I'll divorce before I remarry says serial bigamist

The only legal husband of serial bigamist Emily Horne was jailed for disposing of a dismembered body (Martin Rickett/PA Wire)

A serial bigamist today vowed to get a divorce before she weds again after escaping jail for marrying illegally for a fourth time.

Former glamour model Emily Horne, 30, has tied the knot on five occasions without ever applying for an annulment.

She was described by Judge Mushtaq Khokhar as a "manipulative woman" who had "undermined the institution of marriage".

But the judge said he had decided not to jail her because she had made progress in the last six months since being prescribed with medication for a personality disorder.

Speaking outside Manchester's Minshull Street Crown Court, Horne, who was given a 10-month suspended sentence, said: "I am feeling great. I have been vindicated."

She added: "I think next time I should get a divorce."

Horne, who changed her name on marriage certificates to avoid detection, only told her "husband" Ashley Baker that she was already married as they set off on their honeymoon.

The former adult actress was previously sentenced to six months in prison at Ipswich Crown Court in 2004 for bigamy.

The court heard that Horne, who lives in the West Midlands, had married four men by the age of 23.

Paul Hodgkinson, defending, said: "Her decision making was affected by her mental health. She is an attention seeker and she is a lady with emotional problems but she has had to put up with a great deal of trauma in her life.

"She is sorry for what she has done and she is sorry for the pain she has caused to the men and their families."

Horne, who has bipolar disorder, wed for the first time in York on her 18th birthday in December 1996, to soldier Paul Rigby.

He was posted abroad for five years and on his return he found out she had left him for banker Sean Cunningham, and they married in Leeds in February 1999.

But Horne left him for website designer Chris Barrett, and the couple wed in December 2000.

West Yorkshire Police became aware of her serial marriages and cautioned her for two offences of bigamy in 2001.

But a year later she wed again - using her porn star name Amileannya Carmichael to marry rail guard James Matthews - and failed to get her previous marriages annulled.

The police were alerted and she was given a six month sentence. But the time behind bars did not deter her from walking down the aisle again and Mr Baker unwittingly became husband number five in September 2007.

The couple, who had known each other for just four months, were wed at Chadderton Register Office near Oldham, Greater Manchester.

But on their way to Scotland for the honeymoon Horne revealed she was already married - and police were called in.

She claimed she did not know if she was divorced because she no longer had the paper work.

Judge Khokhar, who also imposed a 12 month supervision order, said the original sentence he had in mind was one of ten months behind bars.

But he decided to suspend it in the hope that she would move on with her life.

He said: "I take the view that it undermines the institution of marriage when someone like you conducts marriages at the drop of a hat.

"It is quite clear that you are someone who is impulsive. You contracted all your marriages after a short time.

"It is also clear that you are someone who is very manipulative. You knew what you were doing."

But he added that he would not impose immediate custody because she improved in the last six months and was gaining a new stability in her life.

"I hope that you will now put all of this behind you," he said.

The court heard that her mental state was affected by a difficult childhood, the death of her sister when she was 18 and her unhappy marriage to first husband Mr Rigby.

He has a previous conviction in Ulster for disposing of the body of a 15-year-old girl, and the court heard that it caused Horne psychological damage when she found out.

Mr Hodgkinson added that she now has a new partner and has been doing well since being prescribed with lithium for her personality disorder.

Lisa Baker-Conway, the sister of fifth husband Ashley Baker, told reporters outside court that she was angry about the judge's decision.

She said Horne had falsely claimed to have cancer and added: "My brother's life has been ruined and he has had to start again.

"He did love her and she manipulated him. She said she was pregnant about five times and we grieved for babies that did not exist."

Detective Constable Colette Kelleher, of Oldham CID, said Horne had betrayed the love and honesty her husbands bestowed on her.

She said: "Bigamy is not something to be sniggered at or brushed under the carpet. It is a very serious offence and the lives of five men have been severely affected by Horne's selfish and quite frankly, cruel, actions.

"I have no doubt this case will attract a lot of publicity but the only person at fault is Horne herself."