Alleged bigamist apparently led double life, police say

Cary, N.C. — A Cary man charged with bigamy was purposely leading a double life and neither of his wives knew about the other, police said Wednesday.

"It wasn't a situation where there were any religious undertones to this," said Capt. Mike Williams with the Cary Police Department. "He was doing this to have two separate wives, it appears."

Keron Wilkins, 31, of 136 Chatham Woods Drive, was arrested after police received a call from his wife of seven weeks, Shannetta Dawn Stone-Wilkins. She told investigators he would disappear for several days at a time and could not be reached.

"I talked to the police, and they said, 'You know, ma'am, it sounds like he's living a double life," Stone-Wilkins said.

She started researching her husband's life and talked with his mother in Emporia, Va. She learned he was also married to a Clayton woman, Chaka Wilkins, and had two children – an 8-month-old and 5-year-old – with her.

Stone-Wilkins said there might be a third wife, and Cary police are investigating that possibility.

"He just turned out to be a complete liar," she said.

Keron Wilkins was in the Wake County Jail Wednesday under a $3,000 bond.

Bigamy is a Class I felony, usually punishable by supervised probation, Wake County prosecutors said.