Kimberly Tempel (Vanderburgh County Jail)
An Indiana woman is facing charges of bigamy and falsifying a marriage license application after police say she tied the knot with her biological father — while already hitched to another man — in an attempt to get her dad’s $350 monthly payments from Veterans Affairs while he’s locked up in prison.
Kimberly Tempel, 44, of Tell City, allegedly lied on her application by saying she wasn’t already married and claiming that her “husband” was no closer than a second cousin, according to local ABC affiliate WPTA. In reality, Tempel filed for a marriage license to wed her biological dad, Bradly McCollom, 59, of Evansville, who is in prison on a probation violation. Police say she listed numerous inaccuracies on the application.
In addition to lying about who he was, Tempel claimed McCollom was not a convicted lifetime sex or violent offender — both untrue, according to police. He reportedly has a federal child porn charge on his record. Addresses that Tempel and McCollom listed were also false.
Charging documents and court records obtained by WPTA outline how Tempel was reportedly in the middle of a divorce when she and McCollom got married on July 26, 2024. McCollom’s sister allegedly told police that Tempel and McCollom had falsified a marriage license to get his $350 VA payments. McCollom has been locked up on a probation violation charge, but he’s due to get out this July.
McCollum’s sister allegedly provided documentation that provided information she obtained from a DNA service showing the probability of McCollum being Tempel’s biological father as “99.999999%,” WPTA reports.
Tempel was taken into custody on charges of providing false information on marriage license application and bigamy but has since been released. Local ABC affiliate WEHT reported Wednesday that “someone with knowledge of the case” contacted the outlet and claimed the accusations of Tempel being McCollom’s daughter were false. Documentation was sent by the person who appears to show a test from DNA Diagnostics Center claiming McCollom is not Tempel’s father, but WEHT has been unable to verify the claims as further tests are pending.
