Crystal Straus and John Tiedjen started corresponding while Tiedjen was in prison for the fatal shooting of Straus's half-brother. The conviction was recently overturned after new evidence came to light. Tiedjen is on house arrest awaiting a new trial.
An Ohio woman has married the man once convicted of killing her half-brother in 1989. John Tiedjen was found guilty of the shooting death of his friend, Brian McGary, during an argument.
Tiedjen served 32 years in state prison for the crime. While behind bars, he started corresponding with Crystal Straus — McGary's half-sister.
Recently, new evidence was uncovered and the conviction was overturned. Just two weeks after his release, the couple got married.
“People are not going to understand our relationship, and I’m OK with that,” Straus told Inside Edition.
The wedding took place in the yard where Tiedjen is under house arrest as he waits for the start of his new trial. The groom’s loose pants concealed an ankle monitor.
Straus says she is convinced of Tiedjen’s innocence and has been since she started corresponding with him in prison. Their exchanges developed into a relationship.
“I said I loved him, and he ended up asking me to marry him,” Straus said.
“Honestly, he's a very compassionate person. That's actually what attracted me to him,” she added.
When asked what would happen if Tiedjen went back to prison, Straus says she doesn’t “see that happening.”
An initial hearing on Tiedjen’s retrial will take place Aug. 31.
