 20-year-old daughter met Vazquez in May 2017 and the two married soon after. The daughter told her parents that Vazquez was a U.S. citizen after they became worried about his behavior.

A few months later, Vazquez tried to open a painting business in the woman's name, which raised more concerns with her parents. That is when they found out he had been lying and was not a U.S. citizen. It turned out that he used an expired social security number to obtain the marriage license. 

He was arrested in March and was charged with abduction by force after he got into an altercation with his wife when he asked for her social security number. A judge released him on $20,000 bond, despite objections from Immigration and Customs Enforcement officials. 

Vazquez had been living illegally in the United States since his DACA status expired in 2015. He managed to remain in the country despite multiple run-ins with law enforcement.

“If the system had worked, I wouldn’t be dealing with this because my daughter would’ve never met him and someone would still be alive today,” Lindsay McDannold said. 

Vazquez remains behind bars and faces life in prison for the murder charge. 


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