'I do' becomes 'I didn't' . . . marry her, that is

Henry Pierson Curtis 

Orlando Sentinel Staff Writer

June 23, 2009

A year later, lawyers argue over the wreckage of love. The groom's request for an immediate annulment was denied by Circuit Judge Jeffrey M. Fleming.

At issue now is how the couple should part.

Details of this rare union comes from Osceola County Courthouse files. Just how rare it is remains unknown. Although about 150,000 marriages are conducted yearly in Florida, no one tracks how many involve bogus licenses or how often the state's 400,000 notary publics commit fraud.

Ditzel, 30, remains steadfast the marriage never happened.

Bowser, 31, counters that her husband agreed all along to a proxy marriage.

She says he wants an annulment merely to avoid divorce fees and sharing joint property from their 10-year love affair.

Those assets include a $1,500 "promise" ring and a $9,000 engagement ring.

The couple decided to get hitched last year in March. That's when they picked up their marriage license. To be valid, it had to be signed within 60 days and returned to the same courthouse where their lawyers do battle.

Far from amicable, the case has produced an order for protection and two arrests.

On July 3, Ditzel accused Bowser of domestic violence. A temporary protection order was granted but dismissed weeks later. Then, on Oct. 10, Ditzel called Osceola County Sheriff's Office to report he had been married without his knowledge, arrest records show.

The notary, Veronica Gonzalez, lost her job at Wyndham Resorts in Orlando and lost her state notary commission for falsely certifying that she married the pair. Reached at home last week, she declined to comment on all marital matters.

Gonzalez pleaded no contest April 30 to false acknowledgment by a notary public, a misdemeanor, and received a year's probation.

She was ordered to pay $7,500 in restitution to the victim of her notarized fraud.

The victim's identity is sealed in court records.

Bowser lost her job as well at Wyndham Resorts, where she earned $36,500 a year as a title assistant.

She, too, was arrested and awaits trial on three fraud-related felony charges.

Ditzel's lawyer, Thomas E. Rhodes, says there's no reason to discuss divorce when a legal marriage never happened.

"Our premise is it never took place," Rhodes said. "It never met the statutory requirement. That's the bottom line."

Fleming might agree. But court notes of the most recent hearing indicate a trial most likely will be needed to resolve the case.

That's what the bride wants, a trial.

Nina DeFlora, Bowser's lawyer, did not return telephone messages.

Court notes show she already alerted the court, "They have witnesses to state that Mr. Ditzel made announcement that they were married, there is a celebratory dinner, announcements made about rings, and they consummated like bunnies."

The case continues.

The Divorce Cake